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Tuesday, 28 February 2017

9. Seminar 28 February 2017


I was invited to deliver a talk on ‘Bridging Gender and Social Gaps’ at the  National Seminar on Brighten Minds Through Quality Education Across India –AMSES 2017 organized by Mar Severios College of Teacher Education, Chengaroor  on 28 February 2017.

Around 80 gender related visuals I had collected were displayed.






Here is the handout I had distributed  prior to my  multimedia-based presentation:
Bridging Gender and Social Gaps

On quality
Examined within context, education quality apparently may refer to inputs, (numbers of teachers, amount of teacher training, number of textbooks), processes (amount of direct instructional time, extent of active learning), outputs (test scores, graduation rates), and outcomes (performance in subsequent employment)-(Adams 1998)

Quality in the Indian context
The Public Report on Basic Education which investigated the schooling situation in over 200 villages of north India in 1996, says, “quality education”, however defined, involves certain minimal requirements such as adequate facilities, responsible teachers, an active class room and an engaging curriculum.
Gender and social gaps …the Indian reality
*According to  the World Economic Forum, India ranks 87 in WEF gender gap report.
* A study conducted recently  found that Indian society suffers from substantial inequalities in education, employment, and income based on caste and ethnicity.-Desai and Kulkarni

Strategies for reducing Gender and social gaps
*Transport facilities to centres of learning and home.
*Setting up of training centres for competitive exams.
*Guidance camp for providing information of various governmental schemes.
*Provide  financial assistance, free tuition,  free boarding and lodging facility.
*Community based collective learning, particularly for girls  to become entrepreneurs.
*Ensure security, hostel and  scholarship for  girls interested in pursuing  technical education.
*Create awareness among  deprived classes who tend to show a lack of interest in Higher education.
*Provide training for employment- Fibre arts, different heritage food, wood carving, etc.
*Bridge gender and social gap, by employing specially trained teachers who  through community awareness programme can  help  transform  the community and bring about an attitudinal change among men.

Strategies proposed to tackle  inequality in India
*Introduce land reforms and raise taxation for the wealthy.
      - Jayati Ghosh, Professor of economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
*Give a voice to oppressed groups.
*Improve the balance of mass media.
         -Rikke Nöhrlind, executive director, International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN),
                                  Copenhagen, Denmark. @idsnupdates
*Eliminate caste discrimination.
       -Arun Kumar, state team leader, Futures Group International, Bhubaneswar, India.
*Harness the power of technology.
     -Avinash Kumar, director of policy, research and campaigns, Oxfam India, New Delhi, 
                        India. @Avinashkoomar 
*Widen access to quality basic services.
*Make women more visible in public life and institutions.
      -Akhil Paul, director, Sense International India, Ahmedabad, India. @SenseInternatl
*Ensure that India's growth is for the benefit of the many, not the few.
*Make development inclusive of those with disabilities.
     -Asha Kowtal, general secretary, All India Dalit Women Rights Forum (Aidmam), New Delhi,                            India. @ashazech

Exit remark
Priority should be given to socially disadvantaged groups. Investments in women and gender equality will deliver higher growth rates, faster poverty reduction, and better education and health outcomes for household members.  It is not the responsibility of the government alone…Teachers can chip in too and play a significant role in reducing gender and social gaps in the country.

References

Adams, D. 1998. Defining Educational Quality: Educational Planning. Educational Planning 11(2):3-18
Desai, Sonalde and  Kulkarni, Veena. Changing Educational Inequalities in India in the Context of Affirmative Action.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2474466/
Public Report on Basic Education in India, 1999, [R.N21.604]
World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2016.
-Live Mint e-paper 24 February 2017    http://www.livemint.com
13 ways to tackle inequality in India
 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/apr/22/india-elections-tackling-inequality-advice


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