Report by Selina Kassamali
25 December to 30 December 2006

Tabassum Bachoo and I arrived in Bangalore on 24 December in the evening.  We were met at the airport by Mirza Mehdi Saheb and taken to his home in Bangalore for the night.  Here we discussed the programme for the next week and gained an insight into the workings and politics of the Zainabiya School, Alipur.  We were well looked after by Mirza Mehdi and his daughter and departed for Alipur the following morning after breakfast.  We were accompanied by Muzzamil and Mirza Mehdi.

 FOCUS:  SECONDARY SCHOOL
 
1.  General Impressions of the School

1.1 I was very impressed by the school.  It is set in a beautiful location and is very green.  There is a feeling and atmosphere of peace and happiness there.  Everyone is always smiling and the teachers are very helpful and extremely kind. 
The building itself is on 3 floors and there are plants on all the galleries.  There is a large courtyard where assembly is held every morning. There is a playing field outside the teachers’ quarters.  The playing field is used for Physical Training and Sports lessons, which are part of the school’s curriculum.  It is also used as a play area for children before school and during breaktimes.  The sports field has volleyball courts and a children’s play area with slides and swings etc.

1.2 As well as classrooms, on the first floor, the building has a science lab with equipment and resources for teaching Biology, Chemistry and Physics.  Science resources are used, however the lab itself is small and a whole class would not be able to conduct experiments.  I saw evidence of students using the equipment and the science teacher also told students that she would show them other experiments, which she then did the next lesson.  However, I saw no evidence of health and safety – chemicals were not in locked cupboards and there did not appear to be any goggles. 

1.3 There is a large prayer room which is also used as a meeting room where there is one projector.  There is a small library but unfortunately, it is being used by the PUC2 class as they are without a classroom.  Even so, it has very few books.  Not having the library means that students are not getting time for independent reading and research.  The staffroom and the office are also on the first floor.  Secondary classrooms are based on the second floor and primary classrooms are on the ground and first floors.

1.4 The school  has a computer room with 14 computers, each running with Windows 98.  1 computer in the school has an internet connection.  The room is used by all classes and IT is an integral part of the curriculum. 

1.5 Zainabiyya School Alipur has 595 students ranging from KG (4 years) to Pre-University classes (18 years).  Classes are mixed gender upto Standard VII, and from Standard VIII onwards there are only girls.  The LKG class is also only girls as Zainabiya School Alipur plans to become a girls’ school from the next academic year.  KG classes are taught in 2 shifts (Morning and Afternoon) to allow for smaller class sizes. However, the UKG classes still have 40 students.  Class sizes across the school range from 21 in Standard X to 49 in Standard IV.  Class sizes are generally smaller after Standard VIII due to early marriages and parents not wanting their daughters to study.  In the college classes there are 14 students in the first year but this dwindles to only 5 in the second year.

1.6 The school day in the secondary school is from 9.15 am – 5.00 pm.  There is a 15 minute break and 45 minutes for lunch.  Each lesson lasts for 40 minutes and there are 9 lessons each day.  There is also a class/form period of 20 minutes at the end of the day to allow teachers to check diaries. 

1.7 The teaching allocation in a week for each subject is as follows:

1.8 The school has 29 teachers and 6 non teaching staff.  Teacher pay is low, only 40% of what is earned by teachers in government schools.  This means there is a high turnover of teachers as they are appointed to government posts.  In this way the school finds it difficult to recruit teachers and even more difficult to retain good teachers.  A teachers’ pension scheme will start from the next academic year and teachers are also offered housing, however, this still does not equate to the incentives and wage given by the government schools.

2.  General Impressions of Teaching and Learning

2.1 Teaching and learning in the secondary school is generally satisfactory or good.  There are some concerns with younger teachers who lack confidence and experience, particularly in Science.  These teachers are very enthusiastic and need to be supported in order to improve.  Relationships between staff and students are good.

Most teachers have an excellent subject knowledge and show evidence of daily planning.  They make good use of the textbooks and the blackboards and cater well for the visual and auditory learners amongst the students.  Work now needs to be done to develop the use of kinaesthetic activities in the classroom.  Some teachers make use of other available resources such as charts, diagrams and science equipment to enhance teaching, however, these resources are generally under-used. 

2.2 Students are excelling in all areas of the curriculum and this is due to good teaching.  The school has achieved a 100% pass rate in public examinations for 3 years running and students have take part in sports competitions and have gained medals at local and district level.  Unfortunately, they are unable to participate in many national and district level competitions as parents will not give the girls permission to go on residential trips.  The school also participates in national talent tests in Maths, IT, Science and English.  They gain medals at all levels and have won many prizes.

Students are motivated and seem to enjoy their lessons.  Many are confident when speaking and many hold positions of responsibility in the school. 

