social sciences are the fields of academic scholarship that explore aspects of human society.[

These include: anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, linguistics, political
science, international studies and, in some contexts,[2] psychology, sociology

There they set out to get the children to generate knowledge for themselves by putting
the textbook aside for the moment and going out in the neighbourhood, looking for
special kinds of tree leaves, stones, what not and then asking questions and seeking
answers. The questions led them to concepts, and the search for answers to the
scientific methods of observation, experimentation, analysis and generalisation. They
were to be trained in the critical method of acquiring knowledge rather than in the
passive acceptance of knowledge generated by teachers; this would stand them in good
stead and well prepared to leave behind knowledge that had fallen out of place with the
advancement of science. In life too they would learn the application of reason.

There was also another valuable principle implied in it. In the great energy and resources
expended in the pursuit of education for the next generation, the poor should not have
to satisfy their quest with second rate, leftover education: what their children get too
should be good and worthwhile.

EKLAVYA

Eklavya is a non-profit, non-government organisation that develops and field tests innovative
educational programmes and trains resource people to implement these programmes. It functions
through a network of education resource centres located in Madhya Pradesh.

For over two decades, Eklavya has sought to relate the content and pedagogy of education – both
formal and non-formal - to social change and the all-round development of the learner.

It evolves learner-centred teaching methodologies that foster problem-solving skills in children and
encourage them to ask questions about their natural and social environment. This approach helps
children become life-long self-learners.

Eklavya looks at innovation holistically, which means that reforms in classroom practices are
accompanied by reforms in examination systems, teacher training methods and the way schools are
managed. It also means that learning spaces are extended beyond the school into the community.

Eklavya has built up an extensive base of resource materials that includes educational literature,
children's literature, magazines, textbooks and other learning aids.

 In the early years of the decade of the 1980s, a group of educationists and social activists
met to discuss the possibility of setting up an institute for educational research and
innovative action in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
 Known as the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme (HSTP), this project was a
collaborative venture between two non-governmental organisations, Friends Rural Centre
(FRC) and Kishore Bharati (KB), and the education department of the Government of Madhya
Pradesh.

  hstb started their proj first in 16 schools n later planned to diversify in the region

  the institute would take up innovative experiments in other subjects of the school curriculum
from the primary to the higher secondary stage, assimilate the learnings from these projects
into the curriculum and textbooks and look for ways to scale up these projects to cover all
the schools in the state.

 The focus would thus stretch beyond the purely academic aspects to include support systems
- teacher training packages, extra-curricular packages, administrative reforms, etc - needed
to make these curricular packages working realities in schools. 

 while operating at the state level, it would not be an urban-based institute but would function
through a network of field centres situated in small towns and casbahs of the state.

 Obj: To evolve an educational methodology and curriculum for building up a scientific-

historical understanding of the structure of society and its development.

 During its inception Eklavya was financially supported by Kishore Bharati, through a grant
provided by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai, to begin its work and opened its first field
centre in Hoshangabad in January 1982. The Planning Commission convened a meeting in
March 1982 in which it urged the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government
of India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), and the Government of
Madhya Pradesh to provide the required core financial assistance.

 The UGC extended support by permitting university and college staff to join the organisation
on fellowship, protecting their salary and privileges during the period of their fellowship. Thus
while the MHRD also funded Eklavya in a major way for almost a decade, financial support
increasingly came from trusts like the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and,
later, corporate bodies like ICICI Bank Ltd and Wipro.)

 New curricular and extracurricular initiatives

 Eklavya simultaneously took up curricular development programmes for primary education
and for social sciences at the middle school level. 
 Along with the work of developing school curricular packages, Eklavya also pursued its
mandate of devising educational programmes for the vast majority of children, youth and
adults who are either left out of the schooling system for social, economic and cultural
reasons or drop out because of the irