NGOPARTICIPATIONINELEMENTARYEDUCATION:AN ANALYTICAL

STUDY

AResearch Proposal
submittedto
LOVELYPROFESSIONALUNIVERSITY
inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsfortheawardofdegreeof
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHYIN EDUCATION

Submittedby: Supervisedby:
SanjayChandwani Dr. Ananda Padhan

FACULTYOFEDUCATIONANDHUMANITIES LOVELY
PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY PUNJAB

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1. INTRODUCTIONOFTHEPROBLEM
In the present time the whole world is moving towards modernization,
industrialization and globalization. Many advanced countries have moved fast in this
direction using education as a key tool in the process, whereas developing countries are
stillpreparing to moveontheir lines. Thedevelopment ofthewholeworld will takeplace only
if the developing countries develop their educational systems. A large proportion of
Indian populations live in conditions of poverty and illiteracy. Education, in any form
needs to be provided to them for improving their quality of life.
The Kothari Commission (1964-66) recommended education for life and
education for all. The New Education Policy (1986) further emphasized on
Universalization ofElementaryEducation (UEE),but thedemand remain unfulfilled. The
education scenario in India reveals that in spite of a network of 6.5 lakh schools and
colleges and employment of over 3 million teachers, we have not been able to achieve
universal education for the children up 6 to age of 14.
The Dakar Framework for Action: Education for All (2000) reiterates that
“Education is a fundamental human right. It is the key to sustainable development and
peace and stability within and among countries and thus an indispensable means for
effective participation in the societies and economies of the twenty-first century, which
are affected byrapid globalization. Achieving EFAgoals should be postponed no longer.
The basic learning needs of all can and must be met as a matter of urgency.”
The need of the hour is that elementary education should be universalized,
secondary education should be vocationalized and higher education should be expanded.
Discussion on universalization of elementary education had been a talk of policy makers
evenbefore independence. HowevertheBritishers keptthepolicydeliberatelypostponing it.
Inthisregard Mahatma Gandhi framed hispolicyofBasic Education in 1937 and drew a
plan to educate all the children of age group of 6-14 years. This can be said to be the first
proper scheme towards its universalisation. Through many plans had been made to
implement this scheme, special concentrated efforts were made after independence only.
According to our Constitution which was adopted in 1950, this activity was to be
completed within a time period of ten years. The target kept on changing in every five-
yearplan.TheSarvaShikshaAbhiyan(SSA)implementedin2002fixedthetargetof

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achieving this goalby2010. Despite may policies focusing upon its achievement, stillwe
are far behind the goal.
One of the main problems in failing the target achievement is financial
handicap of the government. The expenditure on education India, according to the
recommendation of Kothari Commission (1964-66), was to spend 6% of the GDP. But
still after 60 years, we are moving around the figure of 4% only. The economicbetterment
of the poorer sections cannot be achieved without social transformation involving
structuralchange, educationaldevelopment, growth in awarenessand change in outlook,
motivation and attitudes. The social framework should be such as to provide opportunities
for the poorer sections to display initiative and to stand ontheir feet.
Thereare mainlythreetypesofschoolsdealingwithelementaryeducationin India
viz. Governmental, Private and NGO. As far as government is concern, they make
schemes of Elementary Education butforget to give definite shape to it and are accusedof
inefficiency and non-responsive behavior. Private sector driven by profit, prices itself out
of the reach of the poor. The voluntary sector is perceived to be motivated byaltruism,
making it a suitable catalyst for promoting sustainable development of poor in rural areas.
So NGOs can help the government implement its policies and in achieving UEE.
NGO approach to development is based on the principle of people’s
participations. NGOsare increasinglygainingattentionandare lookeduponasalternative
agencies in promoting awareness, change and development in society. They are
extensively involved in alleviating the poverty and promoting sustainable and equitable
development. Theyare in a position to provide social services to different sections of the
society where as the state fails to provide such services.
In recent years, NGOs have emerged as key players in social development in
the country by supplementing government efforts. Many a times, they have involved
themselves as important stakeholders in various socialdevelopment programmes. Having
efficient and participatory service delivery systems, they have been instrumental in
promoting and supporting education delivery, healthcare, literacy, poverty alleviation
through sustainable development, rehabilitation, women and child care, human
development, environmental protection, HIV/AIDs support programmes, agriculture
extension services, etc.

