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Life Stories recent visit to Chakkan da Bagh confirmed the same. There was talk of trade exchange of products which are not J&K specific (I understand this is one of the preconditions for the products being traded!). However symbolic it may be, it does exist. And now that it has completed a year, we must extend all efforts towards sustaining it. Perhaps it is the only ray of hope in the sequence of events beginning with the Mumbai attacks, going on to the controversial meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el-Sheikh, and ending with the very recent meeting of the two foreign ministers – Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir - in New York. Manisha Sobhrajani is a Delhibased independent researcher working on the various aspects of the Kashmir conflict. She can be reached at manishasobhrajani@e pilogue.in
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Spreading the Lamp of Learning–the Ladakhi way ZAINAB AKHTER
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adakh in the eastern part of Jammu and Kashmir, a highaltitude desert region, on the upper reaches of the Indus River, shares borders with both China and Pakistan. This strategic position by itself has been the single-most important factor in opening this isolated rural society. With high priority on defence since the 1960's, it has attracted subsidies from the Central government and development activities such as schools and other institutions was initiated. Today Education has taken centrestage in national policy and the priority accorded to it is justified. For any society to develop, Education is the foundation and this stands true for Ladakh where the education system was in disarray. Government schools did not function properly remained in dire need of repairs. There was a complete lack of involvement of the families and village communities in schools This is where the local government “Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) along with some highly motivated NGO'S stepped in to don the mantle to revamp education system at the grassroots. The efforts of SECMOL (Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh) an organization founded in 1988 by a group of young Ladakhi's with the aim to reform the educational system have been stellar. It attempted to change the attitude and approach of the people towards teaching, from "chalk, talk and stick" to
Vol. 3, Issue 11
child-centered, joyful and meaningful learning activities. And stressed on the use of games, songs, stories, field trips, and low-cost teaching aids. In 1994 SECMOL launched Operation New Hope (ONH), to overhaul the primary education system in the Government schools in Leh district. This addressed the foundational causes of the malfunctioning of the educational system especially in remote villages. The ONH movement rests on the convergence of three sectors on the Government, the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and the village communities. One of the key components of the ONH was to inculcating a sense of community ownership of the government schools , to ensure accountability. This was the motivation for a concentrated campaign and the creation of VECs (Village Education Committee. VEC's elected by the villagers themselves have one third women members and include at least two students. The move has caught the imagination of the people and the momentum was palpable. It essentially transformed them from passive bystanders bemoaning the crumbling government educational facilities to taking the onus of improving it themselves. From 1997, SECMOL has organized more than 10 batches of intensive training for 1000 VEC members. The training uses group
Epilogue, November 2009