Tag: BMC schools

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Trends

Municipal schools seeing more dropouts every year

A Praja Foundation White Paper projects a 63.6 per cent retention rate for year 2015-2016, lower than last year’s 70.6 per cent.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It is by now a known reality in Mumbai that most parents are unwilling to send their children to the city’s municipal schools. A recent study by Praja Foundation has revealed that parents are worried about the quality of education provided in the city’s municipal schools, and are hence, unwilling to send their children to these schools.

The Foundation’s White Paper on the state of Municipal schools in Mumbai paints a dismal picture: “In the last five years (2009-10 and 2013-14), 51,649 children have dropped out of the municipal school system, and in the corresponding five years the Municipal budget allocation to the Education Department has more than doubled from Rs 1,255 crore to Rs 2,534 crore. In 2009-10, 10,67,477 children enrolled in Class I in municipal schools, whereas in 2013-14, this dropped to 39,663,” the Report states.

“Infrastructure-wise, BMC schools are 100 per cent compliant. However, when we compare the performance of children studying in BMC schools with those studying in other schools, (Private unaided, private aided and unrecognised), there is a huge difference. In 2013-14, students from municipal schools had a passout rate of 67 per cent compared to 83 per cent for students from other schools in Class X (SSC),” the Report adds, stating further that the highest numbers of dropouts in 2013-14 were in the Hindi medium (17 per cent) and Urdu medium (13.1 per cent).

Praja has also suggested an action plan to tackle the problem:

– More transparency and accountability in the Education Department.

– Empower and strengthen school management committees (SMCs) to improve accountability at the school level.

– Focus on teacher trainings, SMC trainings and capacity building; free teachers from unnecessary administrative duties.

– Rigorous filling out of Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) reports and inspection reports. Link reports with performance appraisal of respective teachers.

Read the entire White Paper here.

(Image used for representational purpose only)

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Learn

Who’s going to Mumbai’s municipal schools?

City-based NGO finds that most parents, whatever their economic and social background, are sending their children to English medium schools.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is the only municipal corporation in the country to run schools in eight languages. The presence of BMC schools in Mumbai is also high, with a school located at or near a major slum pocket. There are over 1,500 primary schools in the city.

But the numbers of children applying for admission to them, and the numbers of students dropping out every year, are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

BMC schools According to statistics by Praja, a city-based voluntary organisation, “Less than a decade ago, the municipal education system that used to cater to over 7.5 lakh students now attracts less than 4.5 lakh students. Says Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee, Praja Foundation, “The number of dropouts (from municipal schools) has increased over the last decade, despite better infrastructure facilities and qualified teachers. A household survey recently showed that 83 per cent parents expressed preference for private schools rather than municipal schools.”

Traditionally and culturally, municipal schools cater to children belonging to economically and socially backward backgrounds, and hence, the medium of instruction is a vernacular language, mostly the mother-tongue. “But an increase in dropouts is an increasingly common trend in private vernacular schools as well. The growing trend is for parents to be more inclined towards English medium schools,” Mehta said.

Dismal findings for BMC schools

Milind Mhaske, Project Director, Praja had some key findings to relate about BMC schools:

– In 2009, the pass percentage of private schools was at least 20 points ahead of BMC schools, a trend which exists till date. Also, out of those students receiving scholarships in Class BMC schools IV, only 9 were from BMC schools while the rest were from private schools.

– A significant portion of Class V students cannot read simple text.

– There is a high dropout rate between Classes V to VIII.

– Parents are normally not part of the teaching process.

– Pre-school is not yet a part of BMC schools.

Possible solutions

A panel appointed by Praja to examine the problem of BMC schools came up with solutions to arrest the dropout rate and improve attendance and learning levels. ‘Undertake development work for schools which have adequate infrastructure on an immediate basis,’ was one solution. Another was, ‘Supportive systems such as sports and health programmes should be implemented in the near future.’

A major solution is to provide inclusive education for all, where ‘schools should serve as hubs for community programmes, study classes, reading rooms for the higher classes, reading melas, etc.’

(Pictures courtesy www.ashanet.org, www.afternoondc.in, www.educationworld.in. Images are used for representational purpose only)

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Trends

Rugby gets massy

Nasser Hussain, captain of the Indian Rugby team, tells us that rugby is slowly gaining acceptance among the city’s schools.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

For most of us, rugby is a game that seems violent, a sport that is played essentially by beefy men. For everyone else, rugby is a game that they’ve only heard of and don’t know much about.

