Boarding schools are a part of the modern history of India. When the central government started Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs) in the mid-1980s, they were presented as a major innovation in social policy that aimed to serve rural children. In many ways, he took a bold, new step. Three decades later, NV innovation has completely merged into the mainstream, facing its familiar problems rather than exemplifying an alternative. Recent reports in this newspaper ('Suicide in Navodaya Schools', 'Struggling with Navodaya Student Suicide'; IE, December 24, 25, 2018) about suicides in NV show that they are no longer exploring an alternative. do not give.
Although
the NV scheme was part of the National Policy on Education (1986), its idea
predates the policy. This was mentioned by Rajiv Gandhi in his first
address to the nation as Prime Minister. His desire to set up a
residential school in every district was apparently inspired by his own
experience as a child at the Doon School. Many expected that NVs would
emulate Doon's example of high academic standards, along with room for creative
exploration.
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| What Makes Navodaya Different From Other Schools? |
Enrollment in Grade 6 of NVs was based on an entrance test, with
80 per cent reservation for children from villages located in a district. Not
everyone was convinced that enrolling through the selection test was a good
idea. NCERT expressed its doubts about the reliability and validity of a
test-dependent selection process among 11-year-olds. The government went
ahead and started setting up NVs across the country. Each school was
allotted large land in rural areas. Generous funding and impressive
infrastructure including on-campus housing for teachers not only for children,
NV distinguished from other state-run residential schools such as boarding
schools in tribal areas.
The NVs were promoted as "pace-setting" schools,
meaning they would serve as a model for other schools in the district. How
could they? Their facilities and funds were far ahead and they were not
governed by the State Directorate. The disparity in the emoluments of
teachers was also sharp. Like an oasis, each NV attracted relatively
better-informed rural parents. Soon after the scheme was launched,
coaching centers were opened in every district to help the children succeed in
the NV enrollment test.
From the perspective of the central government, NV offered a
favorable institutional ethos where policies could be showcased. The
implementation of the three-language formula at NV involved exchanging the
entire Grade 9 cohort across linguistic areas for the entire session. It
was a great idea and it generally worked out quite well.
After a few years of establishment, NV faced a major dilemma. Should
they serve as models of child-centred education in rural areas or prepare
village children for national level competitions for seats in prestigious
medical and engineering institutions? A decade ago, pressure began to
mount within the bureaucracy to follow the latter route. The proposals for
providing coaching to the students of senior secondary level were considered. NGOs
like Dakshina were allowed to select and train children of the best potential. Grilling
the picks throughout the year without a break adds to the familiar stress of
exams on kids and teachers. The Dakshana website proudly claims that “As
of 2017, 1, More than 400 Dakshina scholars have cracked JEE Advanced to
secure admission in IITs". It is difficult to convince the users of
this discourse that there is more to it than cracking JEE.
What makes Navodaya
different from other schools?
From the outset, NV followed the urban public school model. There
was no concern to develop a new vision for rural children. Instead, the
dominant ideology prevailing among administrators and teachers was that they
should work towards standard paths towards upward mobility. There was no
buyer of differentiated futures. I remember the case of a child who was
fond of playing the flute. When he was found playing flute in a nearby
forest, away from his classes, the NV administration did not understand what to
do with such a child. Eventually he had to leave. Success in
examinations, that too with high marks, dominated the NV experiment from the
very beginning. Like its counterpart, Kendriya Vidyalayas, NV dared
not ignore the mainstream trends of India's education. The headmasters and
teachers should have dedicated themselves to motivate all the children to work
hard for marks.
The Indian Express' investigation into the suicide in NV comes
as no surprise. The one-size-fits-all template of secondary education in
India has increased the pressures that adolescents regularly face and feel,
leaving many feeling lonely, depressed and suicidal. There are reports of
suicide every year before and after the Higher Secondary Examination all over
India. Coaching institutes have also joined the trend. In the NV
case, about half of the 49 cases reported in the last five years belong to
marginalized groups. As always, the administration lays the blame on
teachers who are themselves overburdened. The absence of a trained counselor
adds to the problem. The NV administration has asked the teachers to
notice the symptoms of depression in the students. Such steps may give
some help,
The NV story reminds us
how hostile the systemic ethos is to any real innovation.
Most schools justify putting children under pressure by citing
parental pressure. This argument, as it is, does not account for suicides
in NV. His original mandate had nothing to do with competitive success. They
were expected to provide a humanistic alternative to the dying, bureaucratic
culture of ordinary government schools. Financially secure, NVs could
present a challenge. NV had the potential to offer a creative alternative
to the unthinkingly competitive environment of English-medium urban public
schools. As it turns out, NV surrendered to the latter's hegemony culture. The
regimentation of the child's body and mind, and leading everyone towards a goal
– to outdo the others – became his guiding principles. The original near
the bureaucracy that runs them,
Reservation for Rural, Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, Girl
Child/Disabled Children
(a) At least 75 percent of the seats in each district will be filled by the
candidates selected from rural areas and the remaining seats will be filled by
the candidates selected from the urban area of the district.
(b) Reservation of seats for children belonging to Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes is given in proportion to the population of the district
concerned. But in any district, the national ratio (15 percent SC and 7.5
percent ST) should not be less than and 50 percent (including SC and ST), this
reservation difference is variable and the selection of candidates under the
open preference list should be done. Additional will apply.
(c) In addition to the reservation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 27
percent reservation will be given to the candidates of Other Backward Classes. Reservation
of Other Backward Classes will be implemented as per the Central List as issued
from time to time. Other backward classes candidates who have not been
included in the central list can apply as general candidates.
(d) One third of the total seats will be filled by girls.
(e) ** There is a provision of reservation for "Divyang children"
(Orthopaedically handicapped, hearing handicapped and visually handicapped) as
per the rules of the Government of India.
** "Visual disability" shall be recognized only if any one of the
following conditions is met
:- (i) total blindness : or
(ii) i) visual acuity of 6/60 or 20/200 with spectacles in relatively good eye
do not exceed;
(iii) ii) The angle of delimitation of the field of vision is 20 degrees or
worse.
** "audio disability" loss of 60 or more decibels (combpimce) in the
relatively good ear in the frequency of the communication field.
** “locomotor disability” by reason of disability of bones, joints or muscles
of movement of the extremities or movement of the extremities or the control or
movement of the muscles (. dal vitu v bamtamitans chansel)
** “person with disability” means that any kind of disability not less than 40
percent and which is certified by the Medical Officer.
Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme
- National Education Policy-1986 envisages such residential schools, which have
been named as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and will try their best to bring
forth the best rural talent.
It is felt that irrespective of the fee-paying capacity of
special gifted children, proper opportunities should be provided to them by
providing them quality education so that they can move ahead in their life
faster. Such education will help these rural students to compete with
their urban counterparts.
Navodaya Vidyalaya system is a unique experiment in the field of
school education in India and elsewhere. The importance of this experiment
lies in the selection made targeting the rural gifted children and the effort
to provide them with quality education at par with the best education given
under residential school system.