Whatever their philosophies or theories of education, most educationists would agree that a central aim of education is to carry forward knowledge that has been acquired over generations and ideally, to add to it. How children learn and what are ideal ways of learning are critical questions for schooling and education. Equally important in our context is the question of why schools seem to have such difficulty in fulfilling this function.

Although in absolute numbers, post-Independence India has seen phenomenal increases in numbers of schools and enrollments, in terms of class, caste, gender and region, the inequality of access and quality of schooling and education is strikingly grim. According to the 1991 census figures, half of the country's population was unable to read and write, and what is more alarming, one-third of children in the age group of 6-14 (about 23 million boys and 26 million girls) were out of school. Female literacy rates are much lower in India compared to sub-Saharan Africa and no country in the world has a higher female-male literacy gap than Rajasthan.

The failure of the Indian school system and its inequalities and perpetuation of social injustice have been a cause of concern to individuals and groups both within and outside the formal educational system. Amongst these, one of the best known and sustained efforts is that of Eklavya, a voluntary organisation working in the field of education in Madhya Pradesh. This group believes in a vision that promises social justice through education, and has been actively engaged in an innovative teaching programme since the early 70's. 

Prashika (Prathmik Shiksha Karyakram), the primary education programme of Eklavya, was conceptualised in 1983. It evolved out of a deep concern with the difficulties that children experience in acquiring the basic concepts of language and mathematics at the primary school level. This programme, as all Eklavya activities, is targeted to the underprivileged child and both its preliminary field research and the curriculum formulations have been carried out keeping the local context in mind. Initial explorations consisted of detailed studies attempting to understand the linguistic abilities and patterns of language use between children and an assessment of children's basic mathematical abilities. Observations of classroom activities and texts were carried out while interacting with children, teachers, parents and the administrative authorities in Madhya Pradesh. Eklavya's socio-linguistic surveys confirmed that communities have distinct socio-cultural characteristics and that within the same town or village there exist subcommunities with their own languages and modes of practice. Educational intervention programmes need to be concious of these realities, especially in communities that have not been exposed to formal schooling so that children do not find themselves at a disadvantage when compared to children of more privileged groups.

The preliminary enquiries into linguistic and mathematical abilities, an understanding of basic principles underlying teaching, and shared assumptions regarding the learner, the teacher and the curriculum resulted in a tentative integrated curriculum in two schools in 1986. By 1989, the Madhya Pradesh Government allowed Prashikha to try out their new programme in 25 schools, and by 1993 a complete curriculum for classes one to five was introduced in the entire Shahpur Block of the Betul district, in 129 government schools. Introducing a new educational agenda in an already existing system and practices within which the teachers and the schools were functioning was an important consideration. Orientation courses and teacher training sessions therfore, are an essential component of the programme, where prevailing assumptions and attitudes are sought to be radically transformed.

A class-wise curriculum for classes one to five was devised, the core of which is contained in a series of textbooks. Texts and teaching materials however, are to be used as a source of departure to initiate processes of thinking and problem solving and a major effort is made to discourage and avoid cognitive overloading of the student. Prashikha expects and encourages teachers and students to be creative and innovative in making use of the environment and the materials around them. Activity-based learning is emphasised so that children can feel involved in the process of learning. The curriculum expects immense involvement on the part of the teachers and this is facilitated by a programme of monthly meetings, classroom visits and post-orientation discussions.

A majority of children attending government schools in the Betul district belong to the scheduled tribes and other backward castes, and their parents are poor and mostly uneducated. The Prashikha curriculum recognises that schooling needs to be contextualised and meaningfully integrated into the lives and understandings of the child, the teacher and the community. It believes that schooling and learning should draw upon the child's own curiosity and creativity and schooling therefore should be a joyful and enriching process. A child's identity, the contexts within which children live and the worth of their lived experience is recognised and respected and knowledge, therefore, is grounded in immediate and experienced contexts.

Although the Prashikha curriculum is intended to encompass more than the textbooks that are used from Class I to V, these texts incorporate and illustrate the assumptions within which the curriculum was formulated. The textbooks for use in classes I and II are designed chiefly to help children overcome their inhibitions in a new and alien atmosphere and to encourage them to participate in classroom activity. The Class I text is designed primarily for the teacher since children are not expected to deal with textual learning at this early stage. The curriculum at this level seeks to evoke an interest in learning and to familiarize the child with an unfamiliar physical and social space, i.e., the classroom. There is an effort to bring into the classroom the childrens' out-of-school knowledge and skills and to integrate them with classroom learning.

