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Padhe Chitrakoot, Badhe Chitrakoot : School Enrolment Through Mass Mobilisation

Padhe Chitrakoot, Badhe Chitrakoot : School Enrolment Through Mass Mobilisation

State and Development Partner

Uttar Pradesh,

Piramal Foundation

Problem

With over 30 million children not in India's schools, the government needs to focus on increasing enrolment and decreasing dropout rates. Unfortunately, conditions in districts like Chitrakoot where over nine lakh people are affected by poverty, education loses its priority as people struggle for basic needs.

Conventional Solution

Enrolment drives at the village level or through mass media advertising or public service announcements on Right to Education don't have the required effect. Children are forced into child labour or drop out due to other socio-economic factors. Monitoring dropout rates is as important as enrolling students into schools.

Behavioural Insights Based Solution

Piramal Foundation used a top to bottom approach in Chitrakoot district by engaging all key stakeholders in various capacities to increase enrolment in the district. Led by the District Magistrate, Chief District Officer, Basic Siksha Adhikaris in collaboration with people's representatives (MP, MLA, and Pradhans), all department officials and on- ground staff forged a two-month strategy for mobilisation of the community to enrol their children in government schools. In collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission, one of the biggest poverty alleviation schemes on ground, and with the support of the police department of Chitrakoot, the movement was able to cover the last mile, reaching even the remotest of places. Leveraging the voice of the District Magistrate to influence block and cluster level efforts led to not just administrative coordination and alignment but immense community participation. Other activities like children lead rallies, plays, slogan writing, wall paintings, hoardings etc were also used. Drop-out students were identified and their parents were especially targeted for awareness around the importance of formal education as well as poverty alleviation schemes they can benefit from. Then to track student's regularity, a heat mapping was done in the form of green (0-7 days absent), yellow (7-14 days absent) and red (more than 15 days) categories. Teachers along with School Management Committee members targeted the high priority areas by understanding their reasons for absenteeism. This strategy not just focused on the outcome of the campaign but customised its messaging to the reality of the people it reached out to and ensured their socio-economic conditions were not ignored. This is effective because it makes the message social as it becomes a local movement driven by local administration in collaboration with public schemes that are leveraged to increase participation.

Impact

Enrolment figures rose from 1,33,227 in 2016 to 1,34,619 in 2017 and 1,38,606 in 2018 showing a positive trend for the district. Additionally, the district achieved 100% transition rate from class 5 to 6, thereby reversing drop-out rate fig ures.

Source : Stories of Change from India's Aspirational districts - NITI Aayog publication

Last Modified : 5/11/2023



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