Date: 20 October 2013, Sunday 9:30 pm ET Place: Conference Call Attendees: -Asha Boston: Maulik, Manan, Melli, Rajeev, Priya -Navsarjan: Martin bhai 1. Why did Navsarjan change its policy for charging for food in 2013-2014? Navsarjan Board mandated Martin Macwan (Navarjan’s founder) to look into school operations and finances. Martin bhai found that external aid funding is becoming scarce for the residential schools, and as a result, children should pay for food, because it is important for their self-dignity and self-respect. He also stated that many children at residential schools are poor, some are not. He estimated that formerly boys paid Rs. 450 per month and girls 300 per month. In 2013-1014, raising this monthly fee to Rs. 750 per month for both boys and girls was necessary for financial self-sustenance of the Navsarjan’s residential schools. He further informed that currently food cost per students is INR 900 to 950 per month, so there is still a partial food subsidy. The increase in monthly fees led to drop in student count to 116 students in 2013-2014. Not surprisingly, the percentage of girls who have dropped out is higher than the percentage of boys. Martinbhai said that he believes the total student count will jump back to 300 in 2014-2015. He further said Navsarjan has ongoing dialogue with parents in the local communities to inform them that Navsarjan has finite resources and charging fees for food is important for financial self-sustenance. 2. The students who dropped out - is there an idea of what happened to them - are they going to government schools? Per Martin bhai, most children who dropped out of Navsarjan schools on account of increase in food fees are going to local government schools. Navsarjan residential schools present an attractive option for educating kids in the communities where Navsarjan operates. Government schools exist in most villages at least through grade 7. Most private day schools charges about Rs, 1500 to 2000 per month. Missionary schools charge about three times compared to Navsarjan residential schools. 3. What is the economic status of the parents of these children? Martin bhai said that many parents spend on other big-ticket items, so they can definitely afford food expenses. Navsarjan’s founder said that teachers have discretion to reduce fees for children whose parents are very poor. 1/3 of parents are agricultural laborers; other parents have agricultural land; many other parents are migrant laborers. Martinbhai estimated that parents’ monthly income is about INR 10000 per family assuming 2 working family members. 4. Is economic situation of parents a consideration while admitting children? That is, do parents' income have to be below a certain threshold for the students to be admitted? Per Navsarjan’s founder, preference is given to more poor children vs. more affluent children. If some child cannot afford the fees, the teachers will work with them to ensure that the money is not a barrier – he or she will be admitted with no fees. 5. The teacher's salaries have increased significantly. I know one motivation is that govt. scales increased. Are there other motivations like decreasing teacher turnover? Currently, Navsarjan teachers are paid INR 8000 per month. Average teacher tenure is 5 years. Local state government has come up with new qualification exam for teachers. When teachers pass this exam, government hires these teachers for Rs. 18000 per month. This increase in government’s teacher’s pay has led to some teacher attrition at Navsarjan. Navsarjan is looking to raise teachers’ salaries in 2014-2015 to INR 11,000 to catch up partially with the government’s teacher’s pay scales. Current teacher count is 13. 6. At the vocational training place where the students came back - what was the socio-economic status of the students who came back - was it the same as the ones who dropped out? For DSK vocational school, students pay INR 4000 for 3 months. Students in DSK come from even poorer backgrounds compared to those in residential schools. Navsarjan’s founder said that raising fees at DSK 3 years ago led to include decline in student count initially but gradually student count increased. 7. Was a phased approach feasible - say reduce a % of the food costs and slowly transition to a model where parents pay more and more of the food costs. Navsarjan considered increasing food fees in a phased manner by Rs. 100 per month until INR 750 per month is reached, but did not implement it because of financial considerations. Martin bhai said that for economic viability and financial sustenance of the residential schools charging for food should have happened long time ago. 8. Other points · Navsarjan’s founder said that they plan to 10 buffaloes to be kept in all schools for generating extra income. · Navsarjan uses Government of Gujarat syllabus. · Navsarjan has not implemented RTE rules in its residential schools, pending Supreme Court’s decision. · Navsarjan is open to children of all backgrounds as long as these children believe in non-discrimination. · Navsarjan is considering opening its residential school to day scholars. · Government of Gujarat has mandated not to fail any student up till grade 8. · Navsarjan founder said that there are no students that pay zero fees. · Navsarjan organizes “Chhotte Bhim Drama Competition” to promote moral and ethical development of children and encourage reading literacy. 9. Next Actions · Asha: Confirm / Edit minutes · Asha: Look into next actions for releasing funding · Martin bhai: Send links for Times of India where Navsarjan recommended changes to local government’s curriculum.