Looking upwards
Charity is one way of addressing the needs of the BoP although clearly an unsustainable option. But if we look closer we can see another option - support from already existing resources at other levels of the BoP. It is important to understand that the the bottom of the pyramid is just one part of a larger socio-economic structure. The middle of the pyramid, containing the middle class, is catered to with a host of products and services, enjoys the benefits of opportunity and is rich with its own resources. The question is how to utilise the inherent advantages of this middle, upwardly section and make it work for the benefit of the BoP.
Supporting the BoP
Our model of BoP education access and delivery draws support from an existing resource that caters to the needs of middle income groups - Indus World School (IWS). CLEF manages and runs nine such mainline K-12 schools across India each equipped with adequate academic and infrastructural resources. We envision each of our city schools to act as the hub of educational resources for several BoP schools in the vicinity. In other words a cluster of BoP schools in a certain peri-urban & rural area are supported by one city school. This is the Hub and Spoke part of our educational model.
Charity is one way of addressing the needs of the BoP although clearly an unsustainable option. But if we look closer we can see another option - support from already existing resources at other levels of the BoP. It is important to understand that the the bottom of the pyramid is just one part of a larger socio-economic structure. The middle of the pyramid, containing the middle class, is catered to with a host of products and services, enjoys the benefits of opportunity and is rich with its own resources. The question is how to utilise the inherent advantages of this middle, upwardly section and make it work for the benefit of the BoP.
Supporting the BoP
Our model of BoP education access and delivery draws support from an existing resource that caters to the needs of middle income groups - Indus World School (IWS). CLEF manages and runs nine such mainline K-12 schools across India each equipped with adequate academic and infrastructural resources. We envision each of our city schools to act as the hub of educational resources for several BoP schools in the vicinity. In other words a cluster of BoP schools in a certain peri-urban & rural area are supported by one city school. This is the Hub and Spoke part of our educational model.
HEMA
Hub and spoke is part of a four-pronged model called HEMA that encompasses the model we have so far formulated for the running of BoP schools.
Entrepreneurial drive:
Community participation is the heart of our model. We therefore propose to identify and train local entrepreneurs to take ownership of the running of the BoP schools. These entrepreneurs will then run the school on a salary generated from the school fees itself (after deducting running expenses). To propagate local enterprise, we further propose to encourage the community to provide ancillary services - mid-day meals, uniforms etc.
Marginal costing:
Community participation and the sharing of resources with IWS promises high quality educational delivery without a high capital expenditure. The BoP school's access to IWS research and development initiatives will ensure a free-flow of cost-effective resources and delivery.
Accountability:
Over the next 3-5 years we will measure ourselves both qualitatively and quantitatively on four primary goals we have set ourselves.
These being, in order of importance:
- Student achievement
- Community development
- Continual research and innovation
- Leadership development
Why HEMA?
There can be several models that build 'scale' in the Edu@BoP space. We chose the one elaborated above for several reasons, one of them being our impatience at getting our hands dirty from early on. We also felt that taking on a majority of the responsibilities makes it easier for us to directly interact with and impact communities. It also gives us a free hand to experiment and innovate - necessary for perfecting the model that will be viable, scaleable and above all easy to replicate in any part of India.
Does it work?
In the last year and a half, HEMA has undergone several changes based on our learning of what works and what doesn't. Not everything has been a success but some features have worked beyond our expectations. As we continue to learn and grow, so will this model.
Looking ahead
We are working towards a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model with the government of India. This includes partnering with the government to enhance quality and delivery in existing government schools. It will work on the build - own - operate - transfer model, popular among the public-private partnerships of today.
We are in dialogue for partnerships in the following states:
- Adarsh Schools of Punjab
- Eklavya Tribal Schools of Gujarat
- Rajasthan Mission on Livelihoods
Read On>>
Community
Technology
Hub and spoke is part of a four-pronged model called HEMA that encompasses the model we have so far formulated for the running of BoP schools.
Hub and spoke:
Each of our K-12 Indus World Schools' (IWS) acts as the hub that supports 50-100 micro 'neighborhood' schools in the adjoining rural districts (please see figure). The hub school is the source of all academic support and services required at the BoP school.
These include:
- Teacher-training
- Curriculum-design and contextualization
- Education audits to ensure quality
- Online community resources for students and parents
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), a proprietary online technology platform to manage and co-ordinate all resources, information and functions within a school
Each of our K-12 Indus World Schools' (IWS) acts as the hub that supports 50-100 micro 'neighborhood' schools in the adjoining rural districts (please see figure). The hub school is the source of all academic support and services required at the BoP school.
These include:
- Teacher-training
- Curriculum-design and contextualization
- Education audits to ensure quality
- Online community resources for students and parents
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), a proprietary online technology platform to manage and co-ordinate all resources, information and functions within a school
Community participation is the heart of our model. We therefore propose to identify and train local entrepreneurs to take ownership of the running of the BoP schools. These entrepreneurs will then run the school on a salary generated from the school fees itself (after deducting running expenses). To propagate local enterprise, we further propose to encourage the community to provide ancillary services - mid-day meals, uniforms etc.
Marginal costing:
Community participation and the sharing of resources with IWS promises high quality educational delivery without a high capital expenditure. The BoP school's access to IWS research and development initiatives will ensure a free-flow of cost-effective resources and delivery.
Accountability:
Over the next 3-5 years we will measure ourselves both qualitatively and quantitatively on four primary goals we have set ourselves.
These being, in order of importance:
- Student achievement
- Community development
- Continual research and innovation
- Leadership development
Why HEMA?
There can be several models that build 'scale' in the Edu@BoP space. We chose the one elaborated above for several reasons, one of them being our impatience at getting our hands dirty from early on. We also felt that taking on a majority of the responsibilities makes it easier for us to directly interact with and impact communities. It also gives us a free hand to experiment and innovate - necessary for perfecting the model that will be viable, scaleable and above all easy to replicate in any part of India.
Does it work?
In the last year and a half, HEMA has undergone several changes based on our learning of what works and what doesn't. Not everything has been a success but some features have worked beyond our expectations. As we continue to learn and grow, so will this model.
Looking ahead
We are working towards a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model with the government of India. This includes partnering with the government to enhance quality and delivery in existing government schools. It will work on the build - own - operate - transfer model, popular among the public-private partnerships of today.
We are in dialogue for partnerships in the following states:
- Adarsh Schools of Punjab
- Eklavya Tribal Schools of Gujarat
- Rajasthan Mission on Livelihoods
Read On>>
Community
Technology