Contact:

 
Ms. Kabori Ghosh, Secretary
Nutanhat Development Society
Vill & Post-Jhilu
Dist. Burdwan - 713 147
Phone- not available
Email- not available
 
 
 

Introduction:

Nutanhat Development Society (NDS) is an NGO working on
different issues of education, preventive health and income generation
for the women self-help groups. The organization is at present
working in Burdwan and Purulia districts of West Bengal. They have
FCRA.
 
They learnt about ASHA through Singhbhum Legal Aid and Development
Society (SLADS) (Mr. J.K. Mahato).
 

Objective:

Assistance towards building a library, buying a computer, and buying
science lab equipment and furniture for the primary school
(pre-primary to fourth grade) is desired.

Project Details:

 
The primary school has been in operation since 1990. It has six
teachers, and the classes are given from pre-primary level to
standard IV. They are asking for funding to build a library, a
laboratory, and to obtain a computer. The school was
built with the help of Indo-German Social Service Society - New Delhi
(MISEREOR_GERMANY), and is sustained by local contribution and
member support.
 
There are 115 students at present, and they are trying to reduce the
dropout rate (they don't mention how?) especially for girl children.
 
Cost of maintenance of school is borne by the school from the local
contributions and from the villagers.
 
The demand is to provide a good library, equipped laboratory, and at
least one computer to the children learning in the center, The library
will not only help the children but will also help the village
youths. There will be separate timing for the children, youths, women
groups, farmer groups and elderly persons. the library establishment
is essential for the children and youths to be guided in a suitable
manner.
 
The lab equipment and the computer will expose the children to the
modern techniques of education and will boost the interest in
development education.

General NDS Project Details:

 
The project falls in the Mangalkot Block which has about 52
villages under its area, with a population of nearly 4
lakhs. Scheduled castes form 85% of the population and the families
are very poor and live under oppression. Some families live on the
outskirts of villages and have no interactions with the villages. The
literacy level is below 25%. Due to scarcity of water, agriculture is
done once a year. Lack of education, health facilities, unclean
environment is the ultimate cause of misery. 
 
The main objective and activities of the organization are to endeavour
and conduct community development programs on health, agriculture,
traditional medicine, sanitation, savings, and social consciousness
among the tribal people.
 
Through sustained effort, NDS has been conducting awareness program
to promote literacy and education in Mangalkot block. This has been
the result of animation process with women groups which helped them to
realize the need to educate the children. The women groups and local
youths have identified this as a vital issue.
 
The education is focussed to build up the moral values among the
children and knowledge of the society. The content is based on local
languages, vocabulary, social science, educational games and general
arithmetic.

Financial Requirements:

 
All the expenses required are one time only, and it is to be sustained
by locally obtained funds upon institution.
 
 

Library Books and magazines (Books related to development/training on different issues like health, nutrition, agriculture, legal affairs, land and water, organic farming, traditional medicine, education.	Rs. 1,20,000
Computer Equipment And furniture for the children	Rs. 60,000
Lab Development Buying of equipment for Physics, Chemistry, biology and geography.	Rs. 1,00,000
Transportation and Miscellaneous	Rs. 35,000
Total	Rs. 3,15,000
Own contribution	Rs. 15,000
Total Requested from Asha	Rs. 3,00,000

Comments:

 
By Bhavna (1/19/99)
1) One computer for 150 children will let only selected children play
 with it - so if you want computers, either you should have them for
 all or for none. Therefore, from my point of view, this is a little
 unreasonable.
2) What kind of lab equipment is desired for the pre-school to fourth
 graders, is unclear to me. Furniture seems to be a reasonable
 request. But we need to get revised pricing and details.
3) Library seems like a very reasonable request, and we should think
 about funding it. So overall, may be we could fund partially, i.e 
 just the library.
 
By Vinay (based on the Projects Meeting of Feb 6, 99)
Bhavna summarized the Nutanhat Project in Burdwan, WestBengal. The
project seeks to build up a library for children and adults, computer
equipment and a laboratory for school children. several questions were
raised including 
 
- What sort of "laboratory equipment" are we talking about for children
below standard IV? 
 
- With the low levels of literacy, can they assure us that there will be
enough people to take advantage of the library, and not keep it under
"lock and barrel"? - How will the single computer be used to cater to 150
children? 
 
- What are there plans for involving the local people?
 
- What are there sources for the books they plan to buy on legal affairs,
nutrition, health etc. (We will be suggesting MARG's publications on legal
rights to the project).
 
Bhavna will compile the questions and send them to the project.
 