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 A few examples will illustrate the contribution that the size and reach ofNGOs
can make to ensuring human security. In Bangladesh, which houses one of the world’s
largest NGO sectors, two local NGOs alone work with a client-base of roughly seven
million people. The first, BRAC, has core programs in rural and urban development,
education and health in all 64 districts of the country, and reaches more than 50,000
villages. Over one millionchildrenattend its’ schools and it providespaid employment to
60,000 people (BRAC Annual Report 1999).
The inherent strengthsofsomeoftheeffectiveNGOsare – willingnessto work in
remote areas among the depressed classes, abilityto set in motionparticipatoryprocess in
identificationofthe need, the design and implementationofprogrammes, the readiness to
mobilize and use local resources, a non-hierarchical approach in working with people,
cost effective service delivery,freedom from red tape and freedom to innovate.They have
been instrumental in creating awareness and implementing developmentprogrammes in
agriculture, watershed development women’s empowerment, education heath and family
welfare. They are the representatives of the alternative modes of development.
With governments requiring additional support to fulfill their commitments to
society, NGO participation enables them to reach out to the most vulnerable sections of
the society. NGOs also prefer a role that is markedly different from that of the
government. Most of them have focused on areas neglected by the latter. While most
government initiatives have been on the supply side of education, several NGOs have
made efforts to work with communities and improve the demand for education. However
a majority of them see themselves in a supportive role for creating a facilitative
environment for learning. Some of the thrust focus areas byNGOs in Education are:

 NFE(Non-formalEducation)forworkingchildrenwho do notattendschool
 Promotingliteracy
 Creatingteaching-learningresources
 Teachertraining
 Empowermentofcommunity
 Enrolmentandreeducationofdropouts
 Improvement ofpedagogictechniques
 Implementing middaymealscheme

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  Improvementofschoolinfrastructure
Despite the presence of many NGOs, a majority of the states do not have a
declared or aclearly defined policyontheir involvement in the education sector. This has
naturally led to some of them trying to influence government policies. Transparency,
accountabilityand regular socialaudit need to be considered as criteria for allowing them
to work in sensitive social sectors like education.
Since the government alone could not achieve the goal of Education for All
(EFA), it was felt that the collaboration of voluntary organizations, the community and
NGOs was necessary, especially in the area of access, retention and achievement. The
Government of India laid emphasis on implementation of non-formal education through
local and national NGOs as well as other voluntary agencies. It viewed NGOs as vibrant
partnersin the process of moving towards the goals of education for all (EFA). Hence asa
policy, it proposed to promotetheir role at all levels in the social sectors with a view to not
only achieving participatory development but also unburdening the unduly loaded
government departments with the implementation of development programmes. It gave
liberal grants to these agencies to support such activities.
Besides running non-formal education centers, some of these NGOs
implemented innovative programmes for promoting elementary education. The state
noticed their involvement in enlarging the network of agencies in the education field,
which would bring greater flexibility and innovation into the government programmes.
The last two decades have seen several successful collaborative efforts between government
agencies and NGOs on a large-scale, the prime movers amongst them being Pratham,
Azim Premji Foundation, Prayas, Digantar, Maya, MV foundation, Action Aid India,
Akshaya Patra Foundation, etc. Many of these organizations focus on socially and
economically backward areas, marginalized sections of society and on education of girls.
A number of them are providing health, nutrition and education to working children and
those urban slums.
Many of these NGOs have worked in specific area in the field of pre-schooland
primary education, girls’ education, in improving access, enrolment, retention,
preparation of education materials, organization of bridge courses, supplementing
governmental efforts in providing midday meal, testing of education attainments of
children etc. The present study is an effort to study the NGO participation in elementary
education in terms of its expansion, contribution, impact and sustainability.
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2. REVIEWOFRELATEDLITRATURE

