Gyan Shala proposes to work with AMC

As part of the draft proposal to set up model Gujarati-medium schools in Ahmedabad, submitted to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation school board, Gyan Shala that currently educates around 41,000 children in its 1,500 classes across nine cities in Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, has proposed to provide the “desired level of high quality education for a cluster of 10-20 schools using its own staff as teachers and teacher trainers, and its own curriculum material, for which Gujarat Council of Education Research and Training (GCERT) approval will be obtained for conformity with the Gujarat curriculum.

The joint AMC-Gyan Shala programme is proposed in response to steps taken by the state government to stop our education initiatives, said Gyan Shala chief executive Pankaj Jain.

“The programme proposed will have two major components. In one component, Gyan Shala will run schools for around 10,000-12,000 slum children, where high-quality free education in Gujarati-medium will be provided in a setting approved by the parents. While in another, the NGO will support AMC to introduce innovative curriculum practices in 20 or more AMC schools chosen by the civic body itself. Both the components would be rated by internationally reputed agencies,” Jain added.

The AMC authorities have given confirmation of receiving the proposals from Gyan Shala. But it, however, said that only the higher authorities will take the final call. “The proposals were submitted during a meeting held recently with the Gyan Shala representatives. We have submitted our stand in the report. It is now up to the government to take a decision in this matter,” said AMC school board chairman Jagdish Bhavsar. He also heads the five-member committee on education reforms.

Gyan Shala had specific mentions in the five-member committee report on improving primary education in Gujarat that strongly recommended strict action against ‘social service organisations’ that are running illegal classes and restricting children from getting admission in Class I in municipal schools resulting in declining enrollment.

“In city and rural areas, several organisations under the pretext of social work, adopt illegal means to stop children from getting admission in Class I at municipal and government schools. Strict action should be taken against such organisations,” the report recommended.

Gyan Shala, run by Education Support Organization (ESO), was set up in 2000 by a group of the then faculty members of IIM, Ahmedabad, and Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).

While no fee is charged from students of elementary classes, it charges what it calls minimal charges (equal to 25 per cent of programme cost) for middle and high school programmes.

Initially begun for students of Classes I to III in 2000, it expanded to middle and recently to high school. In 2005-06, Gyan Shala started its middle school programme, covering Classes IV to VIII, followed by the high school module in 2011, with 180 children who took Gujarat Open High School Exam this year.