08 - promising change (by fareeha zafar) 02-05-2008 · muntazir mehdi, gul hafeez khokhar, mirza...

Promising Change

Dr. Fareeha ZafarMarch 2008

8

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

Six Case Studies on Whole School Development

This document is produced as part of the Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad (SDLGF) Project for the purpose of disseminating lessons learnt from the project. The views are not necessarily those of DFID or the City District Government Faisalabad

(c) SDLGF March 2008

Parts of this case study may be reproduced for educational use, provided that such material is not printed and sold. The authors expect that, any material which is used will be acknowledged accordingly.

Printed by: FaizBakht Printers, The Mall, Jhang (Punjab) Pakistan.

VISION

“Pre-empting Poverty, Promoting Prosperity”

MISSION STATEMENT

“We will provide high quality services which compare with the best in the country. We will work with everyone who wants a better future for our District. We will establish an efficient, effective and accountable District Local Government, which is committed to respecting and upholding women, men and children’s basic human rights, responsive towards people’s needs, committed to poverty reduction and capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st Century. Our actions will be driven by the concerns of local people”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This case study is the culmination of efforts by a number of individuals from government and the technical assistance team. Firstly it is important to thank all those who have cooperated with the team preparing this case study not only in the last few weeks but over the course of the last four years. They have been critical to the work and demonstrated what is possible to achieve in government when the right set of conditions prevail.

The author would like to thank the schools, head teachers, teachers and students who participated in the discussions for their cooperation and particularly the students whose enthusiasm was extremely encouraging and rewarding. The participation of community members, parents and school councils is also noteworthy. The author wishes to thank Rana Zahid Tauseef, City District Nazim; Maj (Retd.) Azam Suleman Khan, District Coordination Officer; and Dr. Tariq Sardar, EDO Finance & Planning for their valuable contribution in making this project a huge success.

The author is also thankful to: Mr. Ch. Zahid Nazir, ex-District Nazim Faisalabad; Mr. Tahir Hussain, ex-DCO Faisalabad and Mr. Athar Hussain Khan Sial, ex-DCO Faisalabad for their valuable contribution to the success of this project.

The author is further thankful to all CDGF employees (past and present) and CDGF partner departments but would like to specifically mention by name Mr. Mumtaz Hussain Shah, EDO Education, Mr. Ch. Zulfiqar Ahmed, District Officer Secondary Education, Mr. Ashiq Ali, District Officer Elementary Education (male) and Ms. Kishwar Naheed Rana, District Officer Elementary Education (female) for their efforts in successfully implementing research and development reforms in the education department.

The author is also thankful to all DFID Project Advisers and Management that have assisted in this project since its start and would like to specifically thank Mr. Mosharraf Zaidi, Governance Advisor, DFID Pakistan and Mr. Wajahat Anwar, Deputy Program Manager, Accountability and Empowerment team, DFID Pakistan, for their continuous support and professional technical guidance since their involvement in 2005.

The author is also thankful to Mehreen Hossain for proof reading the document and all the SPU team members for their dedication, hard work and the many late hours spent designing, implementing and documenting the work of this project. These include: Khatib Alam, Nadir Ehsan, Mahmood Akhtar, Imran Yousafzai, Muhammad Shahid Alvi, Muhammad Tariq, Kashif Abbas, Ajaz Durrani, Farhan Yousaf, Muntazir Mehdi, Gul Hafeez Khokhar, Mirza Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Sharif, Sumara Khan, Humaira Khan, Saima Sharif. Mubarak Ali, Noor Muhammad Khan, Syed Sheraz Akhtar, all master trainers at the Institute of Learning (IoL), especially Brigid Smith, Ms. Nuzhat Hanif, Saima Shakeela, Tauqueer Anjum Rasool, Tahir Nadeem, Saima Khan and Shabir Basra for their assistance in identifying the schools for the case studies which reflect their hard work and commitment. Thanks are also directed at Ms. Sara Zubair and Mr. Haroon Hussain for their professional input in developing the case studies.

Page iCity District Government FaisalabadStrategic Policy Unit

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSACRONYMS

INTRODUCTION 1

CASE STUDIES 7

1. AN EXCEPTIONAL TEACHERGovernment Girls Primary School, 547 GB Union Council 94, Tandlianwala 5

2. A COMING TOGETHER OF SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY Government Boys Primary School, Village 68 RB II, Union Council 25, Jaranwala 11

3. A SCHOOL IN TRANSITIONGovernment Girls Primary School, Bhatta Colony, UC 192, Faisalabad 17

4. A SCHOOL THAT'S HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONGovernment Boys Primary School, RB 67 Union Council 37, Jaranwala 23

5. A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNINGGovernment Boys Elementary School, Village 203 GB Union Council 106, Samundari 32

6. A VIBRANT TWO-TEACHER SCHOOLGovernment Girls Primary School, Village 120 GB Union Council 3, Jaranwala 37

ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY 44

CONCLUSION 51

Table of ContentsPromising ChangeSix case studies on Whole school development

Page iiCity District Government FaisalabadStrategic Policy Unit

ACRONYMS

AEO Assistant Education OfficerBA Bachelor of ArtsBEd Bachelor of EducationBSc Bachelor of ScienceCT Certificate of TeachingDoE Department of EducationDSD Directorate of Staff DevelopmentEET Elementary English TeacherEFA Education for AllESE Elementary School EducatorEMIS Educational Management Information SystemsGES Government Boys Elementary School GGES Government Girls Elementary School GGHS Government Girls High SchoolGHS Government Boys High SchoolGTZ Gesellschaft Fur Technische ZusammenarbeitIoL Institute of LearningMA Master of ArtsMEd Master of EducationMSc Master of SciencePESRP Punjab Education Sector Reform ProgramPMIU Project Management and Implementation UnitPRSP Punjab Rural Support ProgrammePTC Primary Teaching CertificateSAHE Society for the Advancement of EducationSC School CouncilSPU Strategic Policy UnitUC Union CouncilWSD Whole School Development

GLOSSARY

Chowkidar GuardImam Prayer leaderKatchi Nursery/PrepMadrassah Religious schoolMaktab Mosque schoolMarkaz CentreNamaz PrayerPucca Brick and mortarQuaida Nursery TextbookTakhti Wooden slateTaatt Jute cloth or plastic bags

Promising ChangeSix case studies on Whole school development

Acronyms & Glossary

City District Government FaisalabadStrategic Policy Unit

INTRODUCTION

A school is a microcosm of the education system as a whole and the impact of any policy or project is played out within it. This publication is a compilation of six case studies on schools in Pakistan's Faisalabad District. They highlight a variety of aspects of the school, for example pedagogy, the Head Teacher, and community involvement. While they inform the reader of the situation within the schools, their scope can be expanded to explore the field of education in general. Perspectives from which they can be viewed include, but are not limited to, implications on future planning for education and the feasibility of education-related projects; they also have relevance and utility in courses on education, particularly international education, and teacher training.

The Case Study Method

1A case study is defined as “an intensive study of a specific individual or specific context ” and uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology. It has been adopted most extensively in the field of education for instructional purposes. Law and medical schools embraced it, but it was schools of business that called attention to its advantages and utility the most. The Harvard Business School goes so far as to claim, “We believe that the case method is by far the most powerful way to learn the

2skills required to manage, and to lead .” Among its comparative advantages are the ability to develop

3critical thinking, provision of “multi-perspectival analyses ” by the inclusion of a wider range of voices, and allowing for a more holistic understanding of a situation or context.

Research studies in education invariably look at the impact of policies in isolation, and not in terms of the cumulative effects as they filter down to the schools and students. Case study, as a research method, allows for the intensive exploration of these influences at the level of the school, taking the various players' perspectives into account. These narratives can then be unravelled further upon analysis. The inability to generalise from a single case is often raised as a criticism of the method; while each individual within a school, and each school, is no doubt different from the next, generalisations about some aspects of schooling are certainly possible. The idiographic quality of the generalisations is partly why the method has been accepted most by the social sciences and humanities.

Context of the study

The Strategic Policy Unit (SPU) was set up by the Faisalabad district government in 2002, as a policy think-tank. Its key aim was to act as a conduit in the district from which all development programmes could be initiated. In 2004, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) agreed to provide technical assistance to the district using the SPU as the platform from which change would be driven.

The SPU over a four year period has acted as a key resource fostering social capital within the city government and often being the focal point for local and international technical assistance and programme development. With a cohort of key technical resources and change management agenda it plays a key role in facilitating public sector reforms and is replicable. It has been instrumental in assisting Faisalabad become a modern administration.

The goal of the project entitled 'Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad District Project' (SDLGF) is sustained poverty reduction through improved and more responsive operation of local government and delivery of services, particularly education and water and sanitation services to the poor. In the education sector, the District Council prioritised girls' education and aimed to enhance community participation in education in order to improve access and quality.


Introduction

The District Council identified the following key needs to improve education in the district: (a) strengthened management capacity and systems; (b) training of teachers and Head Teachers; (c) encouragement of community participation in the management of schools; (d) development of public-private partnerships in key areas; (e) expansion of adult literacy programmes throughout the district; and (f) improved infrastructure and facilities.

Specific aims of the Education Component include:

l Improving educational management, monitoring and administration of elementary and primary education

l Increasing school effectiveness, community involvement, teaching and learning achievement, in elementary and primary schools

Aims of the Research Component were:

l Contributing to the body of research on the quality of education in the country especially student performance on which there is very little data; such research would have important implications for assessing the quality of education thereby informing policy decisions

l Serving to make the content of teacher education and training programs more relevant and effective

l Developing standardized indicators and benchmarks for student performancel Contributing towards developing an overall student assessment system methods, techniques

and tools

In Faisalabad District, the government's Strategic Policy Unit (SPU) set up the Institute of Learning (IoL) with the specific aim of material development and teacher training. The project followed the Whole School Development model for their training programme, the main features of which are:

l Changing the school from the inside and outsidel Creating a child-friendly learning environmentl Giving ownership to the community and the learnersl Creating a well-managed learning institution

To this end the objectives of the training programme were to:

l Mobilize communities to take interest and support their schooll Help the Head teacher and community to work together to improve the schooll Train the Head Teacher and community member in Visioning and School Development

planning (SDP)l Monitor the progress of training and the impact in the school

The pattern followed for the training began with a visit by the team to the school, Union Council and community before training, including collection of school data. Five Head Teacher modules (listed in the discussion chapter under 'School Management and Administration) and a six-day teacher training was then given. The community members and Head Teachers trained together to produce the School Development Plan. Resources provided for the school included a Rs.2000 grant for materials and classroom improvement; Construction Fund for missing facilities with a 'Matching Grant' with 10% community share for communities wanting to undertake small infrastructure improvements of up to Rs.300,000; 'Big Books' and supplementary readers; and kits for Katchi, Science, Mathematics and Language.

Page 2City District Government FaisalabadStrategic Policy Unit


Introduction

The evaluation and impact-assessment framework was research-based to provide an analysis of the impact of initiatives and interventions taken under the project. The research component was thus expected to:

l Provide feedback for trainings, professional development and managementl Track improvements/changes in the education systeml Train and use district teams for conducting the surveys, data analysis and report writingl Use the SPU for tabulation of survey data that would link changes to the overall changes

resulting from the projectl Feed into the database created by the SPU, add to it, and also help to verify information

collected so far by the SPU and PMIU Punjabl Link the research to development of a Professional Development Centre which would

become responsible for researchl Assist in monitoring and evaluation of project objectives

The research component included identifying areas for research and modalities for implementation. As such the research activities were designed to pull together different strands of information, both existing and those that would be collected through periodic surveys, follow-up of surveys and case studies. This included both quantitative and qualitative research for a deeper understanding of the existing situation and ground realities, and what could be proposed as possible interventions to the district government. The main research areas identified included:

Quantitative Component: Learning Achievement Surveys with follow up studies as the most important indicators of the effectiveness and quality of the educational system.

Qualitative Component: Case Studies of successful schools under the Whole School Development program, as identified by the IoL, and an analysis of the reflective journals of teachers and Head Teachers.

The research agenda thus aimed at providing inputs for the training component, capacity building of the Department of Education (DoE) and the IoL in research-related activities. This publication is a compilation of the six case studies that formed part of the qualitative research component. The cases are followed by a discussion on some of the issues raised by the studies, with the aim of looking at questions pertaining to education. The discussion attempts to expand the scope of the studies to include general issues in education that arise irrespective of specific contexts.



Introduction

METHODOLOGY

The IoL identified six 'successful schools' for case studies, in terms of their demonstration of different components of the Whole School Development model. These schools were:

1. Government Girls Primary School, 547 GB Union Council 94, Tandlianwala2. Government Girls Primary School, Village 120 GB Union Council 38, Jaranwala3. Government Girls Primary School, Bhatta Colony, UC 192, Faisalabad4. Government Boys Primary School, Village 68 RB II, Union Council 25, Jaranwala5. Government Boys Primary School, RB 67 Union Council 37, Jaranwala6. Government Boys Elementary School, Village 203 GB Union Council 106, Samundari

School-visits occurred between November and January 2007-08. The general pattern followed for research was that the researcher and a member of IoL's team visited the school for three consecutive days. The first day was primarily dedicated to classroom observation. Teachers were requested to continue with their classes as they had planned for the day. It necessary to emphasise that it is very difficult to observe an 'authentic' school day because the very presence of observers creates self-consciousness, no matter how unobtrusive they try to be. The structure of a school day is particularly hard to observe because sessions are generally re-ordered to accommodate the observation. Even so, it is possible to determine how familiar teachers are with the subject matter, their conceptual clarity, their ability to communicate it effectively, and the teaching methodology employed. Eventually the continued presence of the researchers ceases to create a disturbance.

