Reform of Learning, Curriculum, and Pedagogy

Prabha Srivastava
India

Basic education has been accepted globally as an indispensable passport to life. India is committed through her constitution to 'strive to provide free and compulsory education up to the age of 14 years' to all her citizens. Since Jomtain World Conference 1990 and the Delhi declaration of E9 Summit in December 1993 India has been exploring all possible mechanism and channel to achieve the lofty goal of universalisation of basic education.

In India the reform of education has been conceptualized by Gandhi, Rabindranath & the great sage Vivekananda on the basis of rural and mass consciousness.

Later on Non-formal Education (NFE) has been a massive movement introduced as reform of learning to achieve UEE agenda and movement has been to provide education to the age group of 9-14 working children, girls and those children who cannot attend full time schools due to several socio-economic factors. Implemented through State Governments and voluntary organizations the NFE programme draws on a high level of community participation and is characterized by flexibility, relevance and a decentralized administrative structure.

At present in India about 500 NGOs are implementing NFE. To meet up the need for considerable innovation and experimentation in the variety of modalities in many places effective models of NFEs are developed and scaled up to provide experience for an alternative channel for UEF. Project Propel by Indian Institute of Education Pune, Innovative Ideas on Elementary Education Project by Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha Parishad etc. deserve special attention regarding this.

Curriculum :

Curriculum development essentially is a ceaseless process of searching for qualitative improvement in education in response to the changes taking place in the society. Many new concerns have emerged in response to the fact changes in the social scenario of the country as well as the world. The curriculum has to lead to a kind of education that would fight against inequity and respond to the social, cultural, emotional and economic needs of the learners standing on three pillars of relevance, equity and excellence.

Innovative Ideas on Elementary Education :

A Case Study on Curriculum frame work in West Bengal by R.K. Mission Lokasiksha Parishad from a field workers perception :

It is a focus on the experience of an Indian NGO. R.K. Mission for the great trial on conceptualization and implementation of new concept in curriculum frame work and successful implementation in some specific area of W. Bengal, India targeting the aim of Universalization of Elementary Education. The main focus has been laid on..
equality in access to the quality education & opportunity, especially for rural girls, removing all gender discrimination.
Introducing vocational training, recreational and cultural activities interrelating the facets of classroom services, special support services, cocurriculer activities & creating a new and vital programme facilitating curricular integration in its most specific situation.

In the processes of implementation of this above mentioned curriculum structure special emphasis have been given on development of basic skill of a learner stage by stage like listening Speaking reading and writing following the basic parameter indicated by National council of Educational research and Training. The total curriculum has been developed on the local specific need based. Development of teaching learning materials according to the curriculum frame work is another innovative and experimental phenomena of this education programme.

All activity implementations are closely linked with climate building by mobilizing the local mass, capacity building of the teacher and successful implemedntation of the curriculum by them. Overall a flexible and transparrent system of evaluation in formative as well as in summative forms has been experimented in this Innovative Elementary education Programme.
Result :

With an install intake capacity of 2000 learner in all the 50 Education Centres per year from 1995 to 2001 about 6000 learners have participated in this new learning processes, out of which about 70% have been mainstreamed without any conscious affords. The drop out rate of this area has been remarkably less. The parents of educationally backward corner have become conscious and alert about the need of education for their children.

From the inspiration of this experience on Experimental Innovative Community Learning Centre Programme (CLC) has been started in an other district Midnapore of West Bengal with the financial assistance from UNESCO which proved the nature of replicability of this special form of curriculum.