'Chunauti' brings some dropouts back to school

After failing class 9 thrice, 17-year-old Sunny Kumar had dropped out of school and started working at a footwear showroom in Connaught Place. Last month he came to know about the Delhi government’s ambitious ‘Chunauti’ scheme and got himself enrolled in the school again with a hope to clear class 10 by 2017.

 Due to failing consecutively, Kumar, a student of Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya (SBV) in Patel Nagar, did not feel like continuing his studies as he thought he will be “wasting his time”. On Monday, he was sitting in a classroom meant for ‘Vishwas’ group.

 The ‘Chunauti 2018’ project is aimed at arresting the dropout rates in government schools and improving learning levels of students from class 6 to 9. The students are divided into three groups – Pratibha (who can read and write the text of a particular class and do basic Math), Nishtha (who have scored below 33 per cent in their previous class and struggle in reading and writing), and Vishwas (who have failed class nine twice or more).

  The students are being taught from a focused syllabus which involves basics such as subtraction, multiplication, and comprehension skills. They will not go through the regular SA-1 (Summative Assessment) and SA-2 and will give the class 10 exam next year through ‘Modified Patrachar Scheme Examination’ (MPSE), Education Department’s Correspondence Division.

 “Many children across the grades have moved from lower to higher without even being able to read and do basic Math and as a result they find it difficult to participate in class. Even the level of textbook is high for them. So the whole objective is to start with the child where he is right now rather than where the curriculum assumes him to be,” said Shailendra Sharma, Adviser to Director, Education.

 In the academic year 2015-16, around 2,70,000 students appeared for class 9 exam, out of which 1,31,000 failed and 56,077 are such students which have failed twice or for the third consecutive year in the same class.

 Many like Kumar are now hopeful of passing class 10 by next year and getting enrolled as a regular student in the school after that.

 From class 6 to 8, the students are divided into two groups – Pratibha and Nishtha. The first group is being taught from the NCERT textbooks and the second group from ‘Pragati’ books (supplementary material created for this scheme which simplifies concepts) apart from the textbooks. This group is currently focusing on Math, English, and Science. 

For the first four days in the week, the students are taught from the syllabus while the last two days are reserved for Pragati books. Once in a month, the students in ‘Nishtha’ group are put through tests and those who show signs of improvement are sent to the ‘Pratibha’ group.

 “The aim is that the two groups should be on the same platform at the end of academic year,” says Sharma. 

However, there are various challenges before the government in implementation of the scheme and the most immediate is shortage of teachers.

 Many students of class 9 and 8 of SBV School said that there are no teachers for English and the 40-minute period dedicated to the subject goes waste on most days.

 “The school has 27 vacancies of TGTs in the school and has written to the department about it several times. The purpose of the scheme won't be achieved if more teachers are not given,” says a school official.

 “We are aware that there is shortage and the working out a policy on hiring of teachers and something will be announced soon,” said an official of the department.

 Other trouble area is poor infrastructure. After the division of students in different groups, there is a paucity of space in some schools and it is difficult to accommodate all students in classrooms.

 In SBV Patel Nagar, the Social Science lab has been converted into a classroom for ‘Pragati’ group of class 8. As a result, there is not room for enough benches in the lab and some students have to sit on the floor.