Teachers are encouraged to use the native languages of the children since there are a variety of languages in use in the state and also within different ethnic groups in each village. Although Prashikha finally took the decision to write the texts in standard Hindi, the language is informal and as close to everyday usage as was possible. Teacher training programmes stress the need to allow children to express themselves in the language that they feel most comfortable in and teachers are sensitized to the socio-political factors that grant an inferior or superior status to languages without any linguistic basis for doing so.

The texts especially at the earlier levels,  make use of familiar objects such as vegetables, animals, fruits and flowers as also familiar situations like life in the village and its surroundings. Concepts and content is introduced through stories, poems, riddles and songs: all of which are proven techniques for sustaining children's interest. Children are encouraged to initiate activities and to actively participate in whatever goes on in the classroom. The traditional view, that children are passive recipients of knowledge where teachers solely decide what, how and when they will learn, is discouraged. Word games, teasers and activities which generate questions and debates are used to hone the linguistic skills of the children while introducing them to basic concepts in science, math and social studies. Practical activities which encourage children to explore their immediate physical and social environments are an important part of the curriculum.  The texts are rich with illustrations and there is a consistent effort to introduce new and unfamiliar concepts in meaningful ways. A gradual shift occurs with the later texts where chapters dealing with historically and geographically different times and places are introduced.

Prashikha's experience in the schools has made it aware of the importance of the text books given the training of teachers and the ways in which schools have traditionally functioned. In fact it is in the light of this expereince that Prashikha has revised some of its texts in the last few years. The original Prashikha curriculum envisaged an integrated syllabus where language, mathematics, science and social science concepts were presented in the same texts. Classes 1, 2 and 3 continue to have a single text for all subjects but in classes 4 and 5, there are now separate texts for language, mathematics and environmental science. Teachers felt that by dividing the disciplines they were better able to keep track of what was being learned and to give students a sound base in each subject. However, since Prashikha believes that knowledge does not exist in watertight compartments, the teachers are expected to make connections between discipline-based knowledge and to draw upon these connections in the course of their teaching.

By class V, children are introduced to concepts as diverse as governance, major events in Indian history, map drawing and map reading, biological concepts such as the digestive system and physical concepts like energy and heat. The mathematics syllabus covers the four operations and goes on to concepts of decimals, fractions, profit and loss and measurement of area, volume and length. The areas of knowledge that children are expected to master are not different from what the national level curriculum recommends and Prashika recognises its importance. The effort, however, is to make this knowledge accessible and interesting while recognising the child's cognitive capacities and level of development so that what is taught and who is learning become compatible with each other. The aim is to make learning and teaching pleasurable rather than frustrating for both students and teachers and if and when possible, to get the parents involved in this process.

It is true that Prashikha has not achieved everything it set out to do and this is due partly to its own shortcomings and partly because of inherent weaknesses in the school system and what they inherited. The Prashikha team however recognises that it is an ongoing process and that feedback from the field is an important aspect of its functioning. It sees itself as a programme that is evolving and in need of continous critical evaluation and upgradation.

A couple of experiences I had with Prashikha children highlight some important contributions of the programme. The first is an an encounter with a family in the village of Pattauapura which is largely inhabited by a community of potters. I was impressed one evening by the sight of four young children sitting seriously at their books, preparing for their exams by the dim light of a lamp. I got talking to them and was interested in knowing how involved they were in the making of the pots and their knowledge of the techniques of pottery. The grandfather who was present, told me that they were not involved in the making of pots and would not be able to enlighten me. The children however were fairly knowledgeable and were eager to answer my questions. In the course of the discussion one of children opened his Prashika text book and asked me "Haven't you seen the chapter in our book called 'Shahpur ke matke' " and with a note of pride, gave me a fairly accurate summary of the chapter. All four children remembered details of this chapter though they were not currently using this text. This is a perfect example of the importance of social contexts of knowledge and the ease with which children engage with it and internalize it.

The second instance is from a school in Mokha, an isolated village with its own primary school some seven kms. from Shahpur. In my interactions with some children in class V, while I was describing my experience of growing up in Kashmir, a Korku speaking child, (Korku is the language spoken by a minority in this village) who was normally very quiet, came up to me and asked me about people living in houseboats. Given that it was a completely alien world to him, I was surprised by his knowledge of houseboats and the snowy peaks of Kashmir. This child did not have access to TV or any magazines so I asked him how he knew all this. He opened his textbook and showed me a box with an illustration of a houseboat and some related text. This chapter had not been studied in class but it was obvious that the child found the textbook interesting enough to be inspired to read it and to remember events and situations far removed from his reality and way of living.