India is supposedly one of the fastest growing economies in the world (although recent GDP numbers say otherwise). Some of the key ingredients to a rising economy is investing in infrastructure, human development, and capital. Investing in education is a smart choice for countries as it reduces poverty, increases income levels, and boosts economic growth.
Take one look at the statements some of our political “leaders” have made in the recent past, and you’ll begin to appreciate the value/importance of a good education. If that’s not enough, Indian parents cannot stress enough about it, doing everything in their power to see their children receive a quality education. All jokes aside, our country made huge strides post-independence, with the literacy rate rising from a modest 18.33% in 1951, to a respectable 74.04% in 2011. Free and compulsory education is a fundamental right under the constitution of India for children between the age of 6-14 (since 1 April 2010). Moreover, in an attempt to increase enrollment and provide nutritious food to children in government-run/government-aided schools, the Government of India introduced the Mid-day Meal scheme.
This project documents the processes and outcomes of speculative and participatory design activities conducted with primary school children studying in government schools from rural India. It also explores the role of infrastructure in schools and how it might affect the mentality of both children and parents. The study took place in the state of Bihar, which has a record of performing poorly in all matters of human development.
The Setting
Our 8-day tour of the Thakurganj district covered three villages- Nimbugudi, Bandarbadi, and Galgaliya. Accompanying us on our adventure were two volunteers hailing from the local community courtesy of our on-field partner Project Potential. We spent the first three days surveying and gathering intel from the villages. Our volunteer friends helped immensely in carrying out conversations with the residents, both young and old. The next five days were spent conducting various activities in the village of Bandarbadi.
Bihar’s low literacy rate is nothing to write home about. We could get a glimpse of why that was the case during our time on the field. After visiting several schools, it was evident they experienced a shortage of teachers. Busy in managing crowded classrooms, the teachers could devote very little time to teach. This shortage can be attributed to various reasons such as low/irregular pay, distance from home to school, issues with higher authorities, and an overall lack of motivation. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Many of the schools we came across didn’t give the vibe of a respectable educational institute. Basic amenities that people subconsciously expect are found wanting, such as a boundary fence. Cows and goats are frequently seen roaming inside the school premises. That’s not all, we also found people who like to dry their clothes on the school rooftop. Most of the classrooms are devoid of any natural lighting and ventilation. They also lacked benches, dustbins, tables, fans, and lights with all the students having to sit on the floor. Amenities such as running water in toilets was also lacking. Children would often go home or wander into neighboring fields to relieve themselves. Hygiene and sanitation are not taken seriously.
Findings & Approach
Using insights from our initial field visits and secondary research, we listed important points that seemed to emerge from the ecosystem. We went through the usual routine of sticking colorful sticky notes onto a wall…
One could briefly summarize the sticky notes sessions as follows:
- After going across these villages, it was evident the residents belonging to a particular caste or religion tend to live together. The school serves as a common ground for all the residents.
- Gender and caste discrimination among kids is prevalent. The boys believe girls cannot participate in sports. Lower caste kids prefer sitting next to each other and mix very rarely with the others.
- It wasn’t much of a surprise to find some parents sending their children to school only to avail of the mid-day meal scheme. We noticed a few kids who promptly decided to pack their bags and go home once they finished their free lunch.
- Dropout rates are high, as many schools aren’t able to provide high school education. The schools providing high school education are either unaffordable or too far away.
- The parents felt there needed to be something “extra” in the schools to keep the kids engaged in school.
- Not all kids felt the need to wash their hands before eating. The teachers don’t bother telling them either. That might explain why some of them were sick.
- Both parents and teachers sit year after year hoping that the local government would do something to improve the school. Elections are a good time to see some of those hopes come alive.
- The adults are quite shy or hesitant to initiate something new. Even though they agree that they can play a significant role in improving their village, they are willing to join if others are talked into it first.
- The absence of a fence/ boundary wall allows cows, goats, and dogs to roam the playground. Drunkards also trespass into the school building during the nights.
- Rice was served every day of the week as part of the mid-day meal program. There is a noticeable spike in attendance on days when eggs are served.
Some of the common themes that emerged were:
Based on our understanding of the ecosystem, we decided to narrow down our approach and identified our potential stakeholders: Children, Parents, Schools. We focused on designing participatory activities, which would result in a tangible outcome.
