Elizabeth Mehta, founder and director of Muktangan is one of the few people who have taken the initiative to launch ‘an alternative system’.
She completed her B.Sc. in Pyschology from the University of Leeds in 1968. It was there that she met her husband of Indian origin, whom she married soon after. It is now some 36 years since she made India her home.
Her sister-in-law’s disability (deafness and blindness) was what fuelled her interest in the disabled. She joined the Spastics Society of India. She taught Science and Mathematics at the Bombay International School where she was later appointed Vice-Principal. She obtained a Bachelors’ in Education from Mumbai University and has also undertaken postgraduate studies in Educational Administration at the University of London. It was during a similar course at the S.N.D.T. University, Mumbai, that Elizabeth Mehta came in contact with others who were working with the Aga Khan Education Services, Inda (AKES,I). She joined this organization in order to shift her focus onto the mainstream and worked with them for 11 years during which time she traveled extensively in the rural areas of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, and took part in many international conferences on educational development.
According to Elizabeth Mehta, what is lacking in the school system is a child-centered approach. Much more classroom-based research is required for designing such child-centered curricula. The number of children that are enrolled in each class is too high, leading to an unhealthy and impractical teacher-studen ratio. Based on the recommendations of the Fifty Pay Commission, the salaries of teachers have been increased. As a result, the expenses of running a school have increased significantly. Managements, including the Government, seek to cover these increased costs by further increasing the number of students in each class. One of the main reasons for the high dropout rate from government schools is the poor quality of the learning environment offered. The teachers are not to be blamed. They have too many students. They, therefore, have to spend their time controlling children rather than supporting their learning. It was frustration with this prevailing situation that led to the founding of Muktangan, a school/balwadi with an integrated teacher training center. This project seeks to provide good quality education to the less privileged, the funding for which is provided by the Paragon Charitable Trust, which had its origins in the textile mill that the family has been running for more than 50 years.
Muktangan currently trains young women from the local basti communities as balwadi and then primary teachers. The advantage of this approach is the cultural compatibility between the teachers and the students, who also are drawn from these very bastis. All types of communication with parents are simplified including the Home Visits that all Muktangan teachers undertake.
The teacher training centers are intensive and are of three to six months duration. These courses, though not officially recognized, have high credibility nonetheless. The effectiveness of the training programmes comes from the fact that they are not merely theoretical. The trainees spend a substantial amount of time in the classroom observing children and getting an undertaking of the way in which learning takes place. The training is modular, the first module at the pre-school level, being followed after work experience, with ones at the primary level. This provides the teachers with an excellent opportunity to understand the entire gamut of child development. Much emphasis is laid on the observation of the process of learning of individual children. Cognitive development is viewed as much as a natural process as physical development. Children, given the right kind of material resources and environment, learn quickly. Teachers simply need to observe and adapt to the environment.
The balwadi, which started in June 2003 has a very healthy student-teacher ratio of 15:1 and currently has 150 children. It was extremely successful and within 6 months the parents proposed that the kind of education provided need not be restricted to balwadis but should be extended to include a primary section as well. Responding to this need Muktangan in collaboration with the Bombay Municipal Corporation has opened an English medium First Standard in the same Municipal School where they are situated. The intention, subject to a positive evaluation of student learning outcomes, is to open a Second Standard in the next academic year. The pattern that is followed is one of collaborative learning. Most of the learning takes place in circles. In the Primary Classrooms there are four main Areas: Mathematics, Language, Environmental studies and Art and Craft. Due to the larger number of teachers it is possible for children to get individual attention, thereby enhancing language development and making learning more meaningful. There is an emphasis on both quality and cost-effectiveness. Collaboration rather than competition is encouraged to prepare the students for a future where they will be living and working in a global environment.
The school adopts an inclusive approach in all areas of its functioning and parents are encouraged to involve themselves in the education of their children. All children are encouraged to apply for admission regardless of any special needs they may possess.
The benefits of the approach are apparent. Widespread interest is being expressed both by government and non-government agencies. Educational planning, according to Ms. Mehta, cannot be done on a drawing board. It requires daily meetings based on actual classroom experiences. This leads to a better understanding of the difficulties that exist. She feels that we need to begin with the restructuring of teacher training, with the inclusion of substantial periods of internship in the classroom. Educations with substantial field experience rather than bureaucrats should be responsible for the planning. Planning without a clearly enunciated and shared educational philosophy, vision and mission can never be successful.
“The starting point for any effective change in the educational system is a strong belief that it is possible to do something different. How many of even the privileged have questioned the existing system? A complacence has set in. This is the way school education has always been, marks and competition being given importance. Many of us who have access to this type of education and have been successful are not interested in change.”
Mehta’s views on the flood of new ‘international schools’ that are opening up are equally honest. With globalization, education is becoming more expensive. Only the socially privileged can afford this type of education, and the gap is widening. Such education, if it is truly of the quality it claims to have, needs to become the model. However, it is very resource intensive.
The need of the hour is therefore to create more affordable alternative models of quality education. The models already exist! The environment in a classroom in a rural area is far more collaborative, because of the heterogenous nature of its students composition in terms of age. As for the growing importance and demand for English medium education, she believes that children who are raised in a stimulating environment may be able to cope with English in addition to their mother tongue from an early age, while the socially deprived may find it difficult, as conceptual development at the pre-school stage has not reached the same level. However, if parents want English medium education for their children, the education providers cannot deny them! Lucrative jobs nowadays require one to be well versed with English and parents know this! The job of a social worker, which may not require so much English, is not valued. It is definitely a complex situation.
The young women, who work as teachers in Muktangan, have earned the respect of the people around them in their community. They are now earning for the family and can speak for themselves with a new found confidence. In fact, seeing these girls take charge of their own lives is for Elizabeth Mehta, a very fulfilling experience. A regular day for her involves a hectic schedule. The mornings and afternoons are spent at Muktangan, while the evenings are devoted to meetings and other administrative work. She would of course like to spread the good work, but would not like to do so if it meant risking the essence of the initiative.
In her own words, “At this point in time, I am very satisfied. More satisfied than I probably have ever been. I am not ambitious. I want to concentrate on what I am doing. In an effort to gain a wide reach, your focus tends to get lost. It ends up as just a lot of talk. My teachers are my best advocates. And like-minded people do lend their support. What I would really like to see is the Muktangan teachers gradually taking over the leadership roles.”
The model of education practiced at Muktangan aims to create a ‘family’ environment imbued with a sense of commitment to a system of education for children where quality matters. There is a lot to learn from the journey embarked upon by Elizabeth Mehta. It teaches us to value education, to have a vision, to work hard, to be compassionate and above all, as
Ms. Mehta herself puts it, to believe that “one can make things happen.”
Heart of the Matter: Criticism of the educational system has become an accepted feature in society. Most people accept this situation with resignation and a sense of futility. Ms. Mehta dares to challenge this resignation with a more rational belief that she can effect change if she works hard enough. She has worked towards establishing a model of education that is committed to quality and uses an inclusive approach towards children. She believes that restructuring of the existing system is required and acknowledges the many obstacles that hinder this process, but challenges the unhealthy complacency that has set in society with a more rational idea that one can make things happen if they believe that they can influence change and are realistic about the fact that the route to successful dreams may be a hard one.
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