Remarks by USAID Mission Director, George Deikun in National Conference on Elementary Education -- Reaching and Educating At-Risk Children (REACH)

August 24, 2005

Good morning honored guests and participants. A particular welcome to the Honorable Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar (Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Panchayati Raj). It is a pleasure to share the dais with you. I look forward to hearing your remarks about the role of the Panchayat in elementary education, as decentralization of public services in India continues.

I am honored to be here this morning among some of the country’s foremost thinkers and “doers” in elementary education. Many of you are educators on the front lines of a noble and meaningful struggle: to include India’s hardest-to-reach children in universal education.

Access to quality education for vulnerable children is a complex problem with technical, social, economic and institutional issues. I know how much effort you all dedicate to the work, and I am pleased that the U.S. Government – through the United States Agency for International Development – invests in the cause. Thank you to the organizers of this event – Dennis Gallagher, Nandina Prasad, Rajee Suri and the rest of the REACH India team. Their efforts have made this forum a reality.

Education for all is a central development goal for India. Realizing universal education would unleash untold potential and dynamism in this country – particularly among girls and out-of-school youth. We are proud to complement the Government of India’s efforts by focusing on ways to marshal the collective promise of the country’s most vulnerable children through education.

I will take this opportunity to talk very briefly about USAID’s education strategy, and then share my thoughts on some elements that I find particularly critical.

The India-U.S. relationship is stronger than ever before. The recent joint declaration by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush pledges to transform the relationship between our countries and establish a global partnership. Key areas of cooperation to pursue are economic growth and strengthened democracies. I do not need to underscore with the group here today, the critical importance of education to achieve those goals.

USAID, as an Agency, is deeply committed to promoting education. Though our engagement with education in India is recent, USAID has a long history of supporting basic education programs in other countries. Our global education strategy is about “Improving Lives through Learning.” Basic education is at the heart of this – facilitating the acquisition of basic skills and critical thinking that allow people and nations to thrive in a changing economic environment. The emphasis is on expanding access to quality education for underserved and marginalized groups. Last year, USAID provided $350 million to support basic education in 43 countries.

USAID investments in India were developed after intensive consultations with a diverse range of stakeholders, including the Government of India. At the time, the Indian government’s national “Education For All” Initiative (“Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – SSA") had just been launched.

With USAID, stakeholders recognized the essential roles of teachers and communities in sustaining nationally supported education reform. NGOs were known to be critical partners in developing innovative, localized models for bringing hard-to-reach children into the education fold. In consultation with the Department of Education, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the education departments of the states, USAID made the strategic decision to invest in NGO efforts to attract and retain out-of-school children, especially girls, in quality education programs in three states and three metropolitan cities.

The USAID Reaching and Educating At-Risk Children, REACH, project is a result of that investment.

There is a unique opportunity that REACH brings to the education sector. There are many small NGOs in India bringing quality education to hard-to-reach children. REACH was designed to build the capacity of these organizations to strengthen and reinforce their work so that many more vulnerable children could be reached. Today, the program provides support to about 50 NGOs in local areas.

On behalf of USAID, I thank the Government of India and the state governments for their support and guidance through the planning stage, and now during implementation. And I reiterate our commitment to continue to complement and invigorate the government’s universal education initiative.

Beyond the REACH initiative, USAID invests in school health and hygiene activities to keep girls in school. And we fund the use of communications technology to broadcast learning lessons for students and upgrade skills of teachers in underserved areas. Both of these programs are implemented in state run schools.

The school health and hygiene project focuses on upgrades to sanitation facilities in schools, associated curriculum in good hygiene to develop healthy personal habits, and ways to involve the community in keeping school standards high. For adolescent girls, such facilities and information can be key factors for keeping them in schools.

Using communications technology, we support the development and use of interactive radio and video films to make teaching and learning more effective and to raise the quality of education. Teachers and students make use of broadcast sessions on such challenging subjects as English, science and math.

India has made tremendous progress in making education more accessible and retaining students in school. Yet attendance and completion rates continue to be low. They are particularly low for marginalized groups and, within these groups, lower still for girls. As we all understand, a complex interplay of economic factors and social norms influence the ability of both girls and boys to access and continue in schools. A bias against girls and how they are undervalued in society is reflected in the skewed child sex ratio against girls. Still, when girls attend schools in supportive environments they have shown us that they can overcome the barriers and fight the odds to continue their education. We want to partner with you to help girls thrive in places of learning.

As we mainstream children into schools, we need to prepare the schools as well. There are a number of factors that make for a favorable school and classroom environment. But the focal point, in my view, will always be the teachers. They are the ones who make learning appealing and relevant. Teachers have a special place in any society. Today’s teachers – no matter how well prepared – face challenging situations. Students are from different social backgrounds, come with different levels of learning and abilities, and many of them are first generation learners. We want to partner with you to support these teachers as they work to meet the demands of the educational system.

Finally, to attain quality education, it is essential to work with the local communities so they can take up the challenge to watch over and nurture their schools. Sustainable education reform will not be successful without local involvement. The 73rd and 74th amendments to the constitution of India provide an institutional framework for locally elected bodies to take the lead on education. Some of the education programs you carry out promote Village Education Committees, School Development and Management Committees and Parents Teachers Associations. This work is vital, and building partnerships between these educational groups and other elements of the community will further strengthen the effort.

This is an important forum for education, and a wonderful opportunity to interact with our partners. As you deliberate the issues, and later in your work, remember a quote from Mahatma Gandhi:

Education should be so revolutionized as to answer the wants of the poorest villagers.

At USAID, we are committed to helping India reach its most vulnerable people through educational opportunities. We are committed to complementing the Government of India’s pledge to realize universal education.

My best to you as you work together to shape and carry out an agenda for furthering this essential mission…an effort that will have a major impact on this country’s future. Thank you.