Resilience against odds

The lack of internet connectivity in government schools will soon be resolved as the Punjab Government is in final talks with BSNL. “The agreement is almost ready,” a senior official in the Education Department told Millennium Post. “Talks are ongoing, and a strict timeline will be set up phase-wise,” he added.

This agreement means that all schools will receive internet connection, especially border schools which have been left out in most development aspects. Technology has become prevalent and often a necessity in schools, and it is paving the way for an updated educational system. This is very true in the case of Punjab and other states that have what is commonly known as “border schools” that are usually cut off from Urban progress and lie neglected in the border area. Technology has made learning more interactive and engaging and opened up new possibilities for knowledge sharing. It can be used to provide access to online resources and tools and facilitate communication and collaboration between students and teachers.

While the Delhi Model of Education has been praised globally, it cannot be implemented across all states. The National Capital is a well-connected and well-planned urban city. While full states have rural challenges of basic necessities and technology that could be best used in rural areas, there are several hurdles in the way.

“In a month, the setting up of optical fibres in urban areas will start, followed by rural and border areas,” the senior official said.

However, setting up a Wifi connection is not the main challenge but maintenance is. Remote areas, especially border schools and hilly terrain, have internet and road and transport connectivity issues. “Fixing the connection line of a border school will require a technician to go specifically to that school. This is not cost-effective and takes time. Often coordinators wait for several more complaints from the vicinity to send staff,” a management employee of a school in the Fazilka district added.

The challenge often with government procurements across the country is that hardware and software are purchased separately. “When an issue arises with functionality hardware, people blame the software and vice versa, both parties refusing to take ownership of the maintenance,” an official aware of such developments told Millennium Post. This way, time is lost in back and forth, and the usage of technology takes a back seat.

Private partnerships are a way forward, according to experts. Companies like GDi have established a Data and Strategy Unit and work in collaboration with the department to support strategic planning and data-driven decision-making.

Such companies act as a catalyst for driving key initiatives aimed at transforming the education sector in Punjab and in other states too. “In our short time with the department, we have worked on planning, executing, and analysing some key initiatives such as Mega PTM, Mission 100 per cent, Enrolment Drive etc,” founder of GDi Ankur Bansal said. He explained how at first his team decided to carry out field visits and built a foundation of knowledge and insights into grassroots realities in Punjab. The team then shares individual school, block and district analyses and findings with the state, which helps in a better understanding of problems resulting in tailor-made solutions for each.

Surveys were done by third party help in bringing a clearer picture to the government. As files move vertically and horizontally in the secretariat for approval, understanding the reality on the ground becomes a challenge in itself.

“While we had theoretical knowledge of the education system from what we had learnt from state stakeholders- we gained a lot more clarity on our basics: hierarchy and roles and responsibilities of officials, the jargon used on the ground, availability of technological infrastructure in schools, class schedules from Primary to secondary, teachers’ day-to-day activities, heads of schools’ day to day activities etc,” Bansal said. The idea is to ensure that any support to the state in the form of designing initiatives or processes would be more contextualised to its needs and landscape.

As part of Mission 100% launched by the Punjab Government, it initiated a new system to centralise board classes mark collection. This meant all teachers had to follow a new process to input students’ marks. “We created detailed SOPs for this, videos, and infographics which we circulated to all teachers for their understanding which were helpful,” Bansal explained.

Improvement of data collection methods itself has to be done meticulously. In the case of Punjab, the state currently doesn’t collect attendance in a standardised manner. Through a chatbot, teachers will now input attendance data which will be stored in the state’s MIS system automatically. This bot will be introduced once schools reopen after the summer break.

At first, teachers will get a link and download the app. Every morning they will click on the class for which they want to take attendance; a list of students belonging to that class will show up, and by clicking on the students who are absent, a summary sheet will automatically be made available on the bot –– which the head of school can monitor daily.

The bot will be connected with the state’s MIS, which maps in which school and grade students study so that when a teacher opens the bot, only those students studying in that class show up.

Punjab’s geography is varied, and as a result, so are the needs and challenges faced by different schools. Transport is a key issue for both teachers and students in hilly areas around Pathankot, while lack of internet accessibility due to security reasons is a key concern in border schools in Fazilka.

The challenge doesn’t stop here. There are limited teacher training programmes in technology. The qualifying courses of teachers do not assess smooth functioning with software; hence it becomes tough for teachers to easily grasp it while teaching students. Writing about technology is different from practising it.

The biggest challenge has been the lack of human resources. Teachers avoid border schools for several reasons –– risky, poor transportation facilities, and being away from family and their own household responsibility. Often such schools are one-teacher schools, a concept that many are familiar with. One teacher for all students from kindergarten to class VI teaching all subjects due to the sparse population of children. Zero inspection is another reason for low motivation for teachers.

In seven districts, the Punjab government found a high shortage of teaching staff –– 20,000 vacancies, out of which 4,000 have been filled up so far. There are around 12,880 primary, 2,670 middle, 1,740 high and 1,972 senior secondary schools in Punjab.

Regularisation of contractual teachers was a step in the direction and improved the issue, but the ground impact is yet to occur as poor pay is a deciding factor for many, along with safety issues.

The government has now decided to appoint campus managers who will look after campus issues like cleaning, maintenance grievances, and administration. For the appointment of campus managers, the government has allocated 61.26 crore for the financial year 223-24, as per documents accessed by Millennium Post.

Chaukidars will also be deployed in remote areas after seeing several theft cases of computer and electronic goods have been reported.

The government has provided various valuables in schools like projects, computers, CCTV cameras, Gas cylinders, smart boards and tablets and other equipment, but lack of chowkidars and poor security measures, theft is a common occurrence. The government passed an order to appoint chowkidars in 2,012 senior secondary schools from January 2023. Out of 2042 Government senior secondary schools, only 30 had chowkidars cum sweepers in schools. The government has approved 12.3 crore for the financial year 2023-23 to recruit them as per official documents.

These steps are necessary as teachers often have to use their teaching time to take care of such activities.

However, the government could begin with the most primary and eye-catching factor — constructing boundary walls for schools.

Several schools in rural areas lack basic infrastructure facilities like boundary walls, drinking water facilities, and separate male and female washrooms. “A survey has been conducted through which we know the number of schools which require boundary walls and those that require repair of boundary walls. The first grant has been released,” the senior official added.

Meanwhile, several positive reinforcements have been taken by the government in a bid to motivate students –– an early wake-up call to students and sending motivational messages. Use of WhatsApp groups for students to provide extra study materials and motivation. Small Buddy Groups for Peer Learning by mixing students from three groups so that students of one group help the other in their study to boost confidence among them all.

Several initiatives have now borne fruit, and the Punjab education department has recorded a 4.36 per cent increase in student enrolments at government schools across the state for the 2023-24 academic session. The education department aims to take the figure up to 10 per cent. Punjab, with all its mighty challenges, farmland and hilly terrains, is addressing the issues at the grassroots level and will soon emerge as a leader. I am reminded of the Farmer’s movement not so long ago when it persevered against the Black Bills. The full state is now gearing up for an Education Movement.

Views expressed are personal