Report ofthe Committee on Child Labour, Ministryof Labour, Government of

India, (1979) noted the efforts made by the M.V. Foundation, an NGO in AndhraPradesh.
The M.V. Foundation provides replicable model to be followed by government and other
nongovernmentalagencies. It demonstratesthat social mobilizationcanachieve the desired
results. Parents do not want to exploit their children. Even poorest want their children to
be educated, to better themselves and escape from the poverty stranglehold that they are
trapped in.
Carmen (1987) analyzed various studies on rural development focusing onrural
underdevelopment from the perspectives of the Third World, and Africa in particular. The
results of this studywere summarized towards the dual aspects of people- centered
development explained in terms of human resource development and integrated rural
development as a participatory learning process in terms of empowerment. The
conclusion of the study was that the primacy of education at all phases of development
would empower people towards sustainable development.
Ayodhya and Papa (1993) analyzed the intervention of a NGO in two villages
in Andhra Pradesh in promoting people-centred development through adult education
programme. Qualitative research strategy was applied in this study. It was found that the
degree of remoteness and interiority led to lesser availability of alternative means of
sustenance and accessibility to government resources and it apparently had an influence
on the degree of success. Above all, the vital role of the NGO was considered to be an
important factor in the success of adult education programme.
Burra (1997) found that for the right climate to achieve the goals, M.V.
Foundation began by building up close contacts and relationship with the immediate
community: Parents and schools teachers, employers and administrative officials,
women’s groups and local youths. Involving them in each process and drawing on their
interest and goodwill, a major breakthrough was made. From one unit ─ Shankarpally
Mandal ─ M.V. Foundation has now extended its activities to 10 district administrative
units covering over 400 villages. Today, 80 per cent ofall children in the age group of5-
14 in school and among them 30,000 working children, including 3000 bonded children
and 5000 adolescent girls are receiving education.