Wherever possible, enrolment and attendance data was also collected on the first day, and the Head Teacher was requested to invite members of the community on either of the following days. The second day was devoted to teacher interviews. In some instances, for example if a teacher was absent on the first day, classroom observation continued on the second day as well. The third day included focus group discussions with students of different classes, as well as a discussion with community members, and the Assistant Education Officer (AEO) if possible. Photographs were taken whenever possible over the three days.



Methodology

1.0 AN EXCEPTIONAL TEACHER

Government Girls Primary School 547 GB Union Council 94Tandlianwala

In a small far-off village in the south-western corner of district Faisalabad, the girls' school in Awagat village is singularly fortunate that its two teachers come from an adjacent village a few kilometres away. In most other schools, teachers come from Samundari city about 40 kilometres away. For 20 years the school had no building till in 1995 two classrooms and a veranda were constructed based on the SAP design for rural schools in Pakistan. It is only in January this year that funds have been provided by the project to construct the boundary wall and latrines, as well as for levelling the ground on which the school is situated. Fortunately a member of the school council had offered her house for the school to function while construction was underway. The day of our visit coincided with the return of students and teachers to their school though some work was still being done.

A contract teacher, Umme Kalsoom has been teaching here since 2002. Her qualifications are BA, BEd and CT. Vivacious, smart and very well informed, she appears to be somewhat out of place. The opportunity to study and work for a short period in a private school in Samundari has had a lasting impact before marriage to a cousin the norm in the area brought her back to the village. Shahnaz Akhtar, the head teacher, a Matric with PTC qualification is also local. She has been with the school since 1997. Although less forthcoming, she is nevertheless cognizant of her colleague's outstanding management and teaching style.

Impact of training

“I would never have been able to teach the way I do had it not been for the six months I taught in the private school. The owner cum principal would train us regularly during the school break. He taught us English with Urdu as part of language teaching, new teaching methods and we made teaching-learning materials. He also trained us in how to monitor classes,” said Kulsoom. She brought out the cards she had made from paper cartons and was using with students before the teaching kits were provided by the Whole School Development program in



An Exceptional Teacher

November 2007. She acknowledged the additional information and activity-based teaching methods she learnt during the trainings conducted under the project during 2005 and had exhibited her work in the conference organized by SPU in Faisalabad in 2006. Teaching had become much easier with the provision of science and math kits. Understanding perspective and reflection is possible only by demonstration, which Kulsoom said was now possible. She not only explains the process to the students but also checks their individual work, measuring and straightening pins accurately on the wooden board. Questioning ensures that students understand the concept behind the activity.

Kulsoom's enjoyment of teaching transferred itself to the students who are actively involved in the learning process. Her enthusiasm and pleasant manner attracts them to her vying with one another to show their exercise books and slates full of work. The small number of students in most grades allows her to give individual attention. However, as she is required to teach English to all classes, is in complete charge of Classes II and V and also manages and teaches Katchi and Class I, she is on her feet all day. Students of Class V assist her regularly in organizing and checking the work of the junior classes. This does mean that not all their lessons can be completed in the given time.

Kulsoom also invites the four senior classes to her classroom to introduce a common topic to them. Her method of multi-grade teaching is very interesting. For example, to teach different sounds she tapped on the table, asked students to knock on the door and used the ring-tones of her mobile phone. She repeated the lesson a number of times and also read it aloud from the textbook. She also questioned the students on which sounds they found pleasant and those that were jarring. She then gave students of each class work to do on their own.

In one corner of the classroom a plastic bottle can be seen hanging from the window sill. It is filled with water and a plastic pipe carries the water to a tray placed on the floor below. The students said this was the water cycle and then proceeded to draw it on the blackboard in more detail when asked to explain how it worked. Demonstration had helped to clear their concepts, they were happy to answer questions and eager to absorb any new information given to them. It is no wonder that science is their favourite subject, unlike what most students of government schools express in general.




Class V girls were less informed about the digestive system even though they had studied it some time back. Math posed more of a problem. They were clear about simple fractions but less articulate about more complex algebraic and geometrical concepts such as brackets, angles, direction, etc. However, they had a very positive attitude towards asking questions without any hesitation and were generally relaxed and happy.

Their knowledge of the local environment was quite impressive. This was the season when the sugarcane was being cut and they knew the locations of the factories where it was being taken. They were not happy with the fact that the previous year no examinations were conducted at the end of Class V and all students were promoted to the next grade. They were concerned that the same may happen in their case.

Speaking and writing in English a compulsory subject at the primary level was found to be rudimentary. Though students of Class IV and V had some English vocabulary they were unable to make sentences and their writing was quite poor. Students in the junior classes were confused about English and even Urdu to some extent and only responded when questioned in the local/regional language Punjabi.

Kulsoom has given responsibility of distributing the materials to the younger children to the older girls. It is rare to see schools using teaching-learning materials provided to them without fear of their being misused or of the dreaded departmental 'audit'. Although the children were sitting on plastic bags used for packing on the veranda floor and the bare ground, they were careful in their handling of the pictures and cards. At the end of the day the flash cards, beads and threads were again collected by the older students and placed in the appropriate pockets of the pocket board hanging on the classroom wall; an admirable example of cooperative learning. An added benefit is the confidence among the older students who were engaged in these tasks without being told what to do.

Another strategy unique to this school was the division of the Katchi class that had the largest number of children into two sections: the youngest and least experienced children, and those who could be left for short periods to work on their own and according to Kulsoom “had some understanding”. Children were happily threading beads, matching pictures of birds and animals while Class I students were sorting Urdu and English alphabets and matching with the appropriate pictures. All the students were working in groups. From time to




time Kulsoom would gather them near the wall charts and teach them new sounds and words in Urdu and English. She remarked that “the materials have given children the opportunity to learn on their own and from one another without the authoritative figure of the teacher hovering over them and is more conducive to learning.”

Once the teacher had explained the new topic to a class or in a multi-grade combined class, further learning took place in groups. The group size ranged from four to five and junior and senior primary classes formed groups without any instructions. The interaction within the groups was lively and the learning from each other could be observed in action. That different classes also combined in performing role plays and other activities was eagerly demonstrated by the students. They showed different types of movement by swinging the smaller children, shutting the door and pushing the chair. It appeared that all concepts were taught through demonstration and experiments.

The Head Teacher

As head teacher, Shahnaz Akhtar is responsible for reporting to the centre school for the Union Council from time to time. She only teaches classes two and three and some of the activities such as role play have been introduced in her classroom by Kulsoom. Experimentation and demonstration play a major role in teaching science and as Shahnaz stated, “the children enjoy working with their hands”.

Of the few boys in the school, two also study in class three and Shahnaz asked the girl and boy students to demonstrate how holes could be burnt in pieces of paper with a candle and if the holes were aligned in a straight line the flame of the candle can be seen through them. The candle was then lit and placed in a basin with water in it and a glass put on top of it. When the candle was extinguished the students said it was lack of oxygen. To a lesser extent drawing is also encouraged and students had labelled the human body and were attempting to draw experiments, flowers and animals in their exercise books.

The classroom environment

With the school undergoing some construction work it was not possible to see the classrooms as they would appear once the workers had left. However, the difference in Kulsoom's classroom and that of the head teacher was apparent even though both had damp walls that required some cementing. Kulsoom had put up charts made earlier and also hung the new materials received recently. In the veranda outside she had put up the alphabet and number charts and was using the math, science and language kits. Some charts related to responsibilities of the school, composition of the school council and religious poems. Others had information for students. The bare walls and few teaching material visible in the Head Teacher's classroom reflected her lack of interest. All the kits are stored in the classroom where Kulsoom taught. It is clear that effectively she manages the school.




The only furniture in the school is two chairs and a table for the teacher in each classroom. One chair was broken. All schoolchildren from Katchi to Class V sit and work on the floor. The typical sight in most rural government schools is of children balancing their thin exercise books on their knees attempting to write.

Lack of human resources is made up by the cooperative attitude of the two teachers who have a good working relationship. The children move around freely, they play in the school compound or go home during the school break. The teacher-student relationship is extremely friendly as shown by the fact that when the students decided to perform a short play for us they requested their teachers to go out of the classroom. The students also said that the teachers would read out stories to them and they especially enjoyed the ones in English.

There is pressure on the two teachers to get the students to complete their homework in school as there is no one at home who can help them.

Impact of the community

Kulsoom's commitment to the school and children is exceptional as she herself is from an influential, rich family. The village comprises two to three large landlords while the majority of the people are poor landless tenants or owners of small subsistence farms, barely able to manage a living. “The people here are not interested in educating their children” said Safia Faraz, the lone active member of the School Council. She belonged to the previous school council; new members would be invited once the construction work was complete. The community's lack of interest or poverty is reflected in the small amount collected for receiving the grant from SPU. It was sufficient only for repairs while the need was an additional classroom. The need for a third teacher was also expressed so that there could be at least one teacher for two classes to properly implement the activity-based teaching methodology.

According to government stipulation, children are expected to enter school at age four and complete the primary cycle by the time they reach the age of nine. However, in most rural areas and especially in small communities, children of different ages are found in the same class. In the Awagat school, girls aged nine and twelve were in the same class. Except for the Katchi class where children appeared to be four or five years old, they were definitely overage in the other classes. Neither students nor the teachers seemed concerned about how old a student should be in a particular class, nor were they aware of their actual age. This could be the result of the government policy to increase enrolment and possibly the reason why teachers showed enrolment and attendance to be the same in the registers. This procedure had been communicated to them at the centre school.




It was evident that not all children were present in school. The previous day it had been raining, it was also very cold and having to sit on the bare floor without shoes and insufficient clothing was sufficient reason for 25 percent children being absent in the Katchi class. Safia was of the view that “with an improvement in teaching and provision of materials, more children were beginning to come to school”. She herself is illiterate but keen to see the girls of the community get an education. She identified the large family size especially number of children about eight to ten per family as promoting higher absenteeism among the older girls who were required to help at home while their mothers work in the fields. The influence of the Tableeghi Jamaat (religious organization) of the area also led parents to send their children intermittently to the local madrassah and the school.

At present the nearest private school is in the next village and there is a regular movement of students between it and this school. For girls there is no middle school in the vicinity. Only those households who have members of their extended family residing in the nearest town about 20 kilometres away where there is a Girls High School can avail this opportunity, if they choose to. Both teachers and students want education beyond primary to become available. The teachers were proud that last year the entire Class V could continue their studies in the nearby town. They encourage girls and their families to let them study further but poverty is a hurdle and neglect of children by the family a serious issue.


Class/Grade Enrolment

February 2006 February 2008

Katchi 36 38

Class I 17 8

Class II 17 12

Class III 5 9

Class IV 1 11

Class V 1 9

Total 77 87



2. 0 A COMING TOGETHER OF SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY

Government Boys Primary SchoolVillage 68 RB II, Union Council 25, Jaranwala

The success of the school is essentially engrained in the collective efforts of a vibrant, active community which is working in collaboration with the school staff, especially the head teacher. It provides the school staff with every possible help, which ranges from finances to provision of a house for the head teacher. In short the community acts as an enabling context for the school, in which teaching-learning practices and school development occurs, laying the foundation and a vision for the generations to come. In order to make this happen the community provides different kind of support to the teaching staff, like financial donations, moral support and even human resources in the form of a school council. It is this context which requires further inquiry. The probing may yield general guidelines for instituting successful schools and specifically it can give strategies for enabling thriving community participation.

Leading by doing

In this locality, the community has made immense contributions to the school. The school was established in 1970. Since that time the community has given various kinds of support to the institution. To begin with, the community donated a hand pump to the school. The head teacher says, “One day while talking to a group of villagers, I expressed a wish that the school had a hand pump so that children do not have to go outside to drink water. After some days the same group came to the school and donated enough money to install a hand pump”. This kind of responsiveness on the part of the community towards the school is unique. In a context where generally communities even damage and appropriate public property rather than assisting in its development, such attitudes are unusual. Another instance of such responsiveness was again displayed when, the head teacher was complaining to a villager regarding the absence of a main gate. The villager at once donated the wooden planks, which now make up the school main gate. Here it is important to mention that the villager had saved these wooden planks to make a donkey cart for agricultural usage. This gives a clear message that the community gives prime importance to the school as well as education. Even individual needs were sacrificed for the sake of the school. This is sheer commitment and motivation on the part of the community.

During a focus group discussion the community members were asked why they were so mindful of the school, unlike other communities. They replied confidently that this school has produced so many successful students in the past, from which they have all benefited. It is their duty to take good care of it in return. This is done by having regular meetings with teachers, listening to their problems and by



A coming together of School and Community

trying to solve these collectively. The school is the only available institution in area for their children's education and all their future hopes are attached to it. Thus they take good care of it and treat it as a common property towards which every villager has a duty to perform. They further added that it is not only the institution but also the head teacher who is esteemed by the community. He is given a place of high status by all, young and old alike. They have even provided the head teacher with a residence in the village. He used to travel a long distance to reach the school. The villagers got together and decided to provide him with the facility at no cost so that he can concentrate on educating their young ones.

When the head teacher was asked about community participation, he said the people are very encouraging and cherish him. According to him a good community-school relationship is always a two-way process. The community can not keep on pumping resources in the school if the head teacher and teachers do not respond to their expectations and vice versa. The head teacher ensures that all teachers and he do not lose reverence in the eyes of the community; this is done by always demonstrating appropriate behavior. In this way the community-school relationship becomes one of mutual respect and responsiveness; thereby gelling the two together with identical priorities and a shared course of action for all activities of mutual interest.

After the training, in which both head teacher and one nominated community member participated, the partnership has matured even further. Soon afterwards the community, mobilized by trainers as well as trained participants, collected twenty percent of the total cost for reconstruction of the school building.

The program has successfully recognized the importance of community participation by incorporating one school council member into their trainings, to enable active participation of the institution, especially as a community member now heads the school council instead of the head teacher. As things stand now, the old building has been demolished to give way to a new structure. Under these circumstances the place looks like a ground, planted at irregular intervals with eucalyptus trees. Construction debris is lying in one corner and piles of bricks at a couple of points.

