Gramodaya Rural Education

GRAMODAYA (A Rural Awakening) - A School of Rural Development in Rural India

Ancient India, usually referred to as The Golden Bird, was known for its traditional, value based, skill based, Gurukul approach to education. The Vedas and Upanishads are living testimonies of knowledge of that era, that the best brains in the world today, are still trying to decipher. Although our country went through repeated process of disintegration into smaller states, and integration into larger kingdoms, but each process added value, and left its mark of development on our land. India absorbed many cultures, but always kept the dignity of every profession high, so that every individual possessed some skills and had a respectable livelihood. They were therefore no beggars and thieves, as informed by Lord Macaulay to British Parliament.

Post British rule, the entire education system in India, followed the colonial patterns, and followed the path  towards glamorous, package rich, urban centric professions, and neglected rural based professions. And unfortunately in the name of universalisation, the same urban focussed education, started being given to rural children as well. Finding no relation between the content and their context, most rural children do not see a future in the competition ridden urban professions, and therefore prefer to drop out midway. The highest dropout percentage is witnessed after grade 8.

With the advent and rise of the Development sector, a huge demand of rural development professionals cropped up, and premier B-schools stepped in to produce them. But the minimum requirement for the same was fixed as a Graduate with/without experience. Result: Most urban graduates who could afford to pay the costs of studying in B-schools, applied and graduated as rural development professionals and experts.

Since independence, Rural children have been receiving 'Urban focussed education' and Urban youth have been receiving 'Rural development education'? Irony isn't it?

Children in Rural India, generally do not seek education beyond schooling, as they need to eke a living soon. With irrelevant education, and no livelihood or rural development skills, they leave villages and migrate to cities. Some determined rural children pursue higher education, and also move to cities to pursue their professions. But most of them either stay back with no knowledge or skills required for sustenance. On the contrary, Youth in Urban India who are groomed for Rural development, rarely go to rural areas to work. Result, villages are losing self-sufficiency, and slowly dying because of migration. 

Most Rural development programmes do not get implemented properly, because of lack of skilful human resources available locally. Rural development professionals from B-Schools, with little rural orientation, cannot do much, but drain away big chunk of funds, as salaries and perks.

An obvious question arises here: ‘If rural development has such great employment potential, why do rural youth migrate for employment to urban areas? Why can’t rural children be educated in rural development, so that they can earn a livelihood, by developing better infrastructure and facilities in rural areas?’

‘GRAMODAYA - A Rural Awakening’ aims to bring rural development education to rural children, at their doorstep at school level, so that after schooling they become employable locally to develop their own region, enrich local livelihoods and empower rural populations.

With a 2-year curriculum devised by accomplished Rural Development Professors (from IRMA, TISS, IIFM and XIMB), for rural adolescent children, Gramodaya helps each student attain expertise in any 2 areas of Rural Development as per their choice, and also mainstreams them with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).

The features of GRAMODAYA are: 

• 1. Collaboration with Institutes of repute on Rural Development and Social Work, Soil and Agricultural Sciences, Forest management, Micro-finance, Technology and Alternative Energy, etc for curriculum development and teachers training.

  2. Collaboration with NGOs of repute in Rural Development, and Government's rural development Projects, for practical learning by students.

  3. A 2-year full-time Rural Development course for Std 8th & 10th pass rural children.

  4. Double certification by National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and GRAMODAYA.

  5. Free education / Nominal fee based, with a blend of 70% practical and 30% theoretical learning, using advanced teaching methodologies and practices. 

  6. Compulsory orientation on village governance, traditional art and craft forms, community mobilization, resource mapping.

  7. Flexible curriculum, allowing specialisations depending on regional requirements.

  8. Proficiency / Specialization in following areas depending on local needs and issues: 

     1. Watershed + Stop Dam Building + Rain Water Harvesting 

     2. Participatory Approach + Community Development + Community Forest Management 

     3. SHG Development + Co-operative + Micro-finance + Producer’s Company

     4. Health Services (Para Medical + Ayurvedic) 

     5. Tractor Repairing + Farm Machine Tools Repairing

     6. Sanitation and Health

     7. Water Purification – providing potable water

     8. Bio Gas + Bio Fuel + Alternative Energy

     9. Information + Communication Technology 

     10. Poultry + Animal Husbandry + Veterinary Services

     11. Organic Farming + Farm Management

     12. Waste Management + Vermicompost

     13. Pisciculture 

     14. Civil infrastructure (Road Laying, Bridge making, etc)

     15. Vernacular Infrastructure (Housing, incl plumbing, electrification, etc.)

     16. NTFP based Enterprise management, Market linkages for rural products.

  9. Each student will specialize in any two available areas of his/her choice, plus related subjects of National Open School (NIOS) curriculum.

  10. GRAMODAYA students will be able to do the following, after completing schooling: 

      1. Provide services to Panchayats, Block Administration, etc in a consultancy mode for implementing Govt welfare schemes & NREGA.

      2. Get employed by State Welfare departments, and various NGOs engaged in rural development, to implement their programmes.

      3. Will form community groups with other youth to implement rural development projects directly.

      4. Will spread to other Panchayats and Blocks to start GRAMODAYAs there.

      5. Students interested in Higher education, will pursue undergraduate vocational courses in Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and other Open Universities across India.

  11. The constructive, long time, local engagement of GRAMODAYA Students, will create an aspiration among other adolescent in rural areas, making it more attractive than migrating to cities for work. The demand from neighbouring villages adolescent and youth will replicate the model everywhere. 

A GRAMODAYA in each Block, is planned as follows:

• 1. A Public Private Partnership model.

  2. Assisted by Govt. departments, Institutes, Banks, NGOs and Small businesses in that district. 

  3. Managed by an Advisory Body of Academicians, Practitioners, and Local Administration.

  4. Land allocated by Panchayat / Gram Sabha

  5. Each GRAMODAYA will be set up with initial funding support, and application of schemes wherever available, and subsequently reach self-sustainability over 5 years. 

  6. A revolving educational loan based mechanism will be explored with Banks, Philanthropists, and CSR, to sustain the expenses of every child and the school.

The Advantages of GRAMODAYA are: 

• 1. It helps converge intellect and knowhow from everywhere, to create a resource pool for rural development in rural India.

  2. It helps retain the best brains in rural areas for rural development.

  3. It creates a platform for encouraging urban youth, to contribute towards rural development.

  4. It helps NGOs and Govt Welfare departments, implement rural development schemes, much more efficiently and sustainably, through the local human resource base.

  5. It encourages rural children to continue education in search of excellence, through a familiar environment, and help raise the average education levels in rural areas.

  6. It gives choices in education to rural children, and a wider scope of work and employment locally.

  7. It will create a backbone of skilled human resource, for new development programmes.

  8. It will give a big boost, pace and a facelift to Rural Development.

  9. It will help arrest migration.

The GRAMODAYA model was piloted successfully in 2 Villages of Bankura District in West Bengal, with SRREOSHI (an NGO founded by Ashoka Fellow Shikha Roy, based out of Durgapur, WB).

The model received the 'EDUCATION INNOVATION AWARD' in 2013, from "Education Innovation Fund for India", instituted by Hewlett Packard and Sri Aurobindo Society.

Corporate Houses, Funding organizations, Philanthropic groups and Large NGOs, can replicate GRAMODAYA in different regions and states through their Partners. Local NGOs interested in piloting this model in their areas, with their own funding support, are welcome.

Together, let us create a Human Resource backbone of Rural Development professionals, in Rural India, so that Rural development happens effectively, efficiently and sustainably and India meets the SDG goals soon.