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 Chatterji (1998) reviewed the efforts of the Non-Governmental Organizations
for primary education of the poor in the Mega City of Calcutta. The city is divided into
five zones and the NGOs are vigorously involved for helping the poor children in
providing education. They have (under Rainbow Project and St. Xavier project) hired
buildings fromreputed schools for running classes for theslumchildren. This scheme has
been able to attract children without much pain, as the parents are satisfied with the
physical facilities of school. Another effort that has been taken to increase the enrolment
and retention is that Calcutta Municipal Corporation and UNICEF have jointly initiated a
programme to revitalize the corporation schools of the city with the help of 15 NGOs.
Each NGO has taken up the responsibility of one or more schools and drawing up
strategiesto increase enrolment,retentionandachieving higher learning levels. The study
stronglyrecommendsthe increasing participation ofNGOs in the educationofchildren. It
stresses that the active partnership of government and nongovernmental organizations
should be encouraged.
Clarke (1998) viewed that the voluntary sector is so large in India in terms of
visibility and sheer numbers that it might be useful to first define NGOs and highlight
some key arguments about the general role of NGOs before focusing on the particularrole
they play in education. As our world becomes more interconnected, the role of non-
governmental organizations is increasing in important areas such as advocacy and
achievingdevelopment goals. InIndia, this is especiallytrue. India hasthesecond highest
number of NGOs in the world after Brazil.
Lambay (1998) discusses about Pratham, which is one of the leading NGOs
working in Mumbai to make elementary education a fundamental right. It intends to
providepre-schooleducationto everyslum-dwellingchild. Thisprovidesa base forbetter
learning, cutting down possibilities of dropouts and ensures that every 6-year-old enrolls
in a school. One of its strategies is to work with MunicipalCorporation to make learning
joyful in order to prevent dropouts. Pratham works with schools for mapping of the
educational institutions and monitoring ofthe child so that schoolshould be accessible to
all children and no child should dropout.
Seetharamu (1998) reviews the current status of primary education inBangalore
city, taking into account various variables that are considered important to achieve the
goalofUEE. The studypresents a briefprofile ofthe city. Around 20 percent
ofthepopulationofBangaloreresidesinslum,whichisabout410innumber.Three
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types of slums exist in Bangalore city- the core are all city centers slums in Southeast are
Tamil dominated. There are Muslim dominated slums in this region. The slums on
intermediary and peripheral areas especially in Western and North -Western region are
Kannad dominated slums. The study points out that the problem of primary education in
Bangalore City is a problem of slums and marginal population. Around 16 percent of the
total population of 6- 10 years of age group are still out of the schools. Enrolment of out
of schoolchildren is a top priority. Enrolment drives should focus their attention towards
the slum areas. NGOs involvement for organisation and conduct of Non- Formal
Education centers for non-enrolled and dropout children should be planned, supportedand
encouraged.
Singh (1998) discussed the role of Non Government Organization for primary
education in the cityofChennai. Few NGOsare running non-formaleducationcentersfor the
child laborers and for the dropouts with syllabus designed by Govt. /State resource
Center. Followed bythe initiativesofNGOsTamil Nadu Slum ClearanceBoard launched
the Transit School Programme in 1997. Under this progranmme the child laborers whoare
withdrawn from work force are admitted in one-year full time schools specially designed
for these children. These schools are spread all over the city. NGOs identify children in
the age group of7-13 yearsand motivatetheir parentsto send their childrento school.
Repeated home visits by the transit school teachers have a positive impact on the parents
and they agree to send their children to school. Transit School has devised a well planned
strategy. Children who have dropped out within last one year are given special coaching
in Transit School Camps for fifteen days and are then enrolled to school immediately.
Non-enrolled and children with longer dropout period are admitted to these schools which
is one year full time school. Chennai Corporation Council has approvedthe transit schools
as feeder schools to corporation schools. This programme helped children to attend the
classrooms and heavy dropout rate was prevented.
Solomon and Vinita (1998) analyzed primary education, not only in terms of
schooling being a learning institution but the role of human development in ensuring
quality education in an urban environment like Bangalore city. Researchers are working
with MAYA - Movement for Alternatives and Youth Awareness, which addresses
children'srights inBangalorecity. Mayaworkswithabout20,000households in21slums
ofcity and 35 slums ofruralareas. The studytried to find out as to whyonlytwo-third of the
children who are enrolled in Government primaryschoolcomplete primary education
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in Bangalore city and less than half of them complete upper primary schooling.Situational
analysis of factors affecting the low status of education in the slum areas was done and
the following problem areas are found to be responsible for this poor state of affairs.
Bangalore city provides multiple opportunities for children to work and children prefer to
work rather than going to school. In many cases the children are encouraged by the
parents. Some other reasons related to this are - sibling care, gender inequalities, abysmal
housing, parents or community's inability to provide basic needs, inappropriate planning
ofexpenditure, inadequateparticipationofparents inschoolmatters.Childrenof these areas
are generally humiliated by the teachers and are continuously reminded of their low
status. This discrimination can so deeply affect the child that he/she is reluctant to go to
the school. The study recognizes the active involvement of community, accountability
and decentralization as some of the measures required for the education of the slum
children.
Jagannathan (1999) finds that it is through innovations at the micro level that
NGOs can add value to the education sector: “While macro programs of reform
implemented by the Government address a large number of issues regarding educational
deprivation, NGOs bring lessons of effective local action”. The Indian NGO CEMD
(Centre for Education Management and Development) is one such example of effective
local action. In addition to concentrating its efforts on pedagogic innovation andimproved
teacher training, it emphasizes the importance of strong management support for
innovations and experiments.
Public Report on Basic Education in India (PROBE) (1999) discusses the
reasons of non-enrolment and dropout among school children and some recent
developments in the field of elementary education such as school-meal programmes,
alternative schooling, the rapid expansion of private schools, and various NGO's
initiatives. To improve the enrolment the study recommends that there is a need for a
better schooling infrastructure, for more and better trained teachers, for a more relevant
curriculum, for compliance of school curriculum with local patterns of agricultural
activities and for a more equitable distribution of infrastructural resources.
Jain et al (2000)in theirstudy analyzed the efforts made by the government and
NGOs to address to the issue of out-of-School children. The study focuses on the
initiatives taken by various NGOs to tackle the problem of the working children of 6-14
yearsofagegroup.SomeofthenotableNGOsareMVFoundation,AndhraPradesh;
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Pratham, Mumbai which are seeking to make the government education network take
cognizance of the schooling needs of the poor and be responsive to the communities.
Juneja(2000) studiedtheroleoftwo majororganizationsnamelytheMunicipal
Corporation and Non Governmental Organizations towards the goal of UEE in Mumbai
City. More than 596 thousand children are enrolled in 1243 Municipal schools of
Mumbai, which are offering eight different languages as medium of instruction. Thestudy
explains the administrative structure of the agencies responsible for primary education.
One of the important developments for the progress of primary education was that Non-
Government organizationsareactivelyparticipating along with Municipality for education
of the poor. Two NGOs namely The Door Step and Pratham are actively engaged in
reducing stagnation and wastage in education at the primary stage. They are trying to
improve the access and retention to education by opening non-formal education centers
and study classes (extra-coaching for school going children). They are making school
accessible on wheels or a school in bus those parks outside the slum areas where, for lack
of land, a school cannot be built. The case studies from different metropolitan cities of
India make it clear that the civic and environmental conditions are meager and
insufficient in all the slums. Education available to them is of inferior quality, which is
one of the significant factors, contributing to high dropouts from these areas.
Rekha (2000) in her study on gender gap in Basic Education and the NGO as
the change agents, describes that the cycle of gender discrimination can be broken by
education. On the one hand education must provide meaningful skills, which enhance
women’s labor market capabilities and allow them to claim benefits from thedevelopment
process. On the other hand education must surely serve as a catalyst of emancipating
struggle.
Chowdhury et al. (2001) found an increase in girls’ enrollment rate brought
about by a number of ‘positive discriminatory’ actions taken by the state and NGOs in
favor of girls and poor children in the rural areas. Among these are: (i) non-formal
primaryeducation;(ii) FemaleStipend program, wherethe stateprovides stipendsto girls in
secondary school and does not charge any tuition; and (iii) Food for Education program,
where the state provides a food ration to children fromrural poorer families for attending
school .
Gangrade (2001) reported that voluntary sector played an important role in
societyfromtimeimmemorial.Theconceptandapproachinvoluntaryworkhas
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undergone many changes from time to time. From pure charity, relief and welfareoriented
approach this sector has in recent times suitably modeled and equipped itself to meet the
development needs of society. There is hardly any field which is not touched upon by
NGO sector/voluntary sector. The NGOs have acquired an important position in various
fields at the national and international levels.
Govinda (2002) revealed that the role of NGOs in primary education in India
cannot be easily generalized because the types of organizations, their aims, approaches,
outcomes, and contributions are numerous and diverse. NGOs surveyed for the India
Education Report spelt out the following areas of focus in basic education (from most
commonly reported to least): mobilizing community, imparting literacy, enhancing
quality, training teachers, providing additional facilities, and providing teaching-learning
materials).
Kadzamira et al.(2002) investigated the changing roles of nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) in basic education in Africa. This Malawi case study wasconducted
by the Centre for Educational Research and Training of the University of Malawi.
Information for the studywascollectedthroughinterviewswithkey stakeholders in crucial
institutions such as the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST);
Ministry of Gender, Youth and Community Service (MoGYCS), the ministry responsible
for NGO registration; donor agencies that are currently responsible for youth registration;
donor agencies that are currently using NGOs to implement their programs, particularly in
basic education and NGOs directly involved in education. The study used nine NGOs and
four international, three local, and two networking coalitions. Six lessons learned from
NGO experience in the education sector in Malawi were: (1) regulation of NGOs within
the sector is weak; (2) MoEST should monitor NGO activities and give direction to
ensure coherence and harmony in efforts exerted within the sector; (3) the little
interaction that exists between NGOs and MoEST is superficial, with weak mechanisms
for collaboration; (4) absence of meaningful interaction between NGOs and MoEST robs
the system of opportunities to scale up programs; (5) in the recent past, the roles of NGOs
in education in Malawi have evolved from service provision to policy advocacy; and (6)
NGOs could do well to involve MoEST from the designing to the implementation stages
of innovations to increase the chance of government adopting the innovations nationally.

