Debasis Rath

Report of the month of Nov. 2006 Rush

Project code: Ark/ed/Gov-02
Activities of the cef Puri Dist during the month of November 2006.


Continuity of Short-term after closing and inclusion.

The Six-month experimental process ended but the impact is still spread to the PTA and MTA who committed some pocket money to continue with the process because children should be in it at least a year or two. But displacement has become a regular syndrome in the blue lagoon area. Families are shifting to the estuary and seashore where life is next to impossible. Families will be found shifting with children and domestic articles by their personal boat. It is essential that the mid day meals-program should be handed over to the mega company running its mission in the city only. This can drive back all the children to the slowly vacated schools. In the mean time the effective teachers of the short term were replaced in the long-term vacant positions. The barefoot teachers became the new leaders in the community for the process.

Now the pressure goes to the EGS schools where all the teachers were habituated to proxy appearance. The Mass mobilization this month was conducted by the street action group of rush where as the script of the play was based on the real ignorance of the fishermen about advantages of government programs. After completion of the all the play several cases are upcoming to the HQS office about the EGS teachers who were beaten up by the PTA members for their truancy. One PTA team snatched away the bike of an EGS teacher who was receiving cheque from the Block office without conducting a single class in his EGS center.

The political scenario is balanced through the opposition stake and public so information on police case on the past violence committed is not registered. This incident may insist parallel attacks and disturbances but the agenda for upcoming election rests on improvising education and infrastructure.

The OSA CAMP OF SHORT TERM is running from 5 to 9 P.M assisting and preparing children attending their schools where the short term teachers were replaced in Long term camps those were vacated. Continuity of the classes was shifted to the short-term teachers as per public demand.
The controversial mass mobilization:
Sharing information on the resources and facilities always appropriates benefit for the vocal and influential not the down trodden. Since long it is a repetitive action going on there at field. The ongoing corruption on education system could only include some more people in the racket and the corruption became stronger. Those who are aware of the corruption are voiceless and lack courage to fight because they are daily laborers with vices of alcoholism and debacle. Raising a voice may cause starvation and those from whom they are receiving loans are at the top of the community. NGO people started believing the antithesis that decentralization of power inside poverty decentralizes corruption only. Lest those should be the output of a tough interaction with the people there who will be exposed at the right time. In this context the team of street play was directed to bring all the issues into their story and they rehearsed before presentation. Issues like mid day meal and rice related scandals, egg provision for children that made schools hub of the drunkards, EGS centers and proxy teachers, SSA Grant in aid scams and the so called elite, child marriage, displacement of the bankrupt families into the interior land inside lagoon, etc; in the face of certain players. In the cluster villages there now a very few families say 2% who are free from debt. Rest of them is under pressure that is also a cause of migration from the main land to remote islets in the lagoon. The EGS centers use to benefit the children of the influential few whose misconduct does not raise any voice. Hence some deprived classes were identified like the educated*(*8th std pass or fail) unemployed who are active to watch the role of the so-called elitists among minorities. Mass Mobilization is renamed as mobilization of conflict, which is proved to be worthy of the situation. It is worth mentioning that a lady teacher of the Long term camp who took the responsibility of 30/40 children in a small islet DHALABALI was man-handled by the EGS teachers a couple of months before. They warned her to quit the center because the parents are demanding similar quality of service from truant EGS teachers. It was handled carefully to protect the girl first from the likely danger of molestation. And the position is somewhat changed for the activism of public against the EGS who have replaced a dummy there. The village committee together has snatched away the bike of the said teacher till a decision will be taken. The postpartum of the street theatre is however very much disappointing to the truants in EGS or Govt Schools.


Rally:
Dated 14th Nov 2006 a thematic rally took place in clusters and joined at the meeting place on the eve of Children’s Day.



Day’s observation:
14/11/06 on the eve of the National children’s day a new child club has come up after celebration and two girl children namely Ms. Bhabani Behera and Ms Kalpana Behera were elected as the President and Secretary of the club.
All the children of the camp attended the children’s Day that was dominated by children from child club.

Visit of Dist. Mgt. team from the Rush Hqs.
On dated 29th/11/06 the team of street theatre group visited the field to access information on the community before launching their play. To make the play relevant the team conducted PLA in specific clusters. The first street play was launched in Arakhkuda, Gopinathpur and Jadupur. Impact of the play was however assessed according to the public reaction.




Arakhkuda
All the teachers were intimated to conduct the MTA, PTA, and VEC meetings at their own place so that each of the teachers managed to intervene more stakeholders in the education system. Taking into account of benefit of the decentralized interactions plan has been made to conduct meetings in cross connections to monitor truth and transparency in the reporting.

Example of the matrix of mass mobilization.
Teachers name
A replace Q
B replace P
C replace O
& Q replace A
Vec of cluster A
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5….
1-2-3-4-5…..

Mta of cluster A
6-7-8-9-10
11-12-13-14-15
16-17-18-19

Pta of cluster A
20-21-22-23-24
25-26-27-28-29
30-31-32-33-34


Description:
Name of teachers: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K >>>>>>>>>Q
Number of members in each committee: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8->>>>>>>>>>>> 150
Total NUMBER OF THE (VEC+MTA+PTA)= SAY 150 IN THE GP.
PREVIOUSLY the teacher A was conducting meeting within members 1 to 10 only but now the meeting-matrix will cover same number of members but the members will be different.

Hence teacher-A shall cover Q’s MTA PTA & VEC say (A= 135 to 150th persons in education system) similarly Teacher Q will sit with A’s mass say teacher Q= 1 to 15th persons in the education system)

Benefit of the process is involvement of the teacher in the other camp and new people who can share their interest and understanding for governance.

Case study on Mamina Behera
Teacher: SK JAKIR UDDIN

Mamina is the youngest of other five orphan siblings and drop out from 2nd std. the routine of all the sisters to collect fishes from fishing yard which also ensures food for the old grand father. The camp teacher Mr Jakiruddin intervened the family with the VEC and Mamina was attached to camp as well as admitted in to the School. She made the difference when she came first in the half yearly examination with exceptional scoring. Now the sisters of Mamina started believing the quality education spared by the OSA camp. The VEC is entrusted to watch continuity of the education support to those children who are talented but the economic pressure distorts the fundamental rights.



Case of Bhabani Behera
Teacher: Kaminee Behera

Bhabanee’s father was absconded after her birth. Her mother is a person with speech and hearing disability so she took a refuse in her brother’s house. Bhabanee was brought up in her uncle’s house. Mr. Sahadev Behera the uncle of Bhabanee has three children and his livelihood rests on fishing. He discontinued the education of Bhabanee from 3rd std but the MTA opened up an avenue for Bhabanee when she was brought to the camp to continue her studies. Mrs. Kaminee Behera the Camp teacher helped her to recover all her education in 4 months and got her admitted in the school. Her continuity in the schooling process is only possible when sponsorship will be arranged for the child and her mother. In the same way governance of the PR system is also vital for these helpless children.


Case of Swetapadma Behera
Mother: Shasi Behera
Teacher: Sasmita Sahoo.
Mr. Purna Chandra Behera is absconded when Sweta was one month old. Hence education became a dream in sweta’s life. Ms Sasmita is focusing on girl’s education through her camp. Sweta was attacher with adolescent girls continuing there. However Shasi Behera is in relief from the stress relating to her daughter’s education. Sweta is in need of some sponsorship also.

Case study of minority children
Teacher : Dillip Jena

The above teacher is entrusted to educate the children of scavenger community who are seen in the lower profile in the cast system. The center itself is a landmark achievement to intrude into a untouchable group who are suppressed since long. These minority groups never attend schools for the stigma that predominant there. Now it is expected that some 30 drop out minors will enter regular schooling process.

Case study of Durga Behera:
Bhagabat Sahi sanjogi sikhya Kendra Arakhkuda
Teacher: kaminee Behera
Durga Behera is a one Out of 32 camp children attending the center. His fater is Sitaram Behera and Kamala Behera is his mother. He has 4 sisters and 3 brothers. The eldest Malaa is married and rest three Garee Uree and Mamata are already in domestic work. The eldest boy Abhi helps his father in fishing; the second one Durga has already dropped out from school. The youngest one Ranjan is in Anganbadi. Durga after a number of attempts made to mobiles his parents attending the center then he was admitted in the school. He is a punctual student what others observed from Durga’s activities. Since his readmission was done we could not mark any day absent in Durga’s call register. As the family of Durga is too big it makes a lot of toil to arrange the daily livelihood by the parents. But Durga become so attached that he does not like to remain idle in his home. As a teacher I hope that if Durga will be supported he can change the destiny of his illiterate family. Hence the family members are cooperating Durga all the time. Durga is now in class one, even there is a delay in his learning process he possesses good memory. I expect a good outcome for the extra care given to Durga.

Case study of Surya kanta Behera
Teacher: Rinamani Behera
Surakanta’s father is a chronic patient who is unproductive; his elder brother is now a fisherman in Chilka Lake who provides food for the entire family by fishing. It is most logical whether the family should manage with daily bread or to invest in educating the young chap. Surya and his sister remain absent in school most of the days due to lack of garments or education material. Even then Surya was able to get student’s scholarship and Nabodaya and in std 3 he was able get scholarship. Now he was mobilized to join the classes in the camp and school. In the class sixth std he stands first. It needs to go deep into the issues relating to livelihood that influences children’s education so much. We have no answer to cater these deals till day.

Case of Raju Behera class 3
Mother : Saga Behera.
Teacher : Reena Behera

This teacher covers the Dhalabali range of habitats. She commutes 5 km on road and 1 hour boat journey to reach the center. She takes care of all the children whose parents never thought of education or any future of their children and came to the islet for livelihoods.
Raju is the only exception there, he never likes the environment and occupations the elderly people of the island so he was shy. Raju is exceptional in his memory and IQ but he became disabled (which is called learning disability in Psychology). Raju was included in the camp school found to be flourishing. A community plan is dovetailed to send all the children to the main land so that the children can get access to education and food accordingly.

Problem solving through teachers of Camp:

Some front line teachers like Mrs. Kaminee Behera, SK Jakiruddin, Charan Behera, Purna Nayak, Ms Mamina Jena were selected to continue a refreshers training for the educated unemployed youth of the same GP keeping in mind that the future vacancies in EGS and OSA camps shall be accommodated by these trainees on Sanjukta Series.

A refreshers training to the existing staff is needed along with provisions to train new staff who will join after a vacancy due to resignation of a staff. In the coming days there may be some vacancies to be occurred due to posting of the staff as SSS under the Govt. education department.

Mid Day Meal
Mid day meal and egg are now under control of the OSA teachers. But supply of logistics is irregular.

Meetings

Cluster meetings, Core group meeting, Meeting with the VEC members, Parents meeting, Mass mobilization, MTA done by individual teachers in this month is under watch. Report and impact assessment to this en d will be available next month.






Trainings
Child rights training workshop with specific PRI conducted in Arakhkuda by core group of childline.
Visitors
Debasis Rath, Manoj Tripathy

Requirements observed:
Chalks and notebooks and mapping of OSA project area.

Logistics supplied: chalks for the program

Records verified: camp records, VEC records,

Place: Arakhkuda OSA Office
Date: 05/12/06 sd- GP
coordinator


Seen



OSA HQS office Puri. Seal signature.