Instead of boundary wall, a hedge of thatched reed encircles the premises with a reasonably large painted main gate made out of wood and iron. In the centre is a pedestal like concrete structure about two feet high. This is used as a table by the teachers. In all, six classes sit in the ground. The




4students have no chairs or tables. They sit on taatts , which is a mockery of the claims of the government that all taatts have been replaced by furniture in state-run schools. In front of some classes are black or white boards. The teachers however have chairs to sit on. They usually place the chairs in front of their respective classes, just beside the boards. Soon there will be a proper building for the school, thanks to active community participation and successful training. The community members are playing a dynamic part in the construction of the building as well, and ensuring that the building material is not substandard.

Teaming up for quality

There are a total of three teachers for six classes so every teacher has to take two classes simultaneously. The head teacher teaches Katchi (equivalent to Prep. Or Nursery) and Class III. The other two teachers take Classes I, II, IV and V respectively. The head teacher manages his team well and there exists a strong working relationship among teachers. A good example for this is provided by the division of work among the team members. The head teacher makes sure that he remains in the school at all times except when he is called by the department or is away for training. The other teacher, who happens to be a childhood friend of the head teacher, is assigned with the duties of teaching as well as moving around in the locality for different school-related tasks. These tasks

5include prompt delivery of department's official documents to all schools in the markaz ; going to the education department for maintaining liaison and other such tasks. His friend's appointment is not a coincidence but by clever design of the head teacher in a bid to build a strong team for the school. One of the prominent community members also facilitated his appointment by persuading education officials. This appointment strengthened the head teacher in building a robust team of teachers. The third teacher is also assigned with multiple tasks in the school, besides teaching.

A marked attitudinal difference after receiving training is that the teachers do not treat their work as a 'duty' for which they are remunerated, but as a contribution towards development of youth. They take

6it as a kind of khidmat . This subjective difference of perception plays a very important role in shaping the behavior of teachers. They say and think it is this perception which makes them work harder in the right direction. For them, their work no longer remains a mechanical activity and transcends into a more meaningful soul-satisfying experience. Nonetheless, the chain of cumulative social impacts does not stop here. The community strives for the same, which explains all the contributions made by it. One example was narrated by teachers during field work: the head teacher, during his fund collection drive for the reconstruction of the school building, went to a house where the residents refused to give funds and misbehaved with the head teacher. The incident was popularized by gossip and soon peer pressure started building on the said family. Ultimately, they yielded to this mounting pressure, apologized to the head teacher and contributed to the fund.

This kind of subjectivity is absent from the mainstream state policy for community participation. Its emphasis lies in instituting community participation artificially without giving it any latent meanings of contextual sensitivity as such. The emphasis has remained on 'duty' rather than khidmat.




City District Government FaisalabadStrategic Policy Unit

Learning is taking place

As one of the teacher's said, “during the days of 'duty', we used to teach directly from the text books, encouraging students to learn every thing by heart. We used to avoid concepts because we did not know any other method of teaching nor did we have the motivation to innovate. Once oriented with the concept of 'commitment', we changed drastically. Now we plan lessons, perform activities around lessons, explain concepts and so on. For doing all this, the training has been very helpful.” Students acknowledge the same and mention that teachers used to even beat them in past years but now they have stopped doing so, barring a few examples. Students now take more interest in the school because it is a place of playful activities and learning new concepts.

The teachers were observed doing activities with classes. One teacher was busy in showing children how to write on the ground. This teacher was teaching Katchi students and was teaching them to recognize and write letter of the Urdu alphabet. First of all he wrote one alphabet on the white board

7and told students that it is Jeem . He asked the class to name a few objects which start with the letter. The children called out different words, some of which were correct and some wrong. The teacher accepted the right ones and wrote these on white board. He used encouraging words throughout the process. He used to call students by name if their attention was diverted at any moment. Upon hearing his name the respective child would start paying attention. The teacher named a few objects which started with jeem. One of the children said, 'jail' also begins with jeem. The teacher agreed with him and then the same child started explaining who goes to jail. The teacher listened carefully. Another child joined the conversation and said that people who go to jail are severely beaten up by the police. The teacher added that students should not do any immoral act because going to jail is never a good thing. Then the teacher told the class to write the alphabet on ground with their fore fingers. The students started writing and teacher sat down and helped those who could not do so.

Other students were engrossed in writing on the board during an interactive session. The teacher was explaining to the children, how shadows are produced. He drew a diagram on the white board, of a torch on one side and a ball on the other. By changing the position of the torch he explained how shadows are made. He also elaborated that shadows can be shorter and longer depending upon the placement of the source of light. If the source of light is at right angles to the object, no shadow shall be produced. As the source moves away from the right angle, the shadow will start appearing on the other side of the object, and will grow in size as the source moves towards the horizontal plane. He explained this concept with the help of diagrams on the white board. Once the students had grasped the idea, he invited them to draw its diagram on the white board, which students were quite happy to do. After a number of students had drawn the diagram, he asked the class to draw this diagram in their note books as home work.



This approach towards teaching and learning has decreased the gap between teachers and students. The teachers are comparatively friendlier towards students; hence students do not hesitate to express their opinions and increasing the probabilities of better learning. During classroom observations this was evident. At one instance when a student gave a wrong answer to one of the questions asked by the teacher, the rest of the class laughed. The teacher told everybody not to laugh and engaged the student in a conversation leading him to the right answer. The teachers were also observed using encouraging words and expressions throughout the lectures directed towards students. This technique is used to encourage students to learn.

All the above cited teaching techniques are positive non-standard practices as far as state run schools are concerned. In these schools teachers usually do not go for such activity-based learning and friendly attitudes: the norm comprises corporal punishment, learning by rote, and a lack of conceptual clarity among teachers as well as students. The teachers at this school relate the topic to be discussed with the previous lesson taught. They summarize the previous lesson and connect this summary with the next lesson, hence making the experience a totality of concepts. At the end of the lesson teachers narrate a short synopsis of the lesson to be taught on the next day. This is done to maintain student interest in the class based activities.

These are exceptional teachers. The head teacher is BA., BEd., with 15 years of teaching experience. He resides locally as the community has provided him with residence in the village. The other teacher, who happens to be the head teacher's childhood friend and whose appointment in this school is by design, as explained earlier, is also BA., BEd., with 15 years experience. He lives two kilometers away from the village and it usually takes two minutes to reach the school on his motorcycle. The third teacher has an MA (Islamic Studies), BEd., and lives five kilometers away from the school. He owns a bicycle and it takes him forty-five minutes to ride to school. This team of teachers is well connected and can be considered as 'local'. None of the teachers has to travel a long way, which is very positive in the sense that they are more attached to the school. Also, these are highly qualified teachers when compared to other state schools, where usually Matric PTC teachers or at the most FA teachers are teaching. In this school all the teacher are BA., BEd., and one of them is even a master's degree holder.

All these factors contribute towards better teaching and learning at the school, leading to its outstanding performance. It also shows that local, well educated teachers are the need of the hour. Such teachers can make better use of trainings, as is the case in this particular instance.

The Assistant Education Officer (AEO), during his interview, shared the opinion that the school's success is due to efforts made by teachers. He said that the teachers make sure that they arrive at the school on time, they take an interest in the trainings and training materials, they apply new teaching methodologies in the classroom, therefore they are the ones who make it all happen. He did seem, however, a bit out of touch with ground realities, as the rest of the data portrays. The enrolment in the school has remained steady over the years. All the


Name Classes

Taught

Subjects Academic Qualification

Professional Qualification

Years Teaching

Amjad Ali Nursery & 4 All BSc, MA BEd 15

Saeed Ali Shah 2 & 3 All BA BEd 15

Muhammad Naeem 1 & 5 All MA BEd 6



people of the village prefer to enroll their children and grand children in this school. The rich and the poor all follow this trend. The biggest landowner's grandson as well as the head teacher's own son study in this very institution. The landowner can easily afford to send his grandson to the city to any private school for better educational facilities. His choice of this school means there is a confidence that quality education is being provided by the institution.

Overall, usually rich people do not send their children to government schools because relatively well-off people do not consider these to be quality institutions. In 2005, the number of students enrolled in the school was 97, now there are 99 enrolled students. For a relatively smaller community like this one, it is rather a good enrolment record. The head teacher said that dropout in the school occurs only when a family moves from the village. Otherwise there is no chance of any dropout because when a child is not coming to the school, the teachers discusses it with him and reasons for the absence of the child are sought from his parents. In this way, dropout is checked and regularly monitored


Enrolment Attendance Drop-out Class

Nov. 05 Nov. 07 Nov. 05 Nov. 07 Nov. 05 Nov. 07

Nursery/Katchi 13 22 13 20 0 0

Grade 1 14 17 14 15 0 4

Grade 2 24 12 21 11 0 0

Grade 3 15 21 13 19 0 2

Grade 4 19 17 19 15 1 2

Grade 5 12 10 11 9 1 0

Total 97 99 91 89 2 8



3.0 A SCHOOL IN TRANSITION

Government Girls Primary SchoolBhatta Colony, UC 192 Faisalabad

Driving down the crowded Sargodha Road, there is an inconspicuous turn-off into a narrow street, barely wide enough for a single vehicle. It is through a rusted gate a short way down this street that we enter the Government Girls Primary School, Bhatta Colony, UC 192, Faisalabad. Established in 1978, it currently has six teachers and 140 students. The school caters to an extremely poor community where most of the girls' parents are labourers, factory-workers or street vendors. The fact that many of the students were not wearing warm clothes or socks despite the cold December weather is evidence of this. Nevertheless, the school gives hope to all those who teach and study there, as well as to the members of the community.

Both teachers and students are aware that they are dealing with change at many levels. On one hand their former Head Teacher, who did a lot for the school and of whom they were all extremely fond, was promoted and transferred to a Middle School just two months ago in October 2007. On the other, two new 'contract' teachers have been hired, which means each class now has its own teacher, and a brand new school building is nearing completion. A new School Council (SC) has also been formed. There is an air of nostalgic reminiscence coupled with the anticipation of what lies ahead. What is crucial at this juncture is that the effort and struggles of the past, specifically in terms of teaching and learning, are not lost as they step into the future.

Inside the school compound: changes in infrastructure

Classes are held as they have been for many years in the three available rooms, the veranda and outdoors; there are piles of sand and bricks and extensive construction underway in the compound. Construction workers use the existing classrooms to store cement and other building materials, and wander in and out as required; they make their tea on a stove at the back of the room where Katchi (Nursery) and Class I are seated. Yet neither teachers nor students seem in the least perturbed by these disruptions. What they did complain about was having to lock up their teaching materials in case they get spoiled or misplaced in this confusion. Due to the construction work the lavatory is dug up and rendered unusable: a house close to the school has allowed the use of its toilet till new ones are constructed.

Every Friday when the workers leave early, some of the teachers go to inspect the work. They are excited by the number and size of the rooms and are already planning to covert one of the current classrooms into an office. Through the Public-Private Initiative, Al-Rashid Textile Mills, whose



A School in Transition

factory is located close by, is the donor for the new building. They are taking an active interest in the progress of the school, not only in terms of infrastructure development but also how the facilities will improve overall welfare of the people.

The manager of the factory, Chaudhry M. Saeed, met teachers and community members and provided suggestions on how to utilise the facilities provided. He said they were building a hall, a stage, and grassy areas to allow for extracurricular activities, and wanted there to be scholarships for exceptional students. He felt there should be an emphasis on English education and offered to provide a computer if a teacher was trained to use it for teaching. A sweeper and gas connection has already been provided by the donor. This investment and interest is greeted with enthusiasm by the teachers of the school. “We cannot believe our good fortune,” remarked Sughra and Rubina, the teachers for Katchi and Class III.

There is a similar sense among the other teachers, as well as the relief that the new building will mean they no longer have to teach two classes in one room. Currently, Katchi and Class I share a room, as do Classes II and III. Class IV sat in the veranda outside the room used by Class V. There is a 'blackboard' painted on a wall outside. The problems that arise out of shared rooms are obvious: use of the blackboard, noise levels, and student distraction are only a few, all of which were observed during our visit. Despite this, the move away from traditional teaching and learning methods is apparent at many levels.

Inside the classrooms: the learning environment

Unlike the usual classroom arrangement in rows, benches and tables for Katchi and Class I were placed in a 'U' shape around the room, allowing students to interact with their own class-fellows and teachers to walk easily to each child. Similarly, Classes II and III were also arranged so that group work among students is facilitated and there is less interference between the two separate classes. Class IV sat in groups on mats in the veranda. Each classroom displayed wall-charts and posters of the students' work however none of these appeared to be put up recently. Timetables on class notice-boards also seemed to be outdated. A likely reason could be the imminent shift to the new building. All teachers used the blackboard frequently, often drawing diagrams related to course content; students were also called to write or draw on the board, which they enjoyed doing.

It was interesting to observe the differences between the four 'senior' teachers and the two new teachers. None of the students in any class showed any sign of fear of punishment or serious reprimand from their teachers; however the two newer teachers did not mingle with students as easily as the 'senior' teachers. They called students to their desk to check their work, and used a sterner tone, whereas the 'senior' teachers were friendlier and went from student to student, even sitting with them




to give individual attention. This difference was most apparent in terms of the teaching methodology being employed.

Sughra, the teacher for Katchi, shared the room with Sadia, the teacher for Class I. Sughra has been with this school for seven years, and has recently received teacher training. She has 22 years of

8teaching experience at various levels and has a Matric PTC qualification. “Out of all the schools I have taught in,” said Sughra, “the most learning happens in this one.” Sadia has been at this school for two months, has a BA/B.Ed and about three years' teaching experience mostly at private schools. Sadia's approach leaned towards the traditional, in terms of more emphasis on memorisation where as Sughra's was far more interactive.