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 Banerjee et al. (2003) found that NGO remedial education program in India,
where young women from the community are hired to teach children who lag behind in
class, to be effective in improving children’s test scores.
A study by NGO Pratham (2005) was directed to create Education ReportCards
for local communities. The baseline dipsticks were done in the district and block selected
by the partnering NGOs depending on their geographical area of work. Rural
communities (62) in Eastern and Central Uttar Pradesh were included in a “dipstick”
survey. Within each block, six villages were to be covered, 3 randomly chosen and 3
nearby ones. In each village, two hamlets randomly selected by chits were surveyed and
all children between the ages of 3 and 14 were covered and 7 to 14 year olds tested.
Children were asked simple questions about whether they are in school and what kind of
school. At the same time, children were also asked to read simple text, write a dictated
easysentenceanddo basicarithmeticproblems and findout Overall, inthesampledareas
about 94% children in the age group 6 to 14 were enrolled in school in July 2005. Of the
6% out of school children,more girls were out of school than boys. 75% of childrenin the
age group 7-10 could not read simple text fluently. 25% of children in the age group 11-
14 could not read simple text fluently. 50% of all children in the age group 7 to 10 could
not correctly recognize numbers from 20 to 100. Only 38% of 11-14 year oldscould do a
three-by-one division problem correctly (most of who have been in school for at least 5
years). Among all 66 schools visited, 76% of teachers appointed and 61% of enrolled
children were present on the given day. Student-teacher ratio (on enrolment) is 72:1.
Textbooks had arrived in merely 37 schools, and mid-day meal scheme was operational in
50% schools. Two ofaverage 3 rooms per school were in use, and number of children to a
room came to 108:1. Usable water and toilet facilities were low in comparison to
provision.
Sukontamarn (2005) investigated into how the entry of NGOs in primary
educationhasaffectededucationaloutcomesofgirlsandexaminesthe mechanismswhich
account for the relative performance of NGO versus state schools in improving female
educational outcomes. The results show that the entry of NGO schools has significantly
increased girls’ enrollment as compared to boys. Constructing cohorts from cross-
sectional data using year of birth and year of NGO school establishment, the two most
prominentcharacteristicsofNGOschoolsthatencouragegirls’enrollmentarethehigh

