“Ahh…BaLA” – An ignored story of the most ever successful project of people’s participation

The story goes back to 2009, when a man strongly impressed by BaLA  activities of Himachal Pradesh returned to Sikkim after finishing curricular programme of Diploma in Educational Planning and Administration (DEPA) from National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi. He started propagating the programme in his district (South Sikkim) with utmost zeal and keenness though there was no single penny for this to happen in the schools. He presented the photographs of BaLA activities through power point presentation collected from his DEPA batch mate Mr. Yashwant Depak (Principal Kullu DIET) in every meeting of the school heads. He explained its importance in impacting children’s learning and requested all of them to initiate it through people’s participation. To start with as demo, he requested the then District Project Coordinator of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Shri M.K.Rai to allocate fund from the component ‘Child Friendly Environment’ approved under Civil Works. He wholeheartedly supported the proposal and an exact replication of BaLA activities was created in Bhalukhop Primary School in the same year. The head of schools who supported him first and created the learner-friendly environment in their schools are Smt. Bimla Rai, the then Principal of Temi Senior Secondary School and Shri Sekhar Chettri, the then Headmaster of Melli Gumpa Secondary School.

The concept was well received by the heads of schools but due to lack of fund to execute it, the implementation became very slow. Considering the importance of fund to realize the dream, he included the proposal of BaLA activities in the Annual Plan of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan continuosly for two consecutive years i.e. 2010-11 and 2011-12 when he got transferred to State Project Office of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2010. However, the proposal could not get approval in both the years.

The man did not stop yet. He started writing about it in local newspapers. His article titled “School Infrastructure as Additional Learning Resources for Teaching Primary School Children” published in local daily SIKKIM EXPRESS on 8th September 2011 spread a most impacting awareness on the concept among the school heads and educational stakeholders of the state. Some of the schools started working on this by mobilizing fund from among themselves and community, some of them mobilized local panchayats for the resources. In the same year i.e. 2011, the project was named as ‘Development of School Infrastructure as Learning Resources’ – a voluntary project for making school print-rich. During the training of School Management Committees organized in all the Block Administrative Centres across years 2012 to 2016, he never forgot to talk about the project and encourage the SMC members, local authority and school heads to initiate it in their schools.

As a mark of accomplishment, almost all the government schools of the State of Sikkim are now like reputed private schools – well decorated, print-rich and pedagogically supportive.

The project in later years was recognized by some of the far-sighted officers of the department. They congratulated him for its success. Some of his senior officers have tried to appraise it in higher forum also while speaking on State achievements but after seeing the ‘school walls with content related paintings’ got very reluctant remarks ‘Ahh… BaLA’. Shri D. K. Pradhan (Respected Special Secretary) when he was State Project Director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Sikkim), tried to showcase it in the National forum also but the same reluctant remarks ‘Ahh… BaLA’ echoed the meeting hall.

Frankly speaking as an initiator of the project, I take it as the most ever successful project accomplished through people’s participation. I would like to thank all the good people and my senior officers who appreciated our joint efforts.

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(Published in Sikkim Express on 29.08.2017)