Fortunately for the sport, this state of affairs is slowly changing. Rugby is being played regularly at the school level in Mumbai, and interest is particularly high among the city’s civic-run schools. Of course, like most other sports in the country, it suffers from a lack of awareness and accessibility, apart from a pronounced lack of structure at all levels of the game.

“The sports management for any non-cricket sport in the country today is not structured, except maybe for the IPL (Indian Premier League),” says Nasser Hussain (33, in pic on left) , current captain of the Indian Rugby team. We’re sitting at his office at Marine Lines, where he officiates as General Manager (Rugby India), the Indian Rugby Football Union. He says, “The country is very cricket-driven; there is a lot of focus on the sport, though so much has been done for it already. Everyone’s struggling in other sports. There are many obstacles and challenges, and not enough support and assistance.”

There is not enough sponsorship support for the sport as well, he laments. “We get a sponsor maybe for a year or so, which isn’t beneficial at all. There has to be a long-term partnership. Unfortunately, even the big companies are not willing to back rugby, they’re so focussed on cricket. It’s like they would rather be one in a million (sponsors) in cricket, than be the only one in another sport.”

Star of the sport

Nasser should know what he’s talking about. He started playing rugby at the age of 15, and was the youngest member on the squad that played internationally in 1998. “Hardly anybody played rugby in those days,” he remembers. “The club structure did exist for the sport, but there was absolutely no mass appeal. A little later, I got the opportunity to play for Tynedale RFC and Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.”

In the years 2007 to 2009, Nasser worked in sports management for other sports, and a bit later, got the chance to come back to rugby. “I decided to try and manage the sport professionally, create more awareness of the sport, get more school children involved,” he says. “Of course, we’ve had to overcome several hurdles, but it’s been a good journey overall.”

Schools show interest and participation

Today, the Union runs several Under-12, Under-14 and Under-17 programmes in Mumbai’s schools, and is seeing increased participation every year. “The training is imparted at no charge; all the child has to do is show up for practice and matches,” Nasser explains. “Initially, a lot of parents were hesitant about sending their children to play rugby, because they feared how violent the game was. But we introduced non-contact rugby for both boys and girls, and everyone’s happy,” he grins.

Nasser goes on to explain that the right time to take up the sport is at the Under-10 level. “In fact, that’s the right age for any sport. It is easy at that age to pick up basic functional training and movement skills. The sport also develops a child’s fitness and leadership abilities.” The Union introduced the rugby programme in Mumbai’s schools six years ago. “We started with about eight schools. Now there are 50 schools in Mumbai regularly playing rugby,” he says, adding that these schools range from international schools to the BMC ones.

Interestingly, he finds that girls are more receptive to the game than boys. “We started with the boys’ programme first, then introduced the girls’ programme. But girls are more involved in the sport. See, there are not too many team sports that cater to girls. Even the Indian National Women’s team is doing very well,” Nasser explains.

Hearteningly for the sport – though it is still in the nascent stages, with India being ranked 83rd of 95 rugby-playing countries in the world – the sport was recognised in July 2012 by the Schools Games Federation of India. A student carrying certificates for rugby can now get enrollments in college or the police cadre through the sports quota. “There will be increased participation, but we also need more sponsors and funding, because the Union does not charge coaching fees. Though the sport used to be restricted to elite circles in the country, we’ve seen a lot of new players coming from Jharkhand, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir. Rugby’s gone quite mass in the last few years,” Nasser says.

If you wish to be a sponsor for rugby tournaments and training, contact Nasser Hussain at nasser.hussain@rugbyindia.in or 022-2205 3897.

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Big story

Mumbai’s municipal schools are pathetic

…so says a Praja Foundation survey conducted in 2012. Survey results for the city’s BMC schools are far from encouraging.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Education is a free right for every child, and for a city like Mumbai, which has the richest municipal corporation in the country, the quality of education imparted to children in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run schools should be anything but mediocre, its results nothing short of excellent.

And yet, the actual realities are quite different. In a survey conducted across 15,191 households in Mumbai, 5,167 households had children going to school. Of the children surveyed in these households, 19 per cent children went to municipal schools. The survey was conducted in March and April of 2012, with Hansa Research. The research document is titled ‘White Paper on State of Education in Municipal Schools of Mumbai.’