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percentage of female teachers and having Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs). NGO
schools show strong effects in improving children’s test scores.
Das (2006) observed that EGS centers in all four districts were suffering from
common problems which included lack of sitting space for children, inadequate funds,late
release of grants, inadequate TLM and study materials, sub-standard quality of mid-
daymeals (MDM). In most oftheEGS centersrun byNGOs, Education volunteers(EVs)
were not paid their honorariumregularlyand training to EVs was inadequate. Monitoring
and evaluation of the EGS needed further strengthening.
Mehrotra (2006) studied the role of NGOs and other nonprofit making bodiesin
running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and found that all parents and community
members were highly satisfied with functioning of KGBVs despite some shortcomings.
NGOs had no role in the functioning of KGBVs. The girls were eager to study, they don’t
want to leave the school after completing class VIII. All teachers/ parents and community
members wanted extension of KGBV up to class X.
Dhakshinamurthy (2007) assessed the contribution of the non- governmental
agency, ‘The Akshaya Patra Foundation’ and concluded that about 1,32,000
childrenfromfivehundredschoolswerethebeneficiariesoftheprogrammeduringtheyear2006-
07. There had been continuous requests from several more schools, which they would be
ableto fulfillwithgreater support fromthegovernment and voluntaryassociations. Major
support was obtained from the INFOSYS foundation.
Gender Unit, TSG-SSA (2007) reported on the role and effectiveness ofNGOs
and other non-profit organizations in running KGBVs. The scheme has received high
priority and political attention in most of the states visited. It is well received by the
community the fact that the KGBV is “completely free” is a major attraction. In most
KGBVsthe localcommunity seems to beplaying an activepositive role. Inalmost allthe
KGBVs the real guardians were the cooks, helpers and in some the warden / part-time
teachers. Through the scheme access to schooling facilities among the mostdisadvantaged
groups has been made possible. In Rajasthan, 8 KGBVs were located in minority
dominated blocks and only 5% of the girls were from this community. On the other hand
in the minority dominated block of Virangham (Gujarat) all enrolled in the KGBV were
Muslims. The teachers and all those involved in the management of the KGBVs showed
high levels of commitment.

