Stories from the field

The story of SST:

For Liberwin Mukhim of Pingwait village in Meghalaya, life meant the drudgery of working as a shepherd from the crack of dawn till dusk every single day. For him, education was an unaffordable luxury. The prevalence of traditional systems of governance that pose no challenge to unjust social hierarchies and the established inequitable clan based rules could be the major reason behind the plight of Liberwin and  many other children like him. The oligarchy would not allow children of poor families to receive an education lest that comes in the way of their work getting done. However, thanks to Synroplang for Social Transformation (SST), today Liberwin is hopeful of a better future.

Meghalaya is an area that is governed under the sixth schedule where exposure to ‘new’ knowledge systems and modern processes are often restricted owing to the political legitimacy that is granted to traditional leadership structures. These structures often tend to be conservative and elitist. Under such circumstances, KJA schools are practically the first ‘sites’ where the agenda for ‘education for equitable development and social justice’ has been introduced and deliberated upon. KJA schools have now become a reality. Both the poor and the dominant groups have appreciated the values and pedagogy underlying the functioning of the schools. Schools of this kind have for the first time created among the poorer sections of society, especially shepherds bonded to village elites, the desire that their children seek formal education and feel autonomous in their ability to learn and think. In a politically turbulent region like the Northeast where civil society is yet to become vibrant, the SST program is sowing the seeds of preparing the younger generation to build a more just and non-violent society. Its work is informed by the vision of making education a means to good citizenship and building an inclusive and just society.

At the policy level, acknowledging its efforts for campaigning for a curriculum that is locally sensitive and relevant, SST was engaged by the Government of India to formulate the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) since 2005. In so doing, SST became the sole and proactive representative from the Northeastern region of the country. SST was also instrumental in expanding the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in the region and establishing the Northeast Regional Institute of Education (NERIE). The chief functionary of SST serves on the Advisory Board of NERIE.

SST’s journey is indeed interspersed with various halts as well as milestones covered – the nature of the class structure, efforts at overcoming regressive class hierarchies, the difficulties of finding people motivated enough to work in rural contexts, the incipient antagonism within the organisation between its people from urban and rural backgrounds and the fissures created on that account. What is heartening is that despite these odds, SST has been able to create the nucleus of an alternative structure of schooling that genuinely serves village people’s aspirations to gain a good education. The establishment of a cadre of village teachers is of pioneering significance.

The SNEHA School

The Chakmas belong to a tribal group that has inhabited the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh for centuries. Despite the fact that most of the inhabitants of the CHT are either Buddhist or Hindu, the region became a part of Pakistan with the partition of India in 1947. In 1964, communal violence and the construction of the Kaptai hydro-electric dam displaced nearly 100,000 Chakmas, out of which a large number sought refuge in India.

Approximately 35,000 of these Chakmas were given valid migration certificates and settled in what was then the North East Frontier Agency, today the Arunachalese districts of Lohit, Changlang, and Papumpare. These migration certificates indicated legal entry into India and the willingness of the Government to accept the Chakmas as future citizens, much like the migrants from Pakistan following Partition. In the years since then, the Chakmas have built villages, developed the land granted to them, and established strong ties to the region. Today, they have become a part of the social fabric of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. However, they have also faced severe social discrimination.

In Arunachal's Lohit district, primary schools were closed and Chakma students were denied access to all of the area's secondary schools. At Chakma Basti, a school serving more than 350 students was abruptly closed and its teachers transferred to other districts in September 1994. Also, during this month, the Chakma students studying at the Chowkham Government Higher Secondary School and the Namasai Government Higher Secondary School were arbitrarily expelled from these institutions.

In the district of Changlang, more violent means were employed in order to deprive the Chakmas of their right to education. The Diyun Secondary School, a school constructed by the Chakmas on a self-help basis, was burned to the ground in November 1994. This was the only school serving a student population of more than 1200.

It was in such political and economic circumstances that SNEHA, the school at Avoipur at Diyun Circle was set up to address the educational needs of the Chakmas.  SNEHA as an institutional organization was set up in 2002 by Susanta Chakma in association with some renowned social workers of India like Dr. Chhibbar, Prof. D.L Sheth, and Surendra Mohan, Shefali Agarwal an IIT-Delhi student and some Chakma associates of Susanta Chakma.

When the school started in 2003, it was a small thatched bamboo structure and the 109 students that came to the school were mainly Chakma and Hajong children. Now, the school structure remains the same though additional classes have been added, and a mosaic of multicultural and ethnic hues make up the background of the 438 students enrolled in the SNEHA school.

The school’s greatest success perhaps lies in the fact that the school has been recognized as an educational institution that caters to all communities. There has been a gradual realization by non Chakma and non Hajong communities that the school maintains a high standard of education. Asked what makes a Marwari small trader send his son to school, Manoj Bhushan simply says, “The school building may not be good, but I have heard from many people that what they teach and how they teach is what makes the difference.” It is this recognition by people, which cuts across communities that has made parents contribute towards the upkeep of the school. This, despite being told by school authorities that transfer certificates issued by the school would not be treated as valid papers as the school is not yet registered. According to Arindam Dewan, Headmaster of SNEHA school, “Over the years, we have had the parents pool in financial resources towards buying materials for the upkeep of the school. Those who could not contribute financially, assisted us physically in roofing, erecting walls and fences for the school.”