Questions that Sughra posed to her class were often related to the students' own lives and experiences, and the Nursery students seemed very eager to participate. While this did mean that noise levels were occasionally deafening, students' responses were rarely chanted in unison and they remained fully engaged. Sadia's side of the room seemed more restrained in comparison, and the focus appeared to be on individual work, despite the group arrangement. When asked how she found the experience of teaching here, she said “I feel it is a service. These children need education, and my reward will be if I succeed in making them do well in their exams.” Her concern for weaker students was evident, yet her emphasis was on learning achievement in terms of “scoring marks”.

A similar scenario was visible in the room shared by Classes II and III. Rubina teaches Class III and has been with the school for seven years. She has an FA PTC, many years of teaching experience and has received SPU's teacher training. Fozia joined the school at the same time as Sadia, and has completed her BA, Part I. She too has previously taught in a private school. Rubina was most at ease with activity-based teaching methodology out of all the teachers observed in the school. Fozia was the most traditional in her teaching style, asking students to repeat certain words without providing an explanation and placing much emphasis on how singular and plural words should be written on a

9page rather than what they mean. The contrast in their interaction with students, as well as general demeanour was striking.




Of the lessons observed for Rubina's class, one was a revision lesson on 'parts of a flower', where she drew and labelled a diagram on the board and pointed out the parts on an actual flower to reinforce the information. In another science lesson she called on students to draw on the blackboard and maintained an atmosphere of discussion as opposed to lecture. In a lesson on fractions, she demonstrated the concept by folding a sheet of paper into halves, thirds, quarters and eighths, following this by asking individual students to do the same. In each case, the students were comfortable with the methodology, indicating that this approach was used frequently with them. They were also very confident and unafraid of asking questions and requesting clarification.

Rubina said that the way students responded to changes in her teaching style and the improvement in their learning motivated her to use these techniques more often. While the preparation time for such lessons was greater, the results were far more rewarding. “I can see the difference between how I teach now and how I used to teach, and I don't want to revert to that,” she remarked. Out of her class of 15 students, she was most concerned about three who were showing few signs of improvement: “It could be that they have family or household problems, but it is very frustrating for me because I just don't know how to get them interested.” She said she shared the learning materials she had made with Fozia and encouraged her to use them, which she did on occasion.

Shehnaz, who teaches Class V, has been with the school for seven years and has recently received training. In the lessons observed, she demonstrated examples of physical and chemical reactions as she explained the concept; she called on students.to draw and write on the blackboard but chose to do the experiments for them herself. She made good use of the materials at hand, like melting candle-wax to show a physical reaction and burning a piece of paper to demonstrate a chemical reaction. The change in teaching style, however, was one that she was conscious of and somewhat hesitant about. She expressed a keenness to attend more training sessions because she felt the students learned more with activities, and could retain it better.

The school's new Head Teacher and teacher for Class IV is Sameena. She has been with the school for almost two years and has 28 years of teaching experience. In conversation, she immediately acknowledges the work done for the school by the previous Head Teacher, and says she too has many plans for the future. She has received teacher training and implements what she has learned in her classes. “We all work together as a team here, and we all want the best for the school,” she said. Yet there seems to be a distance between her and the rest of the teachers. In terms of building confidence and camaraderie between herself and her colleagues, there is still a way to go.

Perhaps she is aware that the position she has stepped into is one where a very high standard has been set and is uncomfortable with the comparison. Yet the one thing that brought a smile to her face is the “good fortune” that has befallen the school in the form of new teachers and the new building. “I cannot express how much I am looking forward to its completion!” she said with a laugh.




All the teachers spoke well of each other, even though some acknowledged that the change in leadership required them to make adjustments. There were nostalgic references to how the previous Head Teacher often visited their classes and enjoyed discussions over cups of tea. At the same time, there was an awareness that they had to work together to regenerate previous levels of motivation and their former willingness to adopt changes in pedagogy. “We understand each other's problems and constraints and help one another to share the load; we all understand our responsibilities,” asserted Sughra.

Students: the ultimate measure of success

Girls from all five classes at GGPS, Bhatta Colony, were extremely confident and proud to show what they had learnt. Katchi students happily read out the Urdu alphabet and a poem, while Class I students showed off their knowledge of numbers. Class II was equally enthusiastic, and said they enjoyed it when their teachers told them stories. One little girl, unable to contain her excitement, began to tell the story of a mischievous monkey; that it was partly in Punjabi shows that there is not only recall but also comprehension. One of the students said that the former Head Teacher would discuss stories differently with them as compared to their new teacher. Class III students said they loved the games they played in their classes and enjoyed all subjects because they didn't “feel like lessons”. Their recall of earlier lessons was remarkable, even when questions were phrased differently.

Of all the classes, Class IV was the keenest to show their work and knowledge. Each student read out a poem or prose from her text book or exercise book. One girl, while reading out her notes on climate and its impact, interrupted her reading: “Our teacher explained that roofs are sloping in places that receive snowfall, so that snow does not accumulate,” she explained, holding her book as an inverted 'V' to further emphasise her point. Many said that science was the subject they found most difficult. English was the subject they wanted to learn, despite the fact that they found it difficult. When asked why, one girl responded, “so that we can appear educated.”




Class V was also eager to demonstrate what they knew, showing educational games that they play, as well as acting out one of their Urdu poems. They all claimed to enjoy Science, despite its difficult questions, and felt Mathematics was much more difficult because it has “barrey barrey sawaal”. English was the least favourite subject for many. They said they enjoy attending school because learning is fun, and they want to “become something” when they grow up the list included doctors, engineers and teachers. “We don't take days off from school any more because we enjoy ourselves so much here,” said one student.

Community members are happy with the progress of the school. One said, “When I was a student in this school, the teachers' attitude was very different. Now my niece studies here and I often visit the school. I see children playing games and doing different activities, and it makes me want to join the school as a student again.” Another commented that the school started to change for the better when the previous Head Teacher joined, and has continued to improve even after she left, because everyone has been influenced by her. A parent added, “I am an uneducated woman and initially was not interested in my children's studies; now I am because the teachers have involved us and advised us to do so.”

Clearly learning is taking place at this school, and there is a desire to improve further in both teachers and students. At the same time, there is a chance that teachers may revert to traditional pedagogy and attitudes in the absence of a Head Teacher with as much drive and initiative as the previous one. The new Head Teacher can lead the school but only if she overcomes her own hesitation to do so. The changes in infrastructure can help alleviate some of the problems faced by the school, and can be utilised to improve teaching and learning, however, the onus lies on the teachers and their willingness to change.

This means working as a team with their current Head Teacher, and involving and guiding the new teachers so that they too may benefit from changes in methodology and attitude. The ultimate gauge of the success of a school is its students. In GGPS, Bhatta Colony, students are eager to learn and proud of what they know. They are happy to come to school, willing to adapt to changes, and full of confidence. It is imperative that the momentum is not lost, and they are able to realise their potential.




4. 0 A SCHOOL THAT'S HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Government Boys Primary School RB 67 Union Council 37Jaranwala

The region was in the grip of one of the worst cold waves ever, but for the students and teachers of Government Primary School (GPS) for Boys RB 67-UC 37 Jaranwala, it was just another school day. Nursery, Class IV and V were seated outside in different parts of the school premises, while Classes I, II and III were in separate rooms inside. None of the classes had benches or desks for students, only makeshift mats on the cold damp ground. If one did not go beyond appearances, there could be no bleaker picture; yet GPS RB 67 is a unique school with its own unique story.

Located in Jaranwala, District Faisalabad, the drive from Faisalabad city to the school is a picturesque one that zigzags through fields of sugarcane and mustard. There are frequent stops to allow overburdened bullock-carts to pass along the narrow road. Once there, one is struck by the large pucca houses opposite the school, which is situated next door to the Union Council Office. Built in 1912, it appears that little has been done to improve the existing infrastructure since then. Of the five rooms, one is used as an office and another as a store-room. There is only one barely functional toilet, and a single hand-pump that supplies water. Dilapidated though it is, it is nonetheless clean and tidy, with trees and trimmed hedges.

GPS RB 67 has a total of seven teachers, of whom three are women. Its enrolment has increased from 167 in November 2005 to 212 in November 2007, with only one confirmed drop-out due to relocation. About 50 of the recent enrolments are apparently because of the addition of female teachers, and ten of the new students have shifted here from private schools. By and large, the student body does not belong to affluent households, although there are exceptions. The agricultural region where the school is located means that many of the boys' parents work in the fields, or in factories dealing with agricultural produce.

Transformations

Six out of the seven teachers at this school have received Whole School Development training through the Institute of Learning (IoL), Faisalabad. All of them spoke highly of the experience and expressed a keenness for additional trainings. The Head Teacher, Maqsood, has been at this school for 18 years, and the training has impacted him the most. He is, in fact, the primary reason why this school can be considered a success.



A School that’s Heading in the Right Direction

According to Haji Manzoor, the teacher for Class IV and Maqsood's older brother, for about six months after Maqsood joined the school, he worked diligently. At that point, there was an issue regarding one of the boys a case of giving too severe a punishment and the boy's family members came to the school armed with sticks. They threatened and abused him, and might even have caused bodily harm. From then on, Maqsood hardly ever attended the school, let alone take an interest in what was happening there. This scenario lasted for roughly 16 years. Manzoor himself has been at the school for seven years, after living in the Middle East and later teaching in other villages.

During those years, other confrontations with community members occurred, including one where some of the teachers and students were mending a broken boundary wall: one boy's family members were enraged at this and resorted to physical violence with the teachers. Another teacher was either transferred or his services were terminated. All in all there was hardly any redeeming feature in the school. Haji Manzoor said, “Why should I lie to you? He (Maqsood) was suspended but his service was not terminated. None of us had the will to work.” The turning point for Maqsood came when he attended the ten-day Head Teachers' training conducted by SPU. Since then his entire attitude towards the school changed.

Manzoor, too, was radically altered by the training he attended. He said, “Earlier I was not at all comfortable with anyone observing my teaching; now it doesn't affect me at all. Now even if the president of the country himself were to observe my teaching it would be fine with me!” This

11confidence, he felt, came from attending the training sessions. “It was one phrase that Toqir Sahib

12used that changed my entire outlook. He referred to teaching as a paighambari paisha and that's what made me realise the significance of the work I did. It was like a spark had been ignited within me that gave me the desire to work again.”

Teaching in practice

Manzoor teaches mostly in Punjabi, and his class of 21 boys was very comfortable with that. During the mathematics lesson he used colloquial terminology but gave their Urdu equivalents as he explained. Maintaining a friendly demeanour, he called on students to provide answers on the blackboard. His Urdu lesson was interactive and the methodology very engaging. He provided explanations of words and phrases, often using colloquial references and then translating them into Urdu and English. At one point the essay under discussion referred to the distance covered by an aeroplane, and he was quick to test the boys' mathematical knowledge.

He was proud of his students' understanding of subjects and conveyed a sense of paternal ownership: there was an attendance chart on the notice-board to keep track of their progress. He said, “Feel free to ask them anything from the topics we've covered I'm sure they'll answer correctly.” He often

13addressed students as putar and patted them on the shoulder when he praised them, which was frequent. Attuned to the class, when about one-third of the Urdu essay had been discussed, he asked if they wanted to continue or move on to the science lesson. He explained, “Their attention was starting to wander.” Sure enough the majority was ready to move on to another lesson.




Mohammad Asim teaches Class V along with the Head Teacher, Maqsood. Has been at this school for four years, is on contract and has a BA. He said he refused a job just last week even though it offered a better salary. “I want to stay in the teaching profession I like it here.” Asim did not receive training and did not claim to know what it entailed. “Until a teacher is satisfied his or her pay and enjoys the job,” he stated, “the profession will not get the respect it deserves.” He had strong views about the bureaucracy of the education system, and the role of the community, but did not want to be quoted.

Asif, the teacher for Nursery, has taught at this school since 2004 and is on contract. He said he used the teaching kit regularly, and found it useful. Students were enthused and energised by the activities therein, and that made it worthwhile for him. He used number cards or drew numbers or letters in the air with his finger and asked students to identify them. Asif was soft-spoken and came across as very patient, giving much positive reinforcement to those who responded or wrote correct answers.

Managing the large class appeared to be a major issue, and while the boys seated closer to him were engaged by the lesson, those at the back were doing other things and were not attentive. It was clear that the class size was too large for one teacher to manage. He explained that he normally divides the class into groups, as there are about 20 or so who are too young (3 years old) to follow what's going on.

The older students of Nursery class knew their numbers and alphabets, and were confident and eager. Maqsood showed the nursery rhyme 'Jack and Jill' in Nursery's textbook: “These children go to the mosque to learn Arabic, they speak Punjabi at home and with each other, and we try to teach them Urdu and basic English in school how can they be expected to learn something this complicated at Nursery level when they are already so burdened?”

Classes I, II and III are taught by Kausar, Asifa and Tayyaba respectively. All three hold Master's degrees (Islamiyat, Geography and Mathematics) and Kausar and Asifa formerly taught at private schools. They have been at this school for a year and are hired on contract.

Much of the increase in enrolment was credited to them, specifically because of their experience at private schools and qualifications, and they were proud of that. They were eager to share methods they employ to teach reading and writing, adding that the leap from basics to complicated texts in the syllabus made that challenging for them.




Tayyaba explained that she divided the Urdu alphabet into letters that changed in form when put into words and those that didn't, which helped her students in writing. “I tell them, for

14example, that aliph does not change, no matter 15where in the word it is placed, but bey, pey etc.

are altered. I do that with the whole alphabet.” Kausar wrote portions of words and asked students to read out what they saw, thereby using phonemes to read entire words. Class I was extremely proficient at word recognition and was able to read an entire paragraph with ease. It was difficult to gauge how much reading was with comprehension; nonetheless Kausar was thorough about explaining meanings in context.