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 Gender Unit, TSG, SSA (2008) found the role and effectiveness of NGOs and
other non-profit organizations in running KGBVs.In the 12 states covered 67.7% of the
approved KGBVs were operational. The reasons for the short full range from difficult
terrain, high cost of building (J & K) to delay in selection of NGOs. Majority of girls
studying in KGBVs were ST (44%), SC (21%), OBC (19%), Muslims (8%) and from
poor families (9%). In Meghalaya, management of KGBV was given to a missionary
institution where only catholic girls were being enrolled, which is a violation of the
guidelines. In Punjab and West Bengal, these Vidyalayas were being used as hostel
facility for girls enrolled in regular schools. A large proportion of girls studying in the
KGBVs were already enrolled in school or had just completed class V.There was no
significant difference between the quality of education imparted in regular government
schools and KGBVs. The assessment process is also similar to formal schools. languageis
a serious issue in tribal areas where students face learning difficulties as the books are in
state language.
Blum and Nicole (2009) viewed that in addition to the proliferation of private,
fee‐paying schools in India; non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) play an important
role in providing educational services, especially in un‐served and under‐served
communities. They explores the contributions of one NGO programme which has sought
to increase access for socially and economically marginalized children by establishingand
providing support for small, rural, multi grade schools. The paper argues that NGO
programmes like these have had positive impacts in terms of both access and quality
because, firstly, the programmes are small‐scale and locally rooted, and secondly, their
organization allows for greater flexibility and room for innovation in areas such as
curriculum design, teacher education, and school networking than is commonly possible
within government schools.
Javed (2010) investigated the general working structure of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and to examine the services and facilities provided by NGOs for
basic education in Punjab, Pakistan. The population comprised 112 NGOs working forthe
promotion of basic education in Punjab, 3980 teachers working in basic education schools
run by NGOs, and all parents of the children studying in NGO schools. Different
educational experts from different districts also constituted the population. We selected25
NGOs working for the development of basic education in Punjab through cluster
randomsamplingcoveringallareasofPunjab.25headsoftheNGOsand200teachers
14
working in basic education schools were taken as the sample of study through the simple
random sampling technique. 50 parents of the children enrolled in NGO schools and 25
educational experts from different districts of Punjab were also selected as the sample of
the study. Four questionnaires were developed, one each for head of NGO, teachers,
parents of students and educational experts in the light of the objectives of the study for
the collection of data. The data collected through questionnaires were statistical analyzed
by chi-square technique, significant at p less than 0.05 level and It is concluded that:
1) Majority of the heads of NGOs, teachers, educational experts and parents of the
children opined that building and furniture for teachers and students in NGOs
schools were insufficient to meet the need.
2) Majority of the heads of NGOs, teachers, educational experts and parents of the
children opined that electricity facilities, availability of drinking water and
playground facility were inadequate in mostly NGOsschool.
3) Majority of the heads of NGOs, teachers, educational experts and parents of the
children opined that they arranged free education and provided books free of cost
to the children; however, the facilities regarding teaching learning were
inadequate.
Harini et al (2010) found that the role of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) is being recognized globally for their influential role in realizing the UN
MillenniumDevelopment Goalofeducationforallindevelopingcountries. NGOs mostly
employ untrained Para-educators for grassroots activities. The professional development
of these teachers is critical for NGO effectiveness, yet Para-teacher learning in such
contexts is rarely researched. To facilitate much-needed research on Para-teacher
professional development, this article offers a contextually relevant on- the-job learning
model for Para-teachers. The model suggests that Para-educators can effectively learn
when their work and learning are integrated by systematizing a simple daily cyclical
routine of lesson planning, enactment and reflection for everyday instruction. It also
suggests other supports to stimulate learning alongside the cyclical routine.
Stuart (2011) reported that slums account for around a third of the populationof
Dhaka, Bangladesh, and are thought to be growing rapidly. But there is little in the
research literature about education of children who live in slums and it is doubtfulwhether
they are covered in official statistics such as those on enrolment rates. Most families had
incomesofless thanUS$1 per dayper person, and faced problems including
15
flooding, poor housing, and risk of eviction. A wide range of school types provided
education to children from the study areas, but this varied a lot between different slums.
The paper focuses on how parents and children made decisions about schooling, in a
context where the options on offer are less than ideal. Overall around 70% of children
were enrolled in primary school. Most were in government or NGO schools, with
minorities in madrasasand privateschools. Almost halfoftheschool-going childrenwere
supplementing their classes with private tuition. Regression analysis shows that children
fromwealthier households andwithmore highlyeducatedparents, were more likelyto be in
school,more likely to be in a private school rather than other types, and less likely to be in
an NGO school. However, location and the range of schools on offer were also important.
Although the NGOs have started functioning in several parts of the country, it
seemsthat theyare able to reacha verysmallpercentageofthepopulation. Therefore, the
government has to take prime responsibility and seek support of the voluntary sectors to
reach to the disadvantaged section of the society.