 Questions we asked and Answers from Nutanhaat Development Society
 =================================================================
 
Q1. Are there any other schools in the area where your primary school
is situated, and if yes, what are the impediments for these children
to attending those schools? How formal or informal is the education at
your school?
 
---------------------------
There are govt run primary and middle schools in the area. They do not
function well due to the negligence of the teachers and the lack of
parents motivation.
-The schools have dilapidated buildings which lay unrepaired. 
-Teacher absenteeism is high because most live pretty far.
-The school committee is defunct and local political intervention has
 completely destroyed the environment of the schools. The teachers are
 unhappy and so is the committee. This has been continuing for the past
 many years. 
-A few children who do graduate from these institutions do not get a
 chance for higher studies due to lack of merit. They are often seen
 working as laborers in the agricultural fields. 
 
Our school was initiated with a vision to provide real functional
education of the children from the pre-primary level on. Although we
follow the formal school text books and other education material in
Bengali medium but the nature of education provided by our teachers is
very informal where each child is given equal importance.
---------------------------
 
Q2. Since the school has been in operation since 1990, there must be
quite a few students who have gone through the 4th grade of education,
what do these students do for their secondary education and so forth.
---------------------------
 
-Until 1996, we had classes only till second standard. After which 
 we admitted these children to nearby government school.
-Now we hope to continue the education till the tenth standard and for
 that we need extension of our building structure. We have few students
 reaching 4th standard this year and we are planning to continue with
 them.
 
---------------------------
 
Q3. How much is the tuition of the school?
---------------------------
 
3. With regard to tuition fee - we charge a nominal fee of
Rs. 40. Although the charges are fixed but we find that most of the
parents can not afford to pay that amount on monthly basis. We follow
up with the students and the payment is usually done after the
harvesting period. The teachers are paid every month along with other
office expenses by the contribution of the members.
 
---------------------------
 
Q4. Which people are being served by the school - i.e. how many students
fall under the category of being able to pay the tuition, and how many can
not afford to pay tuition? 
---------------------------
 
4. As per our record about 25 percent of the children do
not pay fees regularly and about 10% of them study without paying as
they are unable to pay. 
 
---------------------------
Q5. You mentioned that the literacy rate of the area is about 25%. Do
you think a library will be of sufficient help to people even if only
25% of the people know how to use it?
 
---------------------------
5. Although the literacy rate is about 25% in the area but there is
growing rate of interest among the youths to get information and
knowledge and update themselves on the socio-economic-political
situation, legal laws, land related activities, land alienation,
land-reform, irrigation measures, marketing techniques, and
agricultural development. The library will suffice the requirement of
the people, youth and children. 
 
---------------------------
Q6. What kind of guarantees can you give us regarding the accessibility
of the library material to the needy? If the material is kept under
strict lock and key, what kind of book check-out and reading material
accessibility policy do you perceive?
 
---------------------------
6. Library will be open from 10am to 5pm. It will be maintained by a
librarian. No books will be taken out by anyone. Librarian will be
accountable for the books and the maintenance. 
---------------------------
 
Q7. Where do you plan to get books for the library, and do you have
some special books in mind? (followed by information on Marg)
---------------------------
 
Thanks for the information on Marg Publications. We are linked with
other NGO's and Govt agencies for purchasing books and journals. We
are in touch with - 1) Sharehouse, Calcutta 2) Socio-Legal Aid and
Training Institute, Calcutta. Books will also be obtained from Bengal
Voluntary health association, Calcutta. 
 
---------------------------
Q8. Are there any adult literacy programs in the area so that the
older generation can also take advantage of the library?
 
---------------------------
8. Yes, the govt (local panchaayat) had initiated adult literacy
program in the village, and thus a number of youths and adults
acquired reading skills. However, our focus is mostly to provide
access to information to youths and children so that they can
undertake concrete step for the development of their villages, mostly
in improving their economic condition and educational level. Thus
library will be a great advantage to the people. 
 
---------------------------
Q9. We would like a detailed budget for your proposal. For example, you
request Rs. 1,20,000 for the library. How much of it will be used to
buy books and how much of it will be needed for basic infrastructure
of the library (like book shelves etc.)? Do you already have the
infrastructure, or can you get it for free with the help of the
villagers? What exactly is included in the "Transportation and
Miscellaneous" part of the budget? Thus more details on every section
of the budget are required.
 