One of Asifa's lessons with Class II was similar in content, but she later brought out a

16supplementary reader and conducted a lesson on shared reading. Interest and enthusiasm among the students increased dramatically as they called out what happens next and waved their hands so they could give the answer. They all claimed to love the book, and Asifa corroborated that by saying, “Every time I bring out this book they all get excited. They know it by heart but still can't get enough of it”. Even her own demeanour changed in this lesson, from rather stern to a smiling, friendly teacher.

Tayyaba was teaching fractions in mathematics, and it was evident that her own familiarity with concepts assisted her in explaining them to Class III. The class was quick to respond; when asked to depict a fraction visually, many students were eager to try and the one who eventually did was confident and correct. Tayyaba expressed concern for her students, and said that it made her happy when they did well. She referred to one particular boy whose attention and performance had declined sharply after a land dispute between his father and uncle, forcing him to leave school early to help his father.

It was apparent that the three female teachers were familiar with concepts acquired during their training on activity-based learning, but it also appeared that they were not employing them frequently. Students recognised the methodology but did not demonstrate the kind of familiarity that frequent exposure would result in. All three were keen on improving their students' performance but were relying more on lecture and memorisation to achieve those ends. Kausar speculated, “Maybe because I was exposed to the lecture method as an MA student, it is difficult for me to do things differently; it is difficult to bring myself down to the children's level.”

The Head Teacher

Maqsood teaches Social Studies and Urdu to Class V. His teaching style was informal and interactive, focussing on discussion rather than lecture. He maintained a wry sense of humour throughout the




lesson, entertaining students' responses and leading on from them to explicate concepts. In the lesson on weather and climate, he referred to students' personal experience to emphasise his points. He showed portions of the text he had highlighted, that he felt were most important for them to understand. “In Class V we have to keep in mind that their exams are crucial and have to teach accordingly,” he explained, and then added, “Cheating is rampant.” To ensure attendance he had acquired the telephone numbers and contact information of each boy, so that they would not miss lessons. His students responded eagerly to his questions and were confident and unafraid.

One cannot help but feel that Maqsood is more an academic than an administrator. He waved a form in frustration, saying, “Every month for 18 years they have expected me to fill this out. Every month I tell them the school was built in 1912, has so many rooms and so many pillars. I can accept that this information may change but tell me, how can my date-of-birth change every month?” He admits that sometimes he simply makes up information because he knows that no one will bother to read it. “These forms are designed by someone who has tried to stuff in as much as he can into the four pages because he's trying to impress his superior I do not have the free time to spend hours on it.”

Maqsood has noticed a change in the last three years previously two or three years would go by without anyone visiting the school to check, but now the AEO pays more attention. Even now, though, the emphasis is on teacher attendance. AEO visits make sure that teachers are present but do not address the issue of quality of education. He feels that until each individual teacher is checked regularly monthly there can be no improvement. “I propose that there should be unannounced visits to schools to test students on what they have covered. The results should then be announced in a public gathering of AEOs and teachers, and the schools that do well should be commended. Those that do not should also be mentioned publicly, because that will give the incentive to improve.”

“Attendance of teachers has improved of late because they are apprehensive about the AEO's visits, but students are still not their focus: they are concerned about their jobs. Even if teachers' salaries are doubled, it will make no difference because teachers feel it is their due. They must receive training to change their perceptions.” Maqsood was critical of the process of attaining higher academic qualifications: he felt that degrees could be attained without much effort. He argued that at the




primary school level, it was not higher qualifications but practical training that made all the difference. The training he attended was “unique and extraordinary because not only were the trainers experts in their field, they also imparted the information effectively and came across as sincere and personally motivated.” Their sincerity inspired him to change his views.

Shortly after his training he purchased highlighters, markers and other stationery, books, and a second-hand battery-operated alphabet gadget from his personal finances. He made charts on history and Urdu poetry. He said, “The teachers made fun of me at first. They tore some of the charts, spilt tea on others. Eventually they joined in and helped out as well.” These charts had been put away because the school was going to be whitewashed, but he showed a few of them. “Change is a slow process,” he mused, “and it will take time for things to take effect.”

GPS RB67 has received Rs.130, 000 that will be used for fixing the boundary wall and whitewashing the rooms. Maqsood has formed a new School Council and held two meetings. Between the SC and teachers they have collected Rs.34, 000. The water tank and electricity connection have been provided by parents. Maqsood said with a laugh, “The boundary wall has been left in this condition because it has completed its term. Let me explain: if someone dies, the funeral prayers are held in the school; the neighbourhood's children use the premises as their playground; mothers leave their young children here when they go to work. After fixing it several times, we have given up because we know it'll just be broken again. Now we'll just rebuild the whole thing once and for all.”

He spoke highly of the need for experiential education, saying the current system only

17encourages “rattai aur pittai” . While generally good humoured, there was one point at which he got emotional: “If I didn't care, why would I go through the 30- 40-year-old log books of this school? I have studied them and I can see the differences. Former AEOs would make detailed and astute observations; one of them had even noted the absence of a particular student. They knew the schools and their visits were a celebration where the school was decorated and work was displayed. Now it's all about making sure the paperwork is complete quality of education is simply not their headache.”

Maqsood was equally candid about the relationship between the school and the community: “Sometimes they tell us that we do not punish the boys enough, other times they complain that we are too severe. The parents




insult teachers and blame them for fights among boys, even when they happen after school hours.” He felt that when parents were expected to invest financially in their children's education, they valued it more. That was why, in his opinion, there was a difference in their attitude towards public and private education. “If we want society to improve, we have to change our approach to education. We are required to teach so they attain a degree, not so they can learn. Knowledge doesn't get transferred from books they are just tools it comes from switching on your mind so you can be receptive to information.”

Opinions and undercurrents

The teachers of GPS RB67 were unanimous on the fact that their Head Teacher had changed significantly. Tayyaba said “He suddenly started asking us what we were teaching and telling us to do such-and-such poem.” “He asked me to make charts for my class,” added Kausar. Asim commented, “He suddenly started going on about learning-by-doing; I told him to demolish the roof and rebuild it if he was so keen!” Manzoor felt that the Head Teacher needed to be more punctual and needed to check teachers' work daily to see what had been done. But then he said, “If he put in 40% earlier, it has gone up by 60% - in other words he's 90% there!”

There was an atmosphere of collegiality, which is encouraged by Maqsood. Teachers are asked to observe each other's classes so they can learn from one another. Male teachers of the school have welcomed Kausar, Asifa and Tayyaba as family members, not only because they belong to the same village but also because they want to maintain a genial atmosphere. The women do not have any complaints regarding male teachers' attitudes or behaviour, and say they feel comfortable and safe. “We even address one of the teachers as 'uncle'”, they say laughingly. They use the three available classrooms, in part so that they aren't visible to passers-by looking over the wall.

Maqsood said that such issues made him question whether hiring them was a good idea, though this was not said in their presence. The women appeared to keep to themselves and there were some insinuations about them considering themselves superior because of their qualifications. Asif added, “If we had asked them to call us 'Sir' their manner might have been more respectful but we did not want that kind of deference.” While male teachers acknowledge that the community is happy with the female teachers, they nonetheless feel that the women are waiting for an opportunity to get a better job. Perhaps what was being implied was that they do not feel the same kind of ownership of the school as the male teachers do.

The issue of private schools' supposed superiority was one that caused some tension among teachers. The women felt that that even if students had equal intelligence, those from private schools would somehow perform better. One of them remarked, “After all there's bound to be a difference between boys that play with a bat and ball and those that play computer games.” But then another added, “As such there is no difference between this school and a private school, except that there they have better facilities; there the children have exercise books but here they sometimes use a takhti and slates.”

The school and the community

It was clear that the relationship between the school and the community was tenuous at best. Parents' involvement was an issue that Asim, Nursery's teacher, felt strongly about: he said they requested




them to provide books and uniforms to their children but they did not respond. “We have even sent notes home with students but parents are just not interested.” Asif, Class V's teacher, also felt that no matter what the teachers do, they can only succeed if parents cooperate with them. Manzoor, Class IV's teacher, felt that the parents' tone and attitude towards teachers was one of utter disrespect. Commenting on the buffalos tied just outside the school wall, he said, “We have asked the student's father several times to tie them elsewhere but he just does not listen.”

The main issue raised by the women of the community was to do with the lack of facilities in the 18school they felt that furniture, a sweeper and a chowkidar were basics that every school should have.

They said that the families that lived near the school had cars and sent their children to schools in the city; they therefore did not care to improve this school. For their own part, one of them said, “Our boys come back from school filthy because there are no chairs all we can do is wash their clothes and give them food. Nothing more.”

However after the criticism, they went on to say that the school had improved in the recent past, and the teaching and attitudes had improved. Some were particularly glad that the school now had women teachers. Male community members also acknowledged the improvements in the school over the past two years. They felt that the quality of teaching had improved and there had been a reduction in the severity of punishments meted to the boys. They also felt that the Head Teacher had started to make an effort to involve the community and that it was a positive move.

In conclusion

Maqsood received training in September-October 2007 but already feels the impact is diminishing. He recommended that there should be greater frequency in training so that individuals are not de-motivated. While the training was satisfactory on the whole, the process needed to be regularised through an organisation that could continue the work on a permanent basis. “The sole responsibility of the organisation should be to conduct regular, frequent trainings so that the effect does not fade away.” Activity-based teaching should be demonstrated not only in terms of how it is done but also how the materials can be made.

There needed to be more practice as well as a 'demo lesson' with an actual class, which would allow teachers to observe and learn how to manage their own classes in a similar manner. This point was supported by several other teachers, who also felt that specific topics from the syllabus should be covered in the training to make it more relevant.

It is remarkable that someone who was the Head Teacher of a school hardly ever attended it for 16 years, and even more so that the same person could change so radically. Maqsood is by no means an




uninterested individual; he is well-read and makes frequent references to Sufi philosophy and poetry. He is also candid and critical when discussing bureaucracy and the education system. His qualities are appreciated by his colleagues, and he attempts to practice what he preaches. Whether his transformation with regard to the school can actually alter the learning and attitudes within the school and the community remains to be seen. Although there is the concern that things can revert to their former state, it is apparent that the initial steps have been taken in the right direction and one hopes that levels of motivation are sustained.




5.0 A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNING

Government Boys Elementary School Village 203 GB Union Council 106 Samundari

Active involvement of the community

The school consists of two separate buildings half a kilometre apart. The main school building houses classes Katchi, I, IV and V, along with the three middle-school classes: VI, VII and VIII. A plaque, seeking that his parents be blessed for their good deed of educating children in the school, at the entrance gate of the second building constructed in 2005, provides the explanation for the donation of the land and school by a member of the community. It houses Classes II and III. Class III has a large number of boys divided into two sections but enrolment in Class II is low. According to the community, establishment of a school by the Ghazali Foundation, a private school system nearby, drew many students away from the boys' school. However, since Malik Mushtaq came as Head Teacher about a year and a half back enrolment has again picked up an indication that good leadership is essential to success. His old students whose children study in this school were instrumental in arranging for his transfer. The only M.Ed from his family Mushtaq is dedicated to education as is his wife, also a Head Teacher in a girl's school.

The new Chairman of the recently reconstituted school council, whose two sons are studying in the school, is keen to improve attendance of teachers as quality education alone will attract students. He also intends to use school funds more efficiently by supervising all new construction work himself. While we were sitting with the Head Teacher, an electrician from the community dropped by to offer his services free of cost.

The Head Teacher has collected eighty thousand rupees from the community for which he also thanks the training he and a community member received from SPU. The promise of additional funds from the project has also helped in getting people from the community more interested in contributing to the development of the school. Different kinship groups are vying with each other to express their interest.



A Supportive Environment for Learning

Leadership has revived the school

When Mushtaq joined as Head Teacher the first task he set himself was to build his teaching team. With eight teachers having undergone the SPU training he makes sure that they implement what they have learnt in the classroom. He has a keen insight into their teaching strengths and allocates them to the appropriate classes and subjects. At the same time he rotates them so that all classes can benefit from the teacher who is good in math or English. Nine teachers are available to teach as many classes/sections. Of these four are Matric/PTC teachers, three are BA/BSC/CT, and two are MA/BEd of whom one is female. No class is left unattended if its teacher is absent; either he takes the class himself or gives dual responsibility to another teacher. Even while we were talking he made sure that teachers and students were all working. Today, teachers are keen to be transferred to this school and none of the contract teachers placed here have left. Although the area is conservative, the head teacher has encouraged female teachers to come here; soon there will be two women in the school.

Child friendly classrooms

Impact of the training under the whole school development model is evident from how teaching is now conducted. The children look happy and each student is involved in the learning process. Their work is displayed in the classroom giving them a sense of confidence and achievement. Teachers first question children on what was done on the previous day before moving on to the day's lesson. They start by raising questions, encouraging the children to respond on the basis of their experiences, and adding some examples themselves. This is followed by writing the question and responses on the blackboard. It is only then that the teacher refers to the textbook. The bringing in of the students' knowledge and tying it in with what is in the book makes the lesson relevant and interesting. On this particular day the teacher was teaching about the environment and the difference between the rural and urban settings. Students participated eagerly trying to outdo one another in their response.

Teachers were seen to be frequently using three languages, the mother tongue Punjabi, the national language Urdu, and English. Teachers find it convenient to give instructions in Punjabi in the province, and they are also more comfortable using it for general conversation. A change in the attitude of teachers could be observed as they attempted to temper their authoritarian and harsh style of communicating with the students. It was also encouraging to hear them referring to the boys by name.

Though a little reticent, Class III students knew what the two colours of the national flag depicted. They could identify different words and expressed an interest in role play and drawing which had evidently been taught as part of science.