Design of Participatory Activities
The intention of using participatory activities was to form a deeper connection with the community and bring about a change through meaningful collaboration. These were simple activities with a low barrier of entry and required very little prerequisite knowledge. We also looked for things that could more easily cut across various gender, caste, class, and religious barriers.
Our main objectives while designing these activities were:
- To allow students to reveal to us their challenges, aspirations, and ideas about what and how a school should be.
- To involve the students in the making process to give them a sense of agency and ownership.
- To observe how the students interacted with the resources provided to them and create something they imagined for their school.
- To serve as an inspiration to parents and teachers alike, so that they may initiate and participate in similar activities in the future.
Activity 1: Speculating Futures
Description: Draw a school. It could be an ideal school or an imaginary version of your own school.
Materials: Paper, sketch pens, color pencils, erasers, sharpeners
Questions:
- For kids during the activity: What changes would you like to see in your school which would make you feel like attending class everyday?
- For parents / older siblings / family: What changes would you like to see in your child’s school which would encourage you to send your kid to school?
Outcomes:
- Kids may illustrate what they feel is missing in terms of facilities.
- Kids may illustrate certain behaviors they expect from their peers and teachers.
- Parents and siblings may elaborate on certain system-level changes that they feel is the need of the hour. For example, appointing more teachers and better quality of food.
Observations:
- Some of the common objects which were illustrated by the kids were swings, slides, fans, lights, trees (mainly mango and litchi), flowers, hand-pumps, toilets and a playground with infrastructure for sports such as cricket, kabaddi, volleyball, basketball and badminton. Some also drew benches and tables inside their classrooms.
- Some of the older kids (ages 10 and above) imagined their school to be comprised of 2 floors.
- Kids enjoy drawing and coloring their artwork and took huge pride in sticking them against their classroom walls. This activity gave them a sense of ownership and belonging to their class.
Activity 2: Crafting Conviviality
Description: Kids were told to mould and play around with the materials and make various objects that they would want for their school out of them.
Materials: Clay, Ice cream sticks, scissors, fevicol, yarn.
Outcomes:
- They came up with many prototypes for play swings, fans, cricket bats, badminton rackets, benches and basketball hoops.
- Since they were easily able to create models without many hiccups, the kids seem to have a good understanding of the materials given to them.
- Half the children created identical-looking swings, thus some might have copied their more dexterous and creative neighbors.
Activity 3: Card Sorting
Description: Give the kids a set of cards with simple drawings of basic amenities that are supposed to be a part of every school and ask them to pick and set aside the three most important to them.
Observations:
- Some of the popular card picks included playground infrastructure such as a swing or a slide.
- A few older kids (ages 10+) wanted books. Dustbins as well, since they were aware that dirty surroundings lead to disease.
- Lights and fans were among the other top picks. The school lacked any. In fact, it was being installed on the last day that we went.
- Many of them also picked chairs and tables for their classrooms.
Activity 4: Material Experiments For Probing
Description: Ask kids to make something out of the materials provided to them.
Materials: Paint, discarded tyres, thin rope, thick rope, metal wire, bamboo, jute sacks, plastic sacks, cardboard boxes and other materials found around their school.
Observations:
- Kids trying to figure out ways to use the materials to build something such as hopscotch, swings, volleyball / badminton courts, football goalposts, basketball hoops.
- Kids painting certain patterns known to them, motifs that are also a part of their hand-painted house walls, part of their tribal culture.
- Kids playing and jumping on the tyre.
Outcome
We hoped to create a school infrastructure that makes education for education’s sake more appealing. Our goal was to make them a part of the process to make them more invested and interested in going to school every day. We tried a unique approach, where we enabled the kids to imagine their ideal school, and elicit their hopes and dreams about education. This allowed us to co-design their dream space.
Involving the students in the whole process was a crucial part of our strategy. Although managing so many kids was very challenging. They had to be frequently distracted with the help of nursery rhymes and other physical sports. One way to safeguard or ensure sustainability is if everyone’s time, energy, and skills are applied. Giving students a stake of ownership and pride in the places where they spend a large chunk of their time is the key.
Next Steps
Our local teammate/co-researcher, who hails from the same Santhal community is eager to carry out developmental work in a participatory manner for the benefit of Bandarbadi and many other villages in the region. We intend to stay in touch via digital communication to keep updated on the children’s progress and exchange more information over time. We hope this model of co-designing infrastructure is ported over to other neighboring settlements as well, even in our absence. However, what remains to be seen is whether this framework can be replicated within cities and in different cultures as well, especially where language is a significant barrier.