---------------------------
9. Library Budget:
 
Books and Journals: Rs. 80,000
Honorarium to Librarian: Rs. 12,000
(Rs 1000x12)
Basic infrastructure and Rs. 38,000
a room (10'x15')
------------------------------------
Total Rs. 1,30,000
Local Contribution Rs. 10,000
--------------------------------------
Requested from Asha: Rs. 1,20,000
 
Local contribution will be obtained from the nominal charge from the
regular candidates who want to learn and get counseling. 
 
---------------------------
Q10. What kind of science lab do you foresee for the pre-primary to
grade IV level children. Some specifics will be very helpful.
 
---------------------------
We would like to make a change in our plans of laboratory
development. As you have correctly mentioned, we have refined our
planning and have planned for honorarium to our school teachers, cost
of furnitures and games materials. Since the lab is required from
Class 7th onwards, we don't need it right now. We would instead
request you to suport the honorarium of our teachers (women), furniure
and games material. At present we are able to pay them very low
amount of Rs 300 to 400 per month. Because of low payment, there is
turnover of teachers, and we face problems. 
 
Honorarium to Teachers (Women): Rs. 84,000
Rs 1000 x7 teachers x12months
Furniture (Chair, table, and: Rs. 20,000
black board)
Games Materials: Rs. 10,000
--------------------------------------------
Total (requested from Asha) Rs. 1,14,000
--------------------------------------------
 
Since it is very difficult to support honorarium of our teachers, we
request you to support us for one year. Meanwhile we are planning to
conduct parents meeting and decide for regular payment of fees. We
will also try for alternative sources of support for next years. At
present we are unable to get furniture and games materials which is
needed urgently.
 
-------------------------------------------
Total requested from asha: Rs. 2,94,000
Own contribution  Rs. 14,000
Total budget Rs. 3,08,000
-------------------------------------------
 
---------------------------
Q11. What use do you perceive of a computer for 150 children, and what
furniture is included in that part of the budget? We would appreciate 
specific details.
---------------------------
 
For computer, the children will have a specific timing of 1hr each
day. The details of computer budget are: 
 
HCL make with multimedia: Rs. 45,000
UPS/Battery/Furniture: Rs. 10,000
CD's and Floppy's Rs. 3,000
Honorarium o personnel: Rs. 6,000
(Part time for one year
 Rs. 500 x 12 months)
---------------------------------------
Total Rs. 64,000
Own Contribution Rs. 4,000
---------------------------------------
Requested from Asha Rs. 60,000
---------------------------------------
 
The own contribution will be obtained from contribution by the members.
 
**********************************************************
******************* Visit Questions **********************
**********************************************************
 
By Melli (Based on the Projects Meeting of April 18, 1999.)
 
 Here is a summary of the questions raised in
today's meeting on the Nutanhaat project which
represent some of the things to be focussed on by
someone who visits. If something is missing, or
wrongly stated, please add/correct them.
 
1. Get a sense of how much thought has gone into this
proposal. They agreed rather easily that the lab was
a bad idea when questioned about its usefulness. We
need to make sure that they have put some thought into
the other aspects they are requiring funding.
 
2. Is Rs. 40,000 too much for "infrastructure of the
library ? What is the nature for of the
infrastucture? It seems to be too little for
constructing a room, and too much for the furniture.
 
3. They have requested funds for two things - library
and salaries of teachers, about Rs. 1.2 lakhs each. 
Asha-MIT will probably end up choosing one or the
other. Can we have a sense of what they consider
important, and what the visitor considers
important/have a strong impact based on his or her
observations ? 
 
_________________________________________________________
 
FURTHER QUESTIONS:
==================
(Bhavna's impressions)
 
They seem to be trying to push buttons by proposing that they plan to
pay the "women" teachers. My guess at the facts is that all the
teachers are women in the school, whether they like it or not!
 
Other questions could include:
 
1) What do they mean by honorarium for women teachers only?
 Why this preferential treatment?
2) What do they mean by counseling and members who come
 regularly? Are the people coming to use the library going to be
 charged? Similarly, are they going to charge kids
 extra for using the computer?
3) They say that they have planned "1-hr a day for kids on the
 computer - do they mean 1-hr per class per day? How many children
 will really get to use that? 30kids/class => 2 min per kid!
4) How do they maintain the standard of their school with such 
 low paid teachers? How do their kids do compared to the kids 
 in the Govt school? What is the fee charged at the govt schools?
 
 
 

Source:

 Received by Debabhaktuni on 12/22/98 by snail mail.
 
 

Status:

 Discussed in Projects Meeting, Feb 6 1999.
 Discussed in Projects Meeting, April 18, 1999.
 Waiting for Visit report with answers to the questions raised 
 in the Comments section.
 
 

Summarized:

 Bhavna, Feb 2, 1999