As per plan the programme was spread out in all 45 bastis.

In the first quarter of the year the Read India strategy was piloted. The basic aim for the Read India programme is to cover more number of children through a campaign mode. Two community teachers cover a basti through L2R classes in the community as well as Library. Through this strategy the coverage of children increased.

In order to move to a sustainable model, the Balwadi/Shishuvachan teacher doubles up as a Community L2R teacher, along with the library teacher to ensure larger coverage of children. The Community L2R teacher is paid Rs.600 per month for holding both L2R and Shishuvachan classes. The honorarium for Balwadi/Shishuvachan teachers' was decreased from 600Rs to 200Rs per month. The teachers are allowed to collect fee from the children.

Children in the L2R will be promoted to R2L1 as per need and achievement in the next six months.

Table 1 below shows the actual vs. budgeted program units both for the direct and library intervention in Vizag

Note - Direct units include Balwadis, Shishuvachan, L2R, R2L units.

Language

Maths

Inschool programme

Overall Goal:

Improvement in the quality of learning levels of children at different stages of schooling and reducing Government school dropouts within elementary education structures.

Back Ground:

In last academic year i.e. in August 2007, Pratham started working with 70 government Schools in Vizag (G.V.M.C) area towards improving the quality of education. This strategic initiative was successful in bringing about an improvement in the performance of the children both in learning levels as well as bridging the gap between the community and schools.

Synopsis of the in school program in Vizag:

In Visakhapatnam , Pratham 's intervention of initiating the In-School program in August, 2007 has proved to be significant in carrying out ground level work for smooth running of such an intervention.

The initiation of the programme in the community comprised of the following preliminary steps:

• Mapping

Initially In-School program team mapped every school in Visakhapatnam area segregating them into primary, upper primary and high schools.

• Assessment

In-School programme team assessed school profiles of 100 schools and took up the onus of implementing the programme in totality within 70 primary & upper primary schools among the sample size of 100 schools.

• Sensitization & Advocacy

In-School programme coordinator advocated the cause of the programme with District Educational Officer, Deputy Education Officer and A.P.C as well as A.M.O within Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. The coordinator sensitized the officials about Pratham's In-School programme and took written permission from them to begin work in 70 grant schools within the district of Vizag. The coordinator also met each school Headmaster and sensitized them about In-School programme. These initial activities in Vizag made it possible for the In-School Programme to be run smoothly in 70 schools without any major challenges.

Programme Implementation:

In-School programme in Vishakapatnam has been going on successfully since 1st August, 2007 to till date.

In-School Coordinator T.Suresh and 5 Team Monitors were appointed for the programme in August, 2007. In August 1st Week, In-School Team approached District Officials in order to take their permission for introducing the programme to the community. In the 2 nd week of August, the coordinator and monitors were trained in L2R training methodology. Subsequently the team identified the schools and the particular communities in which the programme had to be implemented. In last week of August, the team searched every community for identifying volunteers and appointed them to work as community volunteer teachers.

In the month of September, the community volunteers helped in identifying school dropouts in their particular communities. In total 240 dropout children were identified from the 70 schools, who were thereafter re-enrolled in the same schools.

In 1 st Week of October, the community volunteer teachers were trained in L2R training methodology. Post the training the volunteers conducted a Base Line test in all 70 schools. Subsequently from last week of October to January last week, one cycle of L2R classes were held in the schools where each class comprised 20-25 students. From February, 2008 onwards, second cycle of L2R classes were started in the 70 schools of Vizag.

This cycle of In-School programme came to a temporary end in the month of March owing to the final examinations being held in the schools. But March 2008, also saw the conduction of Vidya Mela in Pratham from 25 th to 28 th of March, 2008 that was aired on Radio Mirchi.

Vidya Mela The Vidya Mela conducted in Pratham from 25 th to 28 th of March, 2008 saw the participation of key Government officials like SSA AMO Mr Jairam, District Inspector of Schools Mr C.H. Sreenivas, School's Inspector Mrs Vimala Kumari and MEO Mr Panindra. The Mela also saw the participation of 20 members comprising of school Headmasters and Mandal Resource persons. The Mela aired live for three consecutive days on Radio Mirchi was enthusiastically participated in by over 3000 children, In-School programme volunteers, Team Monitors and parents of the children from the community.

Pratham Support Providers

• Programme Head

Programme Director is the overall head of all the Pratham programs being executed in the state of Andhra Pradesh. As an incharge of the progress being made in the implementation of the In School program locally, the Programme Director conducts random monitoring checks and makes formal presentations in public forums to highlight the significance of the program. The Programme Director is also involved in leading a team of resource persons who are involved in customizing the material generated by Pratham nationally while keeping local factors like language, geography, history of the state of Andhra Pradesh in mind.

• City Coordinator

City Coordinator is the overall incharge of all Pratham initiatives in the city of Vizag . As the City Coordinator for In School programme, she/he supplements the efforts of the Programme Director through constant reporting about the progress being made by the programme. She/he also aids the conduction of evaluatory review meetings with Programme Coordinator and Team Monitors. City Coordinator also helps in providing in-house training to the In-School programme volunteers in the areas of TLM usage for teaching in L2R classes as well as community mobilization techniques.

• Program Coordinator

In School Program Coordinator is directly involved in providing training to Team Monitors, monitoring their activities and conducting random checks in schools to trace the progress being made by the program. The concerned Pratham resource person also remains in constant touch with government officials like Deputy Inspector of Schools, school principals, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan officials, and district education officers to ensure the smooth working of the program.

• Team Monitors

In School program functions due to the contribution made by 5 Team Monitors. Each TM is made responsible for 14 schools in the city. Their job role involves meeting the school Headmasters, Deputy I.Os and community leaders to assess the number of children requiring help in educational provisions, according to which they deploy and train volunteers in each community. TMs are key people for mobilizing the community for effectively participating in educational structures.

• Community Volunteers

As part of the In School program, 70 volunteers have been appointed in various communities as per the strength of the students in these communities. Within the program, the communities with higher representation of children at the schools are focused on more as each volunteer covers 2-3 communities adjoining the school. The ideal teacher and student ratio is maintained to approximately 1 volunteer for every 65 learners in the program. The volunteer is chosen from among the members of the community in which the In School programme is functioning. This unique selection of volunteers from among the community helps them in facilitating tasks even outside the classroom like escorting children to school and bringing them home safely, preparing list of absentee children and motivating children to come to school, motivating parents with whom volunteers already have a personal rapport in discouraging the practice of child labour in their family etc. Thus, the volunteer acts as a catalyst in improving the children's access to school facilities as well as the his/her learning levels through the use of child friendly TLM and teaching methodologies developed by Pratham .

Page from a Story Book

Page from Alphabets in TLM

In School program volunteers are deployed in numerous communities of Vizag from where children enroll in 70 schools. As the volunteer is chosen from the same community as the children, it ensures effective implementation of the program both within school and in the community. As the chosen volunteer is a familiar person for the community members, it's easier for the volunteer to carry out education mobilization tasks within the community.

Key Achievements:

• Dropout children re-enrolled in schools

From September 15 th to 30 th , Pratham worked in the community, counseling parents and made 240 dropout children re-enroll themselves at various government (Municipal) schools.