Teachers and students said they found it easier to teach now that they knew how to relate different activities to seating arrangements in the classroom. None of the children looked tired or bored as they




sometimes worked individually, sometimes in pairs and often in groups. They moved about in the classroom with ease and adjusted without any confusion or too much noise when the teacher asked them to do so. It was evident that this has become the set routine.

All children in each class also had school bags, textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners and sufficient colour pencils. However furniture, that is desks and benches, were only provided for Class V.

19Considering that this is a markaz school, this was a surprising find. It points to the uphill task of achieving quality in overcrowded and ill equipped classrooms.

Drawing makes learning exciting and easy

“See all the work I have done,” said a Class III student proudly showing his science book full of drawings and written work. He was also clear about the concepts he had worked on. Previously children found learning science and math the most difficult as these two subjects were taught primari ly through rote memorization. Since the trainings under the project, the focus had shifted to an understanding of concepts and active participation by teachers and students in the learning process. Drawing plants to understand their different parts and learning shape and size at the same time is something new for both teacher and student.

Students were clear about different science concepts such as what gases plants take in and give out. Group monitors ensured that all the students in their group had enough colour pencils and crayons to work with. Monitors are changed according to a set routine so that all children can participate in this process.

“It has become so much easier to teach math,” said one of the teachers, proud of the progress his class had made in learning fractions. Now that geometry boxes have been given to the schools, Class IV was engrossed in working out angles. The arrival of the new science and math kits a few days ago had generated excitement and apprehension on how to use them without too much damage.




A start has been made with the language kit; students were hoping to hear more stories such as the one about Babloo and his mischievous behaviour narrated to them by the teacher more than a year ago when he had returned from the training. They can never forget it.

Teachers' views

“We have changed our approach to teaching to make it more activity-based. Now children are more involved in what they are learning by using their hands, whether it is drawing or writing or measuring. In this way they do not forget what they have learnt. We tell them stories and jokes to maintain their interest. By using these new methodologies that we learnt in the training, in particular the weak children have benefited the most. Role play has been very effective in teaching language as previously children were weak in Urdu. We question students regularly and this provides us with feedback on their progress. We give them work to do in their exercise books and when these are checked by us we know how much they have learnt.”

Nazia, the alone female teacher in the boys' school, joined a year ago after she had received the training. In her view it is the small activities conducted for teaching math which is her specialty that have helped in clarifying concepts for children. She also mentioned the change in teachers' attitude, especially checking students' work, which has brought abut improvement. As a student of psychology she had learnt that every child is good in something and she followed this principle in her work.

All teachers have been trained by the Directorate of Staff Development (DSD) and eight have also undergone the WSD training. Teachers were of the view that prior to the training they received from SPU, they did not know how to handle the large number of children in one class. Now they divide them into two sections. They also mark their homework on alternate days so that each student's work is checked. They walk around the class more and question children individually and see their work. Children are taking much more interest in their studies and they no longer need to threaten them with a stick.

Teachers referred to problems of late arrival of students because of the work they have to do at home before coming to school. They also spoke about shortage of appropriate exercise books and how for math they had to teach children to make squares in their books to work on graphs and fractions.

The language kit had only just been given to the school. They were hesitant to hang it in the semi-20

covered area where the nursery class was sitting. So far only the Katchi qaida and some colour




pencils were available for the use of small children. The elderly teacher in charge of the class was trying to teach them to read and write: a task he found difficult to accomplish. At present nursery and Class I are housed in the main elementary school and Class II in the new building half a kilometre away. When asked if it would not be more appropriate to have the three junior classes together, perhaps in the other school building, the head teacher said that parents found it more convenient to send their small children to the main elementary school as it was nearer their homes. Using one kit in two different locations may present a problem.

Attendance showing improvement

It was a cold winter morning with some rain the day before. The school was not informed about our visit and the attendance register was checked the first day. Although there was little change in enrolment, attendance in all classes had improved markedly over the last two years. It can be assumed that the dropout will also be much less. Enrolment in nursery has risen, partly as a result of the EFA campaign launched throughout the district to get more children into school. It is now up to the school to keep them there.

A challenge for the school is the presence of three private schools in the village, which is the largest in the union council, consisting of 1600 households. The people are both rich and poor, the very rich belong to households from where most of the boys and men are working overseas or have businesses and shops in Samundari town. They can afford to send their children to the private schools. Several members of the community own land and poultry farms and their children are continuing to study in this government school. Children of the poor and working classes are also enrolled here as education is free, as are textbooks.


Attendance Enrolment

Nov 05 Nov 07 Nov 05 Nov 07

Nursery 50 71 37 69

Grade 1 68 50 60 49

Grade 2 55 45 47 43

Grade 3 62 76 60 74

Grade 4 60 56 53 55

Grade 5 55 51 52 50

Total 350 349 309 340



6.0 A VIBRANT TWO-TEACHER SCHOOL

Government Girls Primary School Village 120 GB Union Council 38Jaranwala

“We are only two teachers for the six classes and as head teacher I also have to meet with mothers and community members when they come to the school. At times I have to go the AEOs office but they are aware of our problems so a peon brings the post to my house.”

Sanctioned in 1940 the village girls' primary school sits in a depression having functioned sporadically under a tree for over half a century. With much effort in 1999 the teachers and community succeeded in getting one classroom and a veranda constructed. Last year two classrooms, the boundary wall and two latrines were constructed under the Punjab Education Sector Reforms Program (PESRP): the school is now the pride of the village. Will it also take this long to get sufficient teachers asked the recently appointed chairperson of the School Council?

With 15 years of teaching experience Maqboolan, whose qualifications are 10 years of schooling and a PTC, has been Head teacher in this school having joined in 1995, a year before the second teacher. Government rules did not permit her to hand over her role to the younger teacher who she felt, in addition to being more qualified, was an excellent teacher and more in touch with modern teaching methods. A first class first throughout her academic life, Amtul had worked in Skardu in the northern part of the country in properly constructed and fully staffed army-managed schools; she faced a radically different environment in this village. As the top priority it was decided to use sugarcane

21stalks to demarcate the perimeter of the school space. Students from the maktab school next door provided the labour. Classes continued to be held in the open for three years.

Dividing responsibilities and the daily routine

Today two classes sit side by side in the three classrooms, as teachers shift from one to the other, ensuring that all children are doing some work. Nursery and Class I children sit on the floor on mats brought from home, the higher classes have benches and tables. When the teacher is with one class the other is writing or working in groups. Free textbooks provided under the PESRP arrived after the start of the new school term in September. Previously students got their books before the three-month summer vacation, which according to the teachers and parents gave them something to work on during that time. Making up for lost time is apparent from the progress made by the students as their exercise books were full of drawings, math sums, writing, all work done in class or at home.



A Vibrant two-teacher School

School begins around 9.00 am. No restrictions have been placed on younger children coming in later. An assembly is held outside in the school ground during which children are told about namaz (prayers) and some verses from the Quran are read out to them. According to the Head Teacher and corroborated by the students, all children go to a local woman to learn the Quran which takes two hours before they get ready for school in the morning, and for one hour again in the evening. Teachers consider this sufficient to cover the Islamiyat subject till Class III. By 9.30 children have gone to their respective classrooms. Nursery and Class I students take off their shoes and place them in a row in the veranda outside their classroom before entering class.

Each teacher is responsible for two classes, the head teacher is in charge of Nursery, III and IV and the other teacher for II and V. Recognizing her proficiency in English she has been asked by the head teacher to teach English to all classes. Both teachers also conduct one activity daily with Nursery and Class I. For the nursery class school ends at noon: this provides an opportunity for the teachers to give more attention to Class I, which is then sent home at 1:00 pm.

Despite the short time spent with each class, more work gets done than is seen in most government schools with more teachers. Behind the competence and confidence the teachers show in teaching is the daily lesson plan and procedures set for conducting each session. Students from Class II to V are also aware of how their school day is structured. Each class has a different timetable to enable the two teachers to divide their time between the classes. As such, Class II starts with English followed by Urdu and Science. After the break they spend an hour writing takhti and Math is taught at the end of the day. Class III starts with Urdu followed by Science, Math, English and Islamiyat. There is a half-hour break at noon when children either go home to eat or buy something from the neighbourhood shop. Class IV starts with Urdu, followed by Social Studies, Science, English and Math. And, for Class V the first lesson is English followed by Urdu. The third period can be Math or Science and after the break takhti writing is followed by Math or Science, Social Studies and Islamiyat. For Classes II to V, school ends at 2:00 pm. For the teachers it continues for another hour when they voluntarily teach the older girls from the village who plan to take the Class VIII exam privately.

Creative use of local educational resources

Most village land is owned by four large landlords and tilled by their tenants who live in the village; they comprise about a third of the local population. There are also some small farmers, however the majority are agricultural and factory workers. By all standards the community is poor with only a few families sending their children to the recently opened private school. There is a maktab school, a government school and a high school for boys. For girls this school is the only option. Although several girls want to continue their education, transport costs to the girls' high school in the nearest town are prohibitive. In some cases parents are reluctant to let their girls go out of the village. About a month back the teachers came up with an innovative strategy enlisting three of primary completers to help them with the two junior classes in the mornings in lieu of their coaching them after school in the




two languages, science and math. The 'Helpers' take over the classes once the teachers have conducted an activity with the children, such as naming the parts of the body in Urdu and English using a student as a model, which children and helpers, who were not exposed to such methods, find interesting and enjoyable. They teach them the alphabets and counting and so far have only been told to teach the children “with love” and play with them. The seeds of an apprenticeship model have been planted for poor communities where local teachers are few and government apathetic. If nurtured and developed these girls will be truly empowered.

Activity based teaching & learning

Through activities teachers are building the students' listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Even the youngest children respond confidently to questions related to animals, their colour, size and weight. They can name all the animals in the village and whether they lay eggs or are mammals. It is evident that repeated questioning has made them alert and attentive with rewards for performance reinforced by frequent clapping. There is no reprimanding of incorrect responses, instead the correct answer is repeated a few times so that all children, the quick and slow learners, benefit. They are also quick in following instructions and in recognizing pictures outside the textbook. What is remarkable is that all children are active participants.

The older children find drawing to be the most enjoyable activity. They do, however, miss not having the teacher with them all day as she has to attend to the other classes. This was also noticed by the AEO on one of her visits to the school. Some students said that science has become very interesting as they now draw and colour pictures of plants and animals. Math was no longer dreaded and they enthusiastically proceeded to demonstrate how by pulling out different items from their school bag they had learnt addition and subtraction. A story narrated by the teacher the previous day had created much excitement as they had assumed the characteristics of the animals. It is evident they are having fun while learning, with the impact of the training methodology noticeable in their quick grasp of questions asked, ready response and the work done. Another interesting aspect of the methodology is the teaching of more than one concept and skill through a single activity.

Although the teachers state that it is difficult to do several activities in a single day or everyday, they have overcome this problem by selecting certain subjects where role play and drama are




included. It is easier to make subjects such as the languages and science activity-based, but beyond a certain level this is difficult in math. However, by questioning children and creating an opportunity for them to learn from each other through discussion and sharing information students are involved in the learning process everyday. Occasionally students from different classes jointly conduct an activity.

Cooperative learning

Learning in mixed ability groups is in practice from Class III onwards. There is no hesitancy among students in consulting each other or in recognizing the ability of the group leader in helping them with their studies. The group leaders proudly showed their schoolbags full to the brim with materials they share with their group of students before each lesson. Colour pencils and geometry boxes are in great demand in Classes III, IV and V, and girls were seen busily constructing circles, triangles and squares and then bisecting them to understand the concept of fractions.

Teachers are able to give more attention to the children in groups. The procedure followed by both teachers is to first get the groups' attention by focusing on an illustration; questioning the girls on what it represents gets them to speak. They then read, explain and ask them if they have understood the topic or concept. Reinforcement of the concept through discussion and relating it with what was taught previously is followed by asking them to read out from the book. Pair-work was observed in the lesson on dialogue and conversation in English. The last stage in the lesson is written work, such as five sums if the subject is math, or writing difficult words or sentences in either of the two languages. All English words and sentences are explained and translated into Urdu to ensure that the children have understood the meaning of all the words.

Textbooks used are those provided by the Punjab Textbook Board, however, as a result of the change in teaching methodology, the children's response is different from what one usually gets in a government school. When asked why their favourite lesson was the story on Quaid-e-Azam the girls of Class III said because he created Pakistan “and developed the country.”

Identifying Change

Amtul recalled her experience of teaching in this school and of “how dull the children were” before the whole school development training and how, by involving children and changing “our own attitudes”, the learning environment has been completely altered. The change in the teacher is critical. It has been achieved by involving them in them in the learning process. The reflective journal exercise had been very effective: it helped them think about what they did in class and identify the changes in students and themselves as a result of the different activities. The particular example she gave was of the children acting the part of different animals and talking about them. Their wealth of




knowledge was amazing. The other was the improvement and greater participation of the slow learners.

The older students are also able to recognize the change in teaching methodologies such as having a group leader whom they said they selected and who was helpful in explaining the lesson to them. The girls are more expressive at this level and said that the formation of groups has helped them as they can learn from each other. The responsibility of the group leader is also more at this level, in that she collects money from each girl in her group and they all go together to buy what they want to eat from the shop outside the school.

The learning materials given to them, especially the different kinds of exercise books for various subjects, drawing materials, benches and tables had made a big difference. It is now possible for the teacher to work with one group while the other groups work independently. Activity-based learning had also been introduced over the last two years and ever since they started learning poems with actions they find them easy to remember and understand. Now, they also enjoy studying science especially drawing the different parts of plants and the digestive system, which they easily explained. The charts on the classroom wall had been made by them and they know what is represented on them.

The girls were all eager to show their work but there is a sense of healthy competition and collaboration that conveyed this is 'our work'. Clearly this is a reflection of the teachers' friendly attitude towards them. The teachers they said had always been good to them and taught well and now they were even friendlier and more affectionate. An environment for creative work and expression has been created and the result is self-evident.

