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Achieving Educational Outcomes with Social Accountability Interventions Ms. Seshu Kumari Regional Director, Education Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) Andhra Pradesh. Context.
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Achieving Educational Outcomes with Social Accountability InterventionsMs. Seshu Kumari Regional Director, EducationSociety for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) Andhra Pradesh
Context • AP has high economic growth but public education system faces several structural issues, hindering the quality of public education • AP public education system offers a structured space for parent and community feedback in management of schools, however, these spaces are not systematically utilized • In 2007, Centre for Good Governance (CGG) and the MV Foundation introduced a social accountability intervention in 20 public schools • Community mobilized to monitor and give feedback on the delivery of education services at the village level.
Context cont’d… • The objective of social accountability intervention was to improve the delivery of education services. • This type of accountability intervention, using acommunity scorecard (CSC) process, was introduced for the first time in the context of schools to gather community and service provider feedback on schools to evaluate the quality of education through a set of parameters.
World Bank CGG - School Education Dept. MVF Primary Schools MEO MVF MMS ZP Schools Upper Primary Schools TW Schools Institutional Arrangements
Community Score Cards The community score card (CSC) process is a community-based monitoring tool that is a hybrid of the techniques of social audits and citizen report cards. The CSC is an instrument to exact social and public accountability and responsiveness from service providers. By linking service providers to the community, citizens are empowered to provide immediate feedback to service providers.
Community Monitoring of Service Delivery through Community Scorecards
Behavior Change • Removing Information Asymmetry galvanizes community and leads to ownership of local infrastructure • Parents and Community seek information and accountability from teachers and administration • Increased Community Monitoring has improved teacher attendance • Motivated teachers increases student enrolment and better participation of the students
Institutional Change • Upwards communication to solve problems that cannot be solved at community level • Convergence of local health and education functionaries to jointly address interconnected problems • Policy Changes
Development Outcomes • Student enrollment at 100 percent in 8 villages in both districts • Student absenteeism has lessened by 10 percent and there has been noticeable decrease in school dropouts. • 10 percent drop in teachers’ absenteeism in both districts and improvements in teachers’ punctuality • Improvement in education quality through innovative teaching methods • Increase in household savings after switching from private to public schools • Significant improvements in school infrastructure and amenities
Safeguarding Child Rights and Enhancing Quality of Education - In 3 Tribal Mandals in Khammam District 12
Objectives Advocating child rights through community participation – women groups, gram panchayats, teachers and youth Improvement in quality of education at schools through community participation through women groups, gram panchayats, teachers and youth 13
Partners SERP MVF MMS 14
Salient Features Involvement of Gram Panchayats, Women Groups, Youth and teachers in the project. Sense of ownership of the school, cultivated amongst the village community. Monitoring of the functioning of the school. Effective monitoring of the students enrolled in the schools by the community to ensure that they do not drop out again. 16
Outcome In November 2009, within 18 months of implementing the project, 31 villages in the three mandals are identified as child labour free villages In recognition of the role of the women groups in running the RBCs and mainstreaming children into regular schools five new RBCs for migrants (from Chattisgarh) are entrusted to the women groups by the district administration 17
Proposed Model Collaboration between SSA, SERP, MVF / NGOs and MMS. Initiate intervention in 30 low female literacy mandals in the state during 2010. Expected Outcomes: 90% of total ‘out of school children’ would be withdrawn and sent to school over a period of three years 50% of the Gram Panchayats and the VOs would be equipped to follow up the child rights issues. 100% registration and certification of births and marriages in the villages. Ensure 90% retention of children in 50% of the total habitations. Children passing out of class X will be mapped out and successfully followed up to pursue higher education 19
Implications for Replication and Institutionalization to Improve Education Outcomes Key enabling factors. On the supply side: bureaucratic will leadership of local level functionaries and service providers dedicated budget a core group of well-trained human resources strategic alliances between supply side and organizations such as MVF and other NGOs
Facilitating role of the Education Department NGO, MMS & Youth Role of: the School Education department & SSA Head masters and teachers MVF in capacity building at the community level Institutional arrangements in scaling up thru’ a federation of SHGs Role of youth 23
Challenges and limitations Limitation of community’s role in monitoring quality Community can oversee attendance, requirement of infrastructural facilities and can have general perception of quality Dependency of MMS on mobilisers & organisers for: checking quality aspects of education regular follow up of the in- school&drop-out children - No incentive to MMS Role of facilitating NGO the process of bringing interface between the community and service providers In harnessing support of youth (in Khammam model youth play a major role) Institutionalizing of the processes in the scaled up model Introduction of newer programmes Irregular fund mobilization across the various stages of the process Need assessment done by the Community if not matched by appropriate sanctions and dedicated budget results in disinterest 24
Critical factors for strengthening & scaling –up the project Need based approach a facilitating organization at the community level institutional architecture say a federation of SHGs Strong Institution building Strong functional integration: Co-ordination between various departments Strong community participation: Active involvement of all stakeholders Appropriate incentive to the MMS Systematic execution of the complete process identifying child labor, mainstreaming them, regular follow-up, maintaining retention and monitoring quality of schooling Regular training and motivation to the mobilising agents Building strong MIS using the CSC. Incentivising good performance