As per the survey, “Between the years 2008-2012, the average percentage of students passing SSC from private schools was 82 per cent, while the average number of students passing from municipal schools has been a mere 58 per cent. This is after 61 per cent of BMC school children have been sent for private tuitions as well, another revelation from our city-wide survey this year. Of the 100 students who received a Government of India scholarship, only 9 were from BMC schools.”

The white paper goes on to reveal that the BMC actually spends more money on each child in municipal schools as compared to the fees charged by private schools – the BMC’s yearly spend on each municipal school child is upwards of Rs 50,000, while most private schools surveyed were charging students between Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000. However, this does not promise quality teaching, as the survey found out. “In a School Inspection Report for D Ward (Malabar Hill, Grant Road, Napeansea Road), over 85 per cent of teachers received good to excellent report on most teaching attributes like explaining the subject matter, teaching methods, etc. The passing percentage in D ward municipal schools is a mere 51 per cent and has one of the highest dropout rates at 11.5 per cent. Most inspection reports appear to be a mere formality as most teachers are rated good to excellent in most inspecting parameters.”

Even worse, the gap between performance of BMC schools and private schools in the last four years has been 24 per cent – a clear indication of this is the statistic that if 10 students appeared for SSC exams from BMC schools, six cleared the exams; this latter figure was eight for private schools.

Interestingly, even parents wished to send their wards to private schools instead of BMC schools – almost 89 per cent of families surveyed wanted to send their children to private schools, but the expenses inhibited them from doing so.

(Picture courtesy forbesindia.com)

Categories
Event

Laugh and save a child’s sight

Stand up comedy show will raise funds for eye treatment of BMC school children at YB Chavan Auditorium this evening.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

What’s a fun way to raise funds for a serious cause? Have a stand-up comedy show featuring some seriously funny comics, that’s what. It’s an idea that will hopefully make enough money to treat 10,000 children with preventable blindness and other eye problems.

The Rotary Club of Bombay Central and Rotaract Club of the Caduceus are organising ‘Eye Stand Up’, a show featuring stand up comics Aditi Mittal, Tanmay Bhat, Karan Talwar, Gursimran Khamba and

International comic star Andy Zaltzman will also perform, while DJ and Submerge founder Nikhil Chinappa will be chief guest at the event, which will be held at YB Chavan Auditorium, Nariman Point, this evening.

The cause

We usually do not associate problems of sight with young children. In fact, it is this mindset that often prevents the treatment of several treatable eye problems in children. Recognising this, the Rotaract Club of the Caduceus, a city-based group of 135 doctors, dentists, medical students and paramedics under 30 years of age, adopted a preventable blindness programme and is working towards treating the eye problems of 10,000 children from BMC schools by end of January 2013.

Says Pankaj Jethwani, one of the Club’s members and organisers for the check up camps held in schools and slum communities, “India is home to 1.5 crore visually-challenged people – that is like two Switzerlands put together! However, eight out of 10 people can get their sight restored or their problem treated with a simple operation, but there is very low awareness among people. Besides, several people cannot afford even the Rs 1,200 surgery, plus the drugs and spectacles.”

However, the cost was brought down to Rs 50 per person through bulk operations; this includes screening, treatment, managed referrals, deworming, Vitamin A prophylaxis and risk-pooling for surgery. “When we went to BMC schools, we found that some children had myopia, or a spectacle number of 1.2. They couldn’t see the blackboard, and so they didn’t feel like studying at all.” Pankaj says he was surprised to note that 13 per cent of children had undiagnosed myopia, and that none of the children screened had ever been to an ophthalmologist.

He says they’ve treated about 2,800 children in the last 55 days, and hope to complete the target of 10,000 children in two months. “The treatment has been on-the-spot for most, but if surgery is required, it is done for free at BYL Nair and KEM Hospitals. We provide spectacles, manage infections, and refer cataract and squint cases for free surgery. We also conducted surprise checks to see if the children were adhering to the treatment we had prescribed; 92 per cent of them were.”

The event

The Club initially wanted to organise a marathon to raise funds for the programme, but then finally decided on a stand up-comedy event. “We love these comics – everybody follows them on Twitter and everyone wants to see them live. We got the venue and sponsors on board very quickly. But we will use the money we get strictly for the programme.” Plus, Cafe Mocambo will sponsor an exclusive after-party for those who attend the show.

(Picture courtesy www.betterphoto.com) 

 

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