According to Class V students, they have been reading more stories and poems since the last two years. This is when the teachers training program was initiated. Many more new activities have been introduced, such as the display of their work in the classroom. The students said “it is easy to be attentive in class when learning is made interesting.” However, Math and English required a lot of practice for which local tutors had to be relied upon as the teachers lived outside the village. Preparation for the public primary exam next year had already started.

Parents have noticed a change in their children who are no longer afraid to go to school and are learning better. Their daughters are now more polite, a result of the behaviour pattern introduced in the school where students have to




request the teacher before leaving and entering the classroom. The children tell them what they have learnt, who visited the schools and what they were questioned on. They themselves visit the school more often now to see what is happening and are welcomed by the teachers. To sustain the changes taking place, more enrolment will lead to more teachers and allow for maximum student-teacher contact time. Pressure on teachers can thereby be reduced to give them time to reflect and innovate. Teaching-learning materials for the classroom and the children are critical if improvement in the quality of education is to take place.

Community women taking the lead

Two months ago the school received a grant of Rs.20,000 under the PESRP. Supposedly an annual grant, it has only been given twice in the last few years. The project will give them Rs.130,000 if they can raise 10 percent of the amount. The teachers started the collection by contributing themselves, and now small amounts are pouring in from parents and community members, including the imam of the local mosque whose daughters study in the school. The school council members contributed themselves and also told the teachers about those parents who could pay, in order for teachers to approach them. The response is very encouraging. The money will go towards filling the depression in the school ground, levelling it, and for soling. The next step would be motivating them to contribute to the less tangible quality inputs such as exercise books for English, math and languages, colour pencils, crayons etc. which are ongoing needs of the children after the end of the project.

The Chairperson of the recently reconstituted school council now headed by a community member with the Head Teacher as the deputy chairperson is very vocal. A grey haired woman, she had accompanied the Head Teacher to the training. Since then she had become even more active in eliciting community support for the school. In her view, motivating the mothers is more effective than focusing on the males of the community. They now know where to go and whom to approach in connection with the school.

The men of the community, particularly whose children are enrolled in the school, are satisfied with the performance of the teachers. Over the last two years their involvement in school affairs has increased; they now recognize the importance of community participation in the school especially in the improvement of its infrastructure for which they are prepared to contribute.

An official view

The Assistant Education Officer, Noreen, is amply qualified to recognize when change is taking place. With an MA in Islamiyat and another in Education, she is now completing her third Master's degree in English from the Allama Iqbal Open University. Starting out as a Subject Specialist she became Head Teacher and has been at her present post since 1997. Given the large number of schools under her supervision 41 schools of which 30 are primary and 11 elementary she visits them once a year. This school is an exception and she is quite familiar with it, having been to it a number of times with the project staff.

She is all praise for the teachers who, in her view, are responsible for an improvement in the quality of education as can be judged from the increased enrolment, better attendance and improved retention rate of the school. She had attended the first teacher training to get an understanding of the training




targets and expectations from it.

Schools located in small rural communities have low enrolments which questions the feasibility of one teacher for every class. The community has only 150 households. It is encouraging to see more children entering school especially in Katchi or Nursery Class. Still several children can be seen outside in the streets and fields. Households belonging to the butcher caste in particular have no interest in educating their children. One reason given by the community for the low enrolment is that there is no institution in the village for education beyond primary for girls.

The School Council and the project are recognized as the main contributors to the success of the school. However, as the teachers commented, “the absence of a supervision system promotes poor performance and even the best teachers will become careless.” All eyes are now on the education department.


Enrolment Attendance Drop-out

Nov 05 Nov 07 Nov 05 Nov 07 Nov 05 Nov 07

Nursery 17 27 10 27 1 Nil

Grade 1 22 30 14 30 1 Nil

Grade 2 12 18 9 17 Nil Nil




Total 95 112 68 109 2 Nil



ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY

The case studies highlight largely positive changes connected to the Whole School Development programme within six schools in the Faisalabad district. While their focus ranges from improvement in teaching methodology, attitudes and involvement, they also implicitly touch on other questions regarding teaching and learning in general. This chapter looks at the kinds of questions and ideas that the case studies raise, and how they may be generalised to incorporate the larger context of education. It is not the purpose to provide answers to these questions, mainly because no definitive answers exist that would be applicable in all situations. The objective is to allow for open-ended discussion, which in turn may provide some solutions and can inform future policy and planning. The points discussed below can also be used in courses or training in education, so that students may grapple with the decisions and dilemmas confronted by individuals in the field of education.

Infrastructure

It is no secret that the learning environment plays a huge part in the overall success of a school. Government or public schools, by and large, do not have the advantage of an environment that facilitates learning; in fact, theirs is a case where the environment has to be, at best, overlooked for any learning to happen. A question that therefore comes up is, how important is it to have a properly constructed school? While ostensibly the answer is obvious, it is worthwhile to consider what exactly a 'properly constructed school' entails. Is it, for example, necessary to have a separate room for each class? In several primary schools there are only two or three teachers; the problems of navigating from room to room are apparent. It is also important to consider the advantages of multi-grade teaching whereby peer-mentoring is made possible.

The government policy dictates that there should be one teacher for every 40 students how does that affect the infrastructure of a school? In fact this particular policy has serious repercussions that impact the running of the school at every level. For each subsequent section of this chapter, this particular policy must be kept in mind and its influence considered.

Sometimes the condition of rooms is such that they are dangerous and therefore utilised as storage space. Other times teachers decide to use one room as an office rather than a classroom. This is, of course, indicative of the need to include staff in the planning process so that their specific needs can be met. The climate where schools are located is generally not considered in the architectural design of schools: the original SAP model of two or more rooms and a veranda is followed. During visits for the case studies, it was observed that teachers sometimes preferred to conduct classes outdoors despite the availability of a room because the room was too cold, and/or dark. In summer rooms may be too warm as many do not have fans. Provision of electricity is one step in the process, but that also means functional equipment and affordable bills.

In many schools, funds are utilised first for the construction of a boundary wall and main gate. Toilets are also constructed, but it was observed that they weren't really considered a priority. Often children live close to the school or neighbouring houses allow the use of their toilets, usually to teachers. There is the advantage of interaction between neighbours and teachers, but it is mainly an inconvenience, particularly in the case of women teachers in boys' schools. Provision of water, too, is generally limited to the single hand-pump. Although no study deals with the issue specifically, it may be safe to assume that the dearth or absence of these facilities leads to issues of health and hygiene in the schools, in addition to being terribly inconvenient for students and teachers.

The Classroom

Most of the schools visited did not have sufficient furniture. The case studies show that even floor



Issues and Implications for PolicyIssues and Implications for Policy

mats were no longer seen for students' use; this is the result of the new government policy that no longer provides taatts for students' use. Usually there were just enough chairs for the teachers in the school, and additional chairs were borrowed from neighbours when there were visitors. It is quite the norm to ask a student to carry a chair from one place to another, as required. We are a long way from including students in the planning and decision-making process in schools, but it might be an interesting exercise to inquire whether students prefer floor-seating or benches. In one room at GPS UC 37 in Jaranwala, low slanting tables were seen in one classroom, so that children sitting on the ground had something on which to rest their books. That also tended to mean that they therefore sat in rows and group-work became difficult. Teachers were rarely seen sitting on the ground with students, but they did sit alongside on benches, where available, when working with them.

While teaching kits have been and are being provided, anxiety was expressed about maintaining the condition of their contents. This is not just limited to the students handling them with care, but also where to store them when not in use, their possible damage or theft. Wall-charts and stationery also need to be put away on occasion, and again storage is a concern. In some of the schools, learning materials made by teachers were not immediately available because they had to be brought from somewhere. The condition of books is the students' responsibility, but who has the responsibility to look after teaching aids? Without ready access to the materials, how feasible is it to expect teachers to use them frequently? There were instances where student monitors or group leaders were assigned the responsibility of distribution and collection of materials, but storage was still not addressed.

In three of the schools that were visited visible construction work was underway, and that did not allow for specific infrastructure-related observations. In another school, there were plans for whitewashing rooms and some construction in the near future. Many private or state initiatives with regard to education are addressing the issue of infrastructure of schools in Faisalabad District, such as the 'Matching Grant Scheme' by the SPU, the Private-Public Partnership Initiative and the Punjab Rural Support Programme. It is commendable that they have undertaken the task, yet much more is clearly possible before comfortable, if not ideal, learning environments can be created.

School Management and Administration

The case studies clearly emphasise the importance of the role of the Head Teacher. Given the current setup in government primary schools, much of the decision-making and administration of the school falls to the Head Teacher. This is often in addition to teaching where there aren't enough teachers in the school. This person also has to maintain a healthy relationship between the school and the community, as well as with the AEO. Where these relationships are difficult, the entire school suffers. Similarly, it is up to the Head Teacher to build a strong team of teachers to ensure smooth running of the school on a daily basis. Built-in hierarchies within any system can create problems pertaining to authority: it can be misused or misinterpreted; it may be resented by subordinates; the person in authority may not be able to exert it adequately; or, the person may exert it too much.

The question that arises, then, is to do with what should or shouldn't be within the job description of a Head Teacher. The Head Teacher's training module compiled by the IoL, and the training provided by them to Head Teachers includes the following:

l The concept of Whole School Development and its implementationl The school environment, both internal and externall School prioritiesl Linking with the community and School Council membersl School-based data collectionl Devising a school development planl Problem faced by Head Teachersl Persons and institutions impacting the school



Issues and Implications for Policy

l The meaning of changel Managing change l Issues in effective changel Changes needed in the school, including process and sustainabilityl Planning for changel Change inside the schooll The meaning of disciplinel Requirements, rules and regulations of the Department of Educationl Quality of educationl Maintaining qualityl School administrationl Maintaining registers for enrolment, attendance, dropout, and cash books etc.l Six days' subject-based teacher training

Given its comprehensive nature, Head Teachers who had received training from SPU generally seemed clear about their role; nonetheless confusion in role-definition does arise. In the school in Bhatta Colony, Faisalabad, the Head Teacher was hesitant to take any major decisions: teachers hinted at the fact that Rs.2000 provided for stationery etc. had still not been disbursed even though they had expressed their need. In the school in UC 37, Jaranwala, it appeared that the Head Teacher's authority was challenged by school staff as well as the community: the reference to teachers spoiling posters he made was a significant one in this regard. Obviously the school staff has certain expectations of their Head Teacher, and where these are not met, their response can be negative.

Even though each individual Head Teacher's personality and approach varies, their ultimate objective is to run the school. In the school in UC 25, Jaranwala, part of the means to achieve this end was to ensure the appointment of the Head Teacher's friend in the same school, apparently not through fair means. In UC 37, Jaranwala, the Head Teacher's brother was part of the teaching staff in the school. One can infer that such appointments are to the advantage of the Head Teacher first, and later, if at all, to the school. It may be that these 'allies' provide assistance in administration, but it is equally likely that they cover for the Head Teacher's absences or inadequacies. Is it preferable to overlook such license within the system by arguing that the ends justify the means?

The education system perpetuates the notion that the seniority of a teacher is somehow tied in to teaching higher classes. A promotion for the Head Teacher of a primary school therefore means a transfer to a middle school (Classes VI-VIII). What this attitude, in turn, leads to is a reluctance to teach lower classes, which often results in Katchi class being ignored (this point is discussed further under 'Pedagogy'). It also means that the experience and expertise of a teacher in primary education has no bearing on the process. The question of whether the Head Teacher was performing exceptionally because primary education was the domain where he or she excelled is completely overlooked. That individual's promotion means that he or she will have to adapt to the specific requirements of a middle school or else forgo the promotion: the latter is really not an option. In the cases on girls' schools in Tandlianwala and UC 38 Jaranwala, both of which have two teachers each, it is not the Head Teacher who is the more innovative of the two. The functioning of the schools is harmonious despite this fact, but it is worth considering how the situation might vary if there was professional rivalry in play.

The Head Teachers' training by SPU covers several aspects pertaining to their role and responsibilities. However, it is the multi-dimensional nature of these that necessitates frequent follow-up sessions. The 1:40 teacher-student ratio means that the Head Teacher has to manage a delicate balancing act to allow for adequate student admissions leading to sufficient teachers in the school. As the Head Teacher of UC 37, Jaranwala, stated, the effect of the training had already begun to fade just three or four months after it. It might be extremely revealing to study the burn-out rate




among Head Teachers in government schools, and to see how that is manifested. Does it lead to more absence from the school or delegation of responsibilities? Does it mean delay or inaccuracies in paperwork, or does it strengthen relations with the AEO? Does it mean isolation from and apathy about the community, including students' parents, or does it mean greater reliance on their support and therefore greater involvement? Most importantly, how does it impact the relationship that the Head Teacher has with his or her students, if indeed that does exist? In the case of the elementary school in Samundari, clearly there was a positive relationship, because it was the Head Teacher's former students that facilitated his transfer to the school where their children now studied.

The Community

The term 'community' has been used with reference to students' parents and family members, as well as other people of the locality. Participation of the community is built into the Whole School Development model but expectations need to be limited to what is possible given their poverty and their work requirements. When a relationship of mutual regard and appreciation exists, the community itself comes forward to participate in the development of the school. In the schools visited for the case studies, there were varying levels of involvement: the strongest was with the boys' school at UC 25 Jaranwala. There the improvement of the school occurred even at the cost of personal requirements. The weakest was with the boys' school at UC 37 Jaranwala. It reinforces the point that what the school gives back to the community is crucial, and simply the provision of education may not be sufficient.