16
3. STATEMENTOFTHE PROBLEM
The study will look into the status, functioning, financing, impact and such
other parameters of NGOs working in the field of elementary education. The study is
titled as “NGO Participation in Elementary Education: An Analytical Study”. The key
terms used in the study are operationally defined as below:
NGOs: Non-governmental organizations refer to specific type of organizations workingin
the field of development - which work with people to help them improve their
educational, social and economic conditions for a better future. These organizations can
be international, national or local organizations.
Voluntaryactions: Thisreferstotheself-initiatedactionsbyindividualsororganizations for
any social cause. In this study the actions of non-governmental organizations specifically
withrespect to their involvement inthedevelopment ofelementaryeducation will be taken
into account.
.Elementary education: It includes primary (class I-V) and upper primary (VI-VII) of
school education. The provision of education till class 8 th is elementary education. It
includes the children of 6 to 14 years of age.
4. OBJECTIVESOFTHESTUDY
Thestudyisdirectedtoachievethefollowingobjectives:

17
 1. TodocumenttheroleandcontributionofNGOs inelementaryeducation.
2. To identify perceptions of officials, parents and students on NGOs’ participationin
elementary education.
3. To find out institutional effectivness ofNGOs working in the field of elementary
education through SWOT analysis.
4. To find the impact ofNGO actions in elementaryeducation in the context oftheir
role as change agents.
5. SCOPEOFTHESTUDY
India has not beenable to fulfill its constitutional pledge for providing free and
compulsory education for all children up 6 to the age of 14, despite the fact that it was
proposedsixdecades back. It is felt thatthegovernment alonecouldnot achievethegoals of
EFA, and it is imperative to seek cooperation of voluntary organizations, the community
and NGOs; especially in the areas of access, retention and achievement. This study will
help the government and policy makers in recognizing the role of NGOs in achieving
UEE. In order to access the functioning ofNGOs in depth, the studywill apply SWOT
analysis technique. The perception of the stakeholders such as parents, students
andofficials willalso becovered inthestudy. The NGOswhich havedeveloped akind of
credibility over a period of time will be involved in the study.
5. DESIGNOFTHESTUDY
The study will dig into the nature, functions, partnership, financing and such
other aspects of NGOs working in the field of elementary education. The NGOs addressto
alleviate different aspects of educational backwardness of service regions – low
enrolment, gender inequity, drop outs and stagnation, untrained teachers, poor quality of
education and so on. Theyoperate in varied geographic settings catering to particular or a
cross section of people.
5.1. Sampling
As only those NGOs working in the field of elementary education will be
considered, purposive sampling will be used to select the NGOs. The NGOs operating in
north IndianstatesofPunjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradeshand Rajasthanwill be considered in the
study.
5.2 Tools
I. Questionnaire:The researcher will use a comprehensive questionnaire covering NGO
involvement on different interventions in elementary education as listed below:
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  Enhancingaccess
 Balancingequity
 Reducingregionaldisparity
 Alternate schooling
 AdultandNon-formalEducation
 Teachertraining
 Research
 Fundraising
 Computerliteracy/ICTineducation
 Qualityenhancement

II. Semi-structuredinterview
III. SWOTAnalysisTechnique
The researcher will also visits to NGO offices and schools, and gather
qualitativedatathroughinteractionswithsenior functionariesoftheNGOsandthe school
personnel/community members as beneficiaries.
5.3 .Statisticaltechniques
ThestatisticaltechniquesasMean, andStandard Deviation, Correlationandt’- test
will be used for data analysis and interpretation of results.
6. DELIMITATIONSOFTHE STUDY
The study will be delimited to the NGOs working in the field of elementary
education in north Indian states.

19
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http://www.investorwords.com/4616/social_responsibility.html

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