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That it is absolutely critical for a school to strike roots in its neighbourhood is stating the obvious. Of course it is. It needs the roads and lanes, the water supply and sewage network, the community dumpster and every other service and facility available locally, to function. Then naturally it must involve itself in all that concerns its neighbourhood.
We knew this already. What we might have missed are the changing traits of this partnership. Yes, there has been a very significant shift on this front. The neighbourhood is no longer considered a passive backdrop, a provider of basic infrastructure. Rather, it represents a community of people which provides that vital support that the school requires to turn out successive ranks of able, aware and competent citizens. So the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), insists that a ‘healthy’ alliance between the two is an absolute prerequisite for students to develop the ‘right attitude’ towards society. And the Ministry of Human Resources Develop ment’s (MHRD) flagship programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, clearly states that the Right to Education Act can be translated from a legal framework on paper to a vibrant movement on the ground ‘only with the local people’s support and ownership’. A GT survey revealed that the neighbourhood too is willing, even enthusiastic to partner with schools. But no one has yet been able figure out how this partnership can operate to make a credible impact. |
| CSE’s new publication attempts to plug this gap.It suggests a viable, doable “HOW". |
| — Pandit Gobar Ganesh |
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