Panshet, 15 June 2023: The small hamlet of Varasgaon, nestled in the Sahyadri Mountains of Maharashtra, has witnessed a significant development in its education system with the opening of Maharashtra’s first cluster school. In adherence to the Right to Education Act of 2009, Pune’s Zilla Parishad has established the Cluster School in Panshet, aiming to provide quality education to approximately 210 students from 13 public schools within a 10-kilometre radius.
The inaugural day of the Cluster School was filled with excitement as students, adorned in colorful uniforms, arrived at the well-equipped school. Parents from nearby villages, including those from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), were also present and delighted to see their children enrolled in such a promising educational institution.
The event was attended by notable figures such as Popat Nalawade, Block Education Officer; Amol Nalawade, Ex-ZP member; Pankaj Patil, Mahatma Gandhi National fellow and Cluster School Coordinator; Anil Bhandari, Janki Devi Bajaj Gram Sanstha; and Sameer More, beat-in-charge, along with teachers and parents.
Currently, 132 students have been enrolled, and the authorities hope to see more enrollments in the coming days, according to Patil.
The establishment of cluster schools aligns with Clause 7 of the National Education Policy 2020, which advocates for consolidating small schools into larger ones to ensure quality education. Pune Zilla Parishad operates 3,638 primary schools, out of which 403 schools have an enrollment of 150 or more students. These larger schools collectively educate 50% of the district’s 2.30 lakh students. To ensure adequate infrastructure for these 403 schools, a scheme has been introduced with an estimated cost of Rs 96 crores.
However, the cost per child in smaller schools is approximately Rs 6.4 lakhs, compared to Rs 90,000/- in larger schools. This discrepancy arises due to fixed costs, such as eLearning resources, which remain the same regardless of the number of students. To address this issue and provide equal opportunities, investing in cluster schools that can offer the necessary infrastructure and educational resources, as per the National Education Policy, becomes imperative.
To assess the educational outcomes, Pune Zilla Parishad conducted the Fundamental Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) test, evaluating language proficiency and mathematics skills for students in grades 1 to 5. The collected data indicated that students from smaller schools generally exhibited lower levels of language and mathematics skills compared to their counterparts in larger schools. This disparity was particularly evident at level 1, where students from small schools struggled with literacy and numeracy.
Moreover, a smaller number of students from these schools reached level 3 in language skills, indicating a lower level of mastery compared to students from larger schools. These findings highlight the disadvantages faced by students in smaller schools, hindering their learning outcomes and overall development.
The establishment of cluster schools aims to address these challenges by providing peer learning opportunities, specialized teachers for subjects like computer programming, arts, and sports, and better school governance facilitated by full-time principals. Despite facing protests in previous attempts to establish cluster schools, false rumors of the government planning to close schools with fewer than 20 enrolled students sparked activism from political parties and activists. Pune Zilla Parishad’s decision to implement the National Education Policy 2020 by establishing a cluster school in Panshet demonstrates its commitment to providing quality education and required persistent efforts to gain stakeholder support.
To ensure the success of the cluster school initiative, Pune Zilla Parishad collaborated with local leaders, school management committees, and the Janki Devi Bajaj Foundation, known for improving infrastructure in public schools. These partnerships, along with the provision of transportation services through yellow school buses provided by Force Motors, have enhanced the credibility and support for the project. Teacher training programs conducted by the District Institutes of Education and Training will equip teachers to teach specialized subjects and cater to diverse student needs.
While the project faces challenges such as external activism and bureaucratic transfers, Pune Zilla Parishad’s efforts hold the potential to deliver quality education to students in remote areas, such as those in Velhe Taluka. The outcomes of this project will serve as a benchmark for the successful implementation of the National Education Policy 2020, providing a brighter future for the students of Maharashtra.