2.3 There is a house system where students gain housepoints through participating in weekly cultural activities and academic performance; students wear their house colours with pride and demonstrate real team spirit.  Each class has a class leader and each house has a house captain.  House leaders are selected from Standard X students and class leaders are selected termly depending on the students’ academic rank within the class.  A system of rewards is in place and students are presented with prizes and certificates for academic excellence, monthly attendance and participation in the extra curricular programme.  These all help to motivate the students and create the positive atmosphere that can be seen in the school.

2.4 The physical classroom environment is a cause for concern.  Teachers need training in how to display work and create a stimulating environment for learning. However, this will only be possible if resources for this are provided to all teachers.

2.5 IT is taught well in the school, making full use of the available resources.  Students leave school with a basic competence in IT.  The computers are used to reinforce knowledge of various other subjects and are a good resource for students who wish to revise for board exams.

2.6 Physical Training is an integral part of the curriculum.  It is taught well and students thoroughly enjoy sports lessons.  The PT teacher is very good.  She encourages independence and allows students to take responsibility during PT lessons.
  
 
3.  Individual Teacher Observations

All full time secondary teachers were observed and individual feedback was given to each teacher.  Feedback included the teachers’ strengths and also areas for development. 

There were two Science Teachers. Both were Satisfactory. They relied heavily on the textbook and also need to develop questioning skills.

There was one teacher for each of the subjects: Deeniyat, Economics, English, IT, Kannada, Maths and Social Studies. All of them were Good. They were confident of their subjects. They were enthusiastic. They made good use of the board. They were methodical and they had good questioning skills.

There was one teacher for each of the subjects: History and Urdu. Both were Very Good. They had excellent knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject. They had excellent questioning skills and encouraged students to develop thinking skills.

4.  Areas for Improvement – Teaching and Learning

4.1 There is a need to focus more in kinaesthetic learning.  There should be less lecturing and teacher talk and more independent learning and group work.

4.2 Teachers need to develop questioning skills in order to challenge all students.

4.3 Planning and preparation needs to be developed and monitored in certain subjects. 

4.4 Young and inexperienced teachers need to be supported in improving their subject knowledge so that they are not too reliant on text books for teaching.
 
4.5 There is a need to develop different ways to introduce information to students and to reinforce information.  At the moment this is limited to lecturing and questioning and other available resources are not being used.

4.6 Classroom environment needs to be improved and displays need to be put up regularly so that the classrooms look more interesting.

4.7 There is a definite need to develop the use of praise and encouragement in lessons.  This is done in some lessons but needs to be consistent across the school.

5.  Areas for Improvement – Whole School

5.1 6-8 more computers are needed so that students can develop IT skills at a faster rate. Existing computers need to be upgraded if possible so that they support the most up to date software. More software needed (IT teacher has seen the software in Hyderabad).

5.2 Progress reports need to include a grade for effort and participation in lessons.

5.3 Science lab needs expanding to allow for a whole class to perform experiments.  Once this is possible, more basic science equipment needs to be purchased (bunsen burners, gas taps, safety goggles, more chemicals).  Teachers will then need to be trained in health and safety procedures when teaching science.

5.4 There is a definite need for a bigger prayer hall / multi purpose hall.

5.5 The school needs a library big enough to accommodate a whole class and a librarian (at the moment it is out of use and there are very few books).

5.6 Reading independently and for pleasure needs to be fed into the curriculum and students should have one library lesson each week.

5.7 A variety of books are needed for the library (readers, fiction and non fiction books, dictionaries for languages and also subjects, 1 computer – maybe with internet for research, a few chairs, carpet so students can sit and read, daily newspapers).

5.8 An on-site nurse or gynochologist would be advantageous.

5.9 PU classes need an extra classroom.

5.10 KG classes need a separate activity room (see Tabassum Bachoo’s report).

5.11 Classroom environment needs to be enhanced for all classes in primary and secondary schools.

5.12 Management is weak.  There is a need for an older, more experienced principal who can deal with parents and admin tasks.

5.13 Staff turnover is a concern and something needs to be done to encourage staff to stay on.  The school now has good staff and now needs to retain them.

6.  Suggestions to Board of Trustees

6.1 Provide all classes with mini chalk boards to aid kinaesthetic learning.

6.2 Purchase of 6 more computers

6.3 Repaint classrooms and put up notice boards or paint areas in bright colours for each subject area to display work and key words.

6.4 Raise staff wages to the level of government schools, or at least near that level as accomodation is given.

6.5 Raise ground floor rooms to prevent flooding during the rainy season.

6.7 Construction could be done on the shaded area or on part of the sports field – 2 floors (Hall on the ground floor and 3 rooms upstairs – library, and PU rooms.  Allowing for breaking through the science lab / prayer hall to extend the lab and also create an extra classroom on the first floor of the existing building.  This will allow for one class to move from the ground floor to the first floor and free up a room on the ground floor to act as an activity room for KG).  Remember that even if the boys leave, there will still be the same number of classes, just less students in each class.

6.8 Try to encourage parents to get involved in organising and accompanying school trips.  Maybe if they are asked to supervise they will allow their daughters to participate and trips can be run.

6.9 Purchase a variety of books for the library and employ a librarian.  After staff wages and repainting, this is a high priority if independent learning and improved literacy are to occur.

6.10 Sponser married couples to go to the city to study.  Girls can become teachers and if boys are not interested in this career then they could study another trade. 

6.11 Set up a hostel run by a married couple so that some girls can study after their PUC.

7. Workshops Run to Improve Teaching and Learning in the Secondary Section

7.1 Teacher training was conducted over 3 days in afternoon sessions of 3 hours each.   The first day, Monday was taken up with observations of general areas of the school to allow us to form a general overview.  Training commenced on Tuesday afternoon following a morning of observing teachers in action and the same happened on Wednesday.  Children were sent home at lunchtime to enable training to take place.

7.2 On Thursday the plan had to be changed due to the arrival of the WF Documentary Team: valuable observation time was lost and the training session was cut to only 1 hour from the programmed 3 hours.  Although the Documentary filming was very important, it would maybe have been better for the team to visit the school at a separate time (the Monday when we arrived would have been better) so as not to disrupt other WF projects).
On Friday the Alipur school was closed so no training could take place.
 
7.3 Learning Styles
This session discussed the different ways in which children learn and introduced VAK to the teachers.  Teachers discussed and took part in a variety of activities to enhance the learning of Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic (VAK) learners.

7.4 Effective Planning
This workshop centred on how to plan a good lesson.  It started by looking at the characterisitics of a good lesson (in UK schools) and went on to discuss the setting of objectives, warm-up activities, introducing information, reinforcing knowledge and assessing learning.  The workshop also dealt with long, medium and short-term planning.

7.5 Assessment for Learning
In this workshop the teachers had the opportunity to discuss the different types of assessment, both formative and summative and the role that they have in teaching.  Teachers were asked to identify different assessment activities and discuss their uses and benefits.  As a group, we then discussed the importance of Target Setting to raise standards and to foster an environment of excellence and self evaluation.  Teachers were taught how to set constructive targets and mark work constructively.

7.6 Differentiation
This session centred on the importance of setting work and teaching to cater for all levels of ability.  The workshop dealt with effective questioning to challenge the high achievers and support the slower learners.  It also covered a variety of ways to set work and produce worksheets so that all students are working to their full capacity.

7.7 Classroom Displays
This was a short session (due to Documentary filming).  It covered the characteristics of a good display, what to display and how to display.  A range of examples were shown to teachers.  (This session was run for both Primary and Secondary teachers).

7.8 Brain Gym
Tabassum Bachoo led this session for both Primary and Secondary teachers.  The workshop was interactive and physical, demonstrating basic Brain Gym movements and involving the teachers in practicing them.  Again, time was short for this session to be run properly.

7.9 Creative Activities to Enhance Learning
It was not possible to run this workshop as the WF Documentary Team visited the school on this day and the timetable for the day was changed.  Therefore, instead of having 3 hours, we had only 1 hour.  It was a shame to miss out this workshop as materials had been purchased.

8.  Outside Influences

8.1 Child marriages mean that students get married between the ages of 15 and 17 and often have children straight away.  While the girls’ parents are often keen for their daughters to study, the decision then falls to the husband and the in-laws.

8.2 PUC education is costly and many girls will not attend due to the fees they have to pay.  If it were free, more would attend.

8.3 Internal politics in Alipur are a problem.  There needs to be more co-operation and collaboration with the maulanas so that they further support the school’s initiatives.

8.4 Schools in Alipur need to share good practice, even though they are in competition with each other.  This is not happening as much as it should.

8.5 There are very few opportunities for girls to use their skills and education in Alipur.  This is largely due to the religious personalities in the town.

9.  Teachers’ Accommodation

9.1 The teacher’s flat is basic but comfortable.  I would advise anyone who visits Alipur and stays in the flat to take ample mosquito repellent and cover themselves in it.  I also suggest that if anyone is not too keen on insects they take a can of strong insect killer as the cockroaches (big and small) seem to find their way in somehow (I suggest Pif Paf as it generally gets rid of any crawling insect).  Keep the ceiling fans on where possible to get rid of the mosquitos.   

9.2 There are 2 bedrooms (one is set up as a namaz room), a sitting room, a kitchen, an indian style toilet and a shower.  Furniture consists of 2 beds (with mosquito nets), a dining table and 4 chairs, another table with 2 chairs, 2 carpets, a fridge, a coffee table and 4 chairs, a 2 ring gas stove.  There is cutlery and crockery and care has been taken by the Alipur teachers to make the flat as homely as possible.

9.3 Any visitors should be aware that there is no electricity at certain times of the day and power surges are common, therefore, I would advise against leaving things such as laptops plugged in for any length of time.  Also, due to the lack of electricity, visitors should note that unless they get up in the middle of the night to turn on the hot water, they will have to heat the water on the stove before being able to take a bath in the morning.  You cannot have hot showers so you will either have to fill a bucket with hot water or take a cold shower.