Large Scale System Change Programs in India: What Works in Working with the Government?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 7
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: How It Works: Mapping Implementation Dynamics from a Public Administration Perspective in Resource-Constrained Education Contexts

Proposal

Nonprofits in India are working with at least half the state governments in India through collaborative mechanisms for implementing foundational learning programs at scale as also for designing and implementing some reforms for strengthening the public education system delivery. Such ‘system support organizations’ recognize that it is imperative to work with governments to create sustainable change at scale.
The current presentation will examine the implementation insights from the efforts of Language and Learning Foundation (LLF) - a system-focused and impact-driven organization in India that is dedicated to improving student learning at scale in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) and works in collaboration with the Indian public education system. Based on the current experiences of LLF working in close collaboration with eight state governments in India, this paper will examine the limitations of the public education system in implementing high quality programs and system reforms. It will highlight certain ways of working with the government that have worked well in particular contexts, as well as what has been seen to not work well in such collaborative arrangements with governments.
The public education system has several limitations. Frequently changing leadership in the school education department often results in a shift in priorities or introduction of new initiatives. State education departments, like most other government departments in India, function in a hierarchical manner without strong consultative processes and established feedback mechanisms from ground up. Staff in the department seem to be overburdened at all levels. Most ‘middle level’ educational administrators find balancing mandatory administrative tasks with academic monitoring and school improvement difficult (Tara, Kumar and Ramaswamy 2010).
State-level leadership is often keen to implement initiatives across a large number of schools or even throughout the state quickly, without adequate preparation. Data collection and its transmission upwards seems to be the major focus of school monitoring. Only a fraction of this data gets analysed, and even less gets used for any follow-up action. The quality of data is a big issue for a variety of reasons. The system’s capacity to absorb, internalise and consistently implement significant changes in the curriculum, pedagogical practices and beliefs is quite limited. Frequent changes in programmes and instructional designs have also led to considerable fatigue among teachers and middle management.
Some strategies that have worked well in collaborative arrangements for attempting system change include: Developing a shared vision for change among all stakeholders within the education system, strengthening system capacity including continuous professional development initiatives, building relationships with administrators at all levels, building or strengthening consultation and feedback mechanisms within the government system and developing coalitions with other nonprofits for more effective support for education reforms.

Brinkerhoff, J. M. 2002. ‘Government-Nonprofit Partnership: A Defining Framework’, Public Administration and Development, 22(1): 19–30.
Tara, S Nayana, N S Sanath Kumar, and S Ramaswamy. 2010. Study of Effectiveness of BRCs & CRCs in Providing Academic Support to Elementary Schools. EdCil and Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India

Authors

• Dhir Jhingran, Language and Learning Foundation

• BIDISHA BOSE, Language and Learning Foundation