Parents in most places now have the choice of sending their children to private schools. While that may cost them, they are basing the decision on certain factors of which the quality of education and facilities provided are foremost. If education is free of cost but of less worth in their eyes, they may prefer to bear the costs incurred by private schools. This can lead to a vicious circle whereby the government schools' education deteriorates because it is perceived as less worthwhile. Strong measures to address this issue have already been taken, such as the formation of Student Councils with a community member as the chairperson and Head Teacher as co-signatory.

According to the Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP), the role of the School Councils includes overall management and supervision of the school. To this end they will:

l Monitor attendance of teachers and students in the schoolsl Make all efforts to improve the educational standards, planning, monitoring and evaluation in

all matters relating to the schooll Be the coordination hub between the school and the local communities l Receive grants from the Provincial Government, PRSP or the District Government, as the

case may be, or from any other sourcel Endeavour to build for the students' strong backward linkage towards the home and forward

linkage towards the society in which people are expected to perform multiple rolesl Endeavour to enhance awareness and understanding among parents that they have a vital role

to play in the provision of quality educationl Create awareness among the people involved to ensure optimum use of the educational

facilities being offered by the Provincial Govt and avail expertise of the community membersl Help to devise ways and means to decrease dropout ratio and teachers absenteeism in the

schooll Develop a congenial and harmonious relationship between parents and teachers, avoiding

bureaucratic rigidity on both sidesl Mobilize community resources for the improvement of the schools and for the benefits of the

22students .




To achieve all this, PRSP would provide active support. Again, however, sustainability is a question, especially in terms of continuous involvement and returns on investment. Is far too much dependent on the largesse of the community members? How realistic is it to expect this much, particularly from communities that are constrained or resistant?

Teachers and Pedagogy

The focus of the SPU training was on pedagogy and the case studies show that it did translate to impacting the schools to a greater or lesser degree. The first question that arises, however, is how sustainable the impact is. There is a natural tendency to slip back into familiar and less taxing teaching methods, especially if others in the school are not pushing for change. The cases revealed that some teachers had adopted activity-based methods as the norm in their classes whereas others reverted to or were simply more comfortable with lectures and memorisation. The next logical question then is: how can the impact of the trainings be made sustainable? The Head Teacher at UC 37, Jaranwala, felt that the only solution to this problem was to have frequent follow-up sessions and to have random, unannounced checks on schools. Is that feasible, given that approximately 1000 primary school teachers from about 400 schools have received SPU's training in Faisalabad District?

Feasibility aside, it is worth looking at the concept of motivation. Why must the motivation to adopt different methodologies and change one's attitude and perception be enforced by an external inspector? Is it simply too idealistic to think that students' learning achievements will be sufficient motivation to change? Some of the best teaching practices observed for the case studies were by teachers who either considered teaching as a kind of service to society, or who gave the profession a high status because religion says so. There were, in fact, frequent references to the value of the teaching profession in Islam during teacher interviews; however, these references were made by traditional and innovative teachers alike. In the same way, teachers who did not show a change in pedagogy expressed a desire for their students to do well in their studies. Maybe there was a difference between what 'doing well' entailed: for the traditional teachers it generally meant getting good marks, but that does not preclude understanding the concept. What then caused some teachers to change and not others?

Of course one must take into account the fact that teaching is sometimes the only available job and not one that is a preference. In such cases it is a matter of making the most of the situation and not really about wanting to change or for students to improve. Work must be done and that in itself is enough. The fact that even a few of the concepts mentioned in the training were retained and implemented then becomes an even greater achievement. Changes in attitude and the effort to avoid habitual practices of scolding and punishment are even more commendable. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism to recognise and acknowledge improvement, which would certainly be a motivating factor if it existed. One might go so far as to say that it would be more of a motivating factor than reprimand.

It is necessary to explore the bias towards higher classes, particularly where subject specialisation is not that much of an issue. For example, if a teacher has the competence to teach English to Class V, but has a manner better suited to Class I, which of the teacher's abilities should be utilised?

As mentioned earlier, teachers prefer not to teach Katchi and junior classes, particularly teachers with higher qualifications. It is understandable that having a Master's degree in any subject means that more opportunities are available to the person than to a person with Matriculation or Intermediate (FA) degrees. Why then should they teach at the primary level, particularly if they are capable of teaching the subject they studied at a higher level or getting a better paid job because of it?

Again, the 1:40 ratio must be kept in mind: junior classes are usually larger in size, and in some cases very young children are enrolled in Katchi to make up sufficient numbers for the hiring of enough teachers. Many primary schools have recently seen the induction of teachers with high qualifications




and there is some resentment among teachers with many more years of experience but lower qualifications, like Matric or FA/PTC. Is there a way to address this issue within schools? Could it affect the retention of teachers especially those on contract in government primary schools? Considering that there will soon be fewer and fewer teachers with these obsolete qualifications, does the issue even need to be addressed? Given the general perception that private schools whether rural or urban are providing better education, comparative empirical evidence is required to test the validity of this claim, especially in terms of terms of teaching methodology used in both.

All six cases include portions on the pedagogy observed in the schools, with particular emphasis on instances of activity-based teaching. It may be too soon to say how effective it has been in terms of students' learning achievement, but it is heartening to see its use. Attitudinal change is more difficult to observe. No corporal punishment was observed during the visits but it is still a part of schooling, especially in boys' schools. The cane was visible with teachers, and its presence served as enough of a threat. It may be a while before it is completely banished. As mentioned in the section on 'Infrastructure', students are often required for menial tasks like the carrying of chairs for teachers, or shifting of blackboards on stands, and even on occasion to make or serve tea. When dealing with teacher attitude, it is important to touch on these points as well. In the absence of a school sweeper, whose responsibility is it to keep the school clean? Students are often witnessed sweeping the school premises; even if they are expected to do this work at home, is it acceptable to expect it of them at school? Surely it is possible for teachers to gain their students' respect without expecting them to be servile.

Gender Perspective

It is worth pointing out that corporal punishment, or the threat of it, is more common in boys' schools. Teachers in girls' schools were gentler and more affectionate in their manner, and while tones were occasionally harsh there were no canes in sight. Girls did not flinch or show signs of fear when teachers approached them, particularly when they had responded incorrectly in class. In boys' schools, as stated previously, the cane was visible: it lay on the desk or leaned against the wall, or was used as a pointer by the teacher. Interviews with teachers included veiled comments about the 'necessity of punishment'. The teachers' tones and manner were sterner in boys' schools. For example, in the boy's elementary school in Samundari, the only female teacher was tougher with students, maybe because of the pressure to keep pace with the male teachers. The new government policy allows women to teach at boys' schools; from a gender perspective this induction makes for a fascinating study. If the case studies are divided into the three on girls' schools and three on boys' schools, they reveal interesting differences as far as teaching methodology is concerned. Drawing, for example, was not seen that often in boys' schools. Beyond Class II, in fact, there was little evidence of methodology that engaged the boys in physical activity. This is ironic considering the sheer energy of all children in that age-group. Photographs included in case-studies can be further utilised for inferences, for example the pictures in boys' schools show the greater emphasis on discipline, in terms of how they are seated or made to line up.

Students and Learning

All six schools showed evidence of elements of activity-based learning, at the very least students had been exposed to it occasionally if not frequently. Critics of the approa4ch may question the emphasis on it, but clearly students respond well to it. There were visible changes in engagement and body language the moment the methodology was employed, no matter what the subject. Even those students who were otherwise uninterested suddenly became attentive and even vocal. Is that enough of a reason to insist on its implementation, or do grades as a measure of learning achievement remain the definitive gauge?




It was also apparent that retention of concepts was better if students had learnt 'by doing'. This includes comprehension of the concept as well as the ability to retrieve it even when questions relating to it were not out of the textbook. It remains to be seen how this retention plays out in an examination setting. It might well be that when it is time to prepare for exams the methods of revision revert to rote-learning and memorisation. Again, it is important to question the role of examinations as a measure of learning achievement. The system as it stands tends to penalise students whose responses are not out of the book and these students do not really have the luxury of taking that risk. At the same time, learning that occurs with understanding must not be undervalued. What then is the best solution to this issue?

In the two-teacher school in Tandlianwala, students of the senior classes were seen supervising, teaching and even checking other students' work. Is this a justifiable expectation? In what ways might it impact the students who are placed in these positions, as well as those who are 'taught' by them? The shortage of teachers and the 1:40 scenario is bound to create strategies to circumvent these problems. In some situations innovative methods of multi-grade teaching and peer-mentoring have arisen, but in others the innovations might have more shortcomings than advantages. Since the strategies are invariably not devised by students, there is little surety that they will ultimately benefit from them.

Can we argue that students who learn from teachers who have received Whole School Development training are fortunate simply because they were exposed to the methodology? The low drop-out rates and improved attendance are testimony to the fact that both parents and students value the education they are receiving, more than what it was previously. The added emphasis on improved teacher attitudes is also more conducive to attendance. A longer study following the progress of students who are exposed to the methodology throughout their primary education could be most revealing in terms of the impact and advantages. Shorter comparative studies focusing on a particular subject or language may also show what is working in this context.

It is stated under 'The Classroom' that we “are a long way from including students in the planning and decision-making process in schools”. A related question is whether it is necessary to consider students' perspectives when making decisions about schooling and pedagogy. How feasible or useful would it be, for example, to have a focus group discussion with students during the needs assessment phase of a project? It can be argued that the problems confronted by the education system are so extensive that the exercise may simply be futile. It can also be argued that students who have had no exposure to different teaching methodologies are in no position to say, with any authority, what might work for them. On the other hand, it can be argued that when other stakeholders are consulted then why not those who are the ultimate recipients of new projects and policies? How much credence is given to their input is of course an entirely different question.




CONCLUSION

Although the schools chosen for the case studies were identified by the IoL as 'successful schools', it was up to each researcher to observe whether that was indeed the situation, and what 'success' meant in each school. Similarly, it is up to the reader to determine what is working in these schools, and how the information herein can be generalised to apply to different scenarios. The impact of the project is apparent in all six schools, yet there are many more issues that are touched upon or inferred at by analysis of these cases. It is hoped that other such publications will emerge that will contribute to the rather lean body of literature on education in Pakistan.



Conclusion

Communications


S.M. Khatib AlamNadir Ehsan

Humaira Khan

Building local government capacity for effective service delivery

for Good Governance

March 2008

5

Financial Management

March 2008


S.M. Khatib AlamImran Yousafzai

From Deficit to Surplus

for Good Governance

3

Rs. M

illio

ns

-150

-100

-50

0

50

100

150

FY 2004-05 FY 2005-06 FY 2006-07 FY 2007-08 Projected FY 2008-09 Projected FY 2009-10 Projected

S.M. Khatib AlamJanet Gardener

Muhammad TariqMarch 2008


4

Union Council Profiling

For Pro-poor Planning & Investment

& Service Mapping

S.M. Khatib AlamKarin Tang

Mahmood AkhtarMarch 2008


1

Learning to embrace the challenge of good governance

Managing Changefor Improving Service Delivery

March 2008


2

Human Resource Management for Good Governance

Building local government capacity for effective service delivery

S. M. Khatib AlamDavid Alan Watson

Muhammad Shahid Alvi

Esteem(self and others)

Social Needs

Safety and Security

Basic Physiological Needs

Self-Actualization

Promising Change

Dr. Fareeha ZafarMarch 2008

8


Six Case Studies on Whole School Development

Measuring Change


Dr. Fareeha Zafar

the education research component

March 2008

9

GNIRAHS NOITAMROFNI

NOITATLUSNOC

REHTEGOT GNIDICED

REHTEGOT GNITCA

STSERETNI YTINUMMOC GNITROPPUS

S.M. Khatib AlamMuhammad TariqMehreen HosainMarch 2008


7

Citizen Engagementin Local Governance

Citizen Voice in Local Governance

March 2008

6


The Citizen Perception Survey

S.M. Khatib AlamSumara Khan

Mehreen Hosain

Public Private Partnershipin Education: from Policy to Implementation


Value Addition and Best Practices

March 2008

11

Beala Jamil

Dr. Umar SaifMuntazir Mehdi

Gul Hafeez KhokharMarch 2008


13

Enabling Joined-Up GovernmentIntroducing Geographic Information System

Management Information Systems


S.M. Khatib AlamNadir Ehsan

Kashif AbbasMarch 2008

12

Changing the dynamics of governance through ICTs

in Local GovernmentTeacher Training

in Whole School Development


Change and Transformation as a Reflective Process

March 2008

10

Brigid Smith

OUR OTHER PUBLICATIONS

All case studies including other reports can be downloaded from the web site: http://www.faisalabad.gov.pk

Dr. Fareeha Zafar - Education Consultant

Dr. Fareeha Zafar has a doctorate in Geography from School of Oriental & African

Studies, University of London, UK. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Department of

Geology & Geography, at the Vassar College, New York, USA in 1991 and a Fulbright

Post-doctoral Scholar, Institute of Urban & Regional Development, University of

California, Berkeley, USA in 1985-86.

Dr. Zafar is a founder member of the Society for the Advancement of Education (SAHE)

Lahore-Pakistan set up in 1982 and has been its Director for the last 13 years. Dr. Zafar

has been a key member of the SDLGF Education project team since 2004.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Management ConsultantsGHK International Ltd.526 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5NRUnited KingdomTel: +44 (0) 20 74718000Fax: +44 (0) 20 7736 0784E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.ghkint.comInternet: http://www.ghkpak.com

Strategic Policy Unit2nd Floor, DCO OfficeNear Iqbal Stadium, FaisalabadPakistanTel: +92 (0) 419201256Fax: +92 (0) 419201257E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.spu.com.pk

City District Government FaisalabadDCO Office, Near Iqbal Stadium

Faisalabad, Pakistan

Tel: +92 (0) 41 9200205Fax: +92 (0) 41 9200206

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.faisalabad.gov.pk

08 - promising change (by fareeha zafar) 02-05-2008 · muntazir mehdi, gul hafeez khokhar, mirza...

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