What role can parents play in their children's learning? Does it require them to spend time teaching their children? Or, does it mean going to school and interacting with the teachers? Does it call for them having to help out with homework? Or, does it have more to do with asking after their children's day at school?
Saransh Vaswani, the co-founder of Saajha and our latest guest on EI Dialogues, demystifies this for us. He shares how, rather than assuming the responsibility of teaching, parents can play a bigger role in their child's learning by taking an active interest in the governance of schools. Saransh further reveals how misunderstandings/mistrust among parents, teachers, and the community regarding each other's roles lead to pent-up frustrations, with the focus moving away from what matters most - the child's learning.
This is where the School Management Committees (SMCs) come in. The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mandates that public schools form an SMC comprising the school principal, a teacher, parents, a local ward councillor, and an educationist. The question arises, therefore, that when our policies provide for improved collaboration, why don't we take the opportunity to hold each other accountable and push for reforms?"
This is precisely what Saajha is persevering towards by building leadership capacity in SMCs and working with each stakeholder community to make them feel empowered towards improving children's learning. Listen to Saransh and a special guest as they unveil more, especially about their before/after experiences with SMCs in Delhi.
Because Saransh is also my senior from the Gandhi Fellowship and the Young India Fellowship, I asked Pranav if I could host this episode. Do check it out, and feel free to share your feedback, including how we can make EI Dialogues better.
Ritesh Agarwal impact@ei-india.com via mailchimpapp.net
Saransh Vaswani, the co-founder of Saajha and our latest guest on EI Dialogues, demystifies this for us. He shares how, rather than assuming the responsibility of teaching, parents can play a bigger role in their child's learning by taking an active interest in the governance of schools. Saransh further reveals how misunderstandings/mistrust among parents, teachers, and the community regarding each other's roles lead to pent-up frustrations, with the focus moving away from what matters most - the child's learning.
This is where the School Management Committees (SMCs) come in. The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mandates that public schools form an SMC comprising the school principal, a teacher, parents, a local ward councillor, and an educationist. The question arises, therefore, that when our policies provide for improved collaboration, why don't we take the opportunity to hold each other accountable and push for reforms?"
This is precisely what Saajha is persevering towards by building leadership capacity in SMCs and working with each stakeholder community to make them feel empowered towards improving children's learning. Listen to Saransh and a special guest as they unveil more, especially about their before/after experiences with SMCs in Delhi.
Because Saransh is also my senior from the Gandhi Fellowship and the Young India Fellowship, I asked Pranav if I could host this episode. Do check it out, and feel free to share your feedback, including how we can make EI Dialogues better.
Ritesh Agarwal impact@ei-india.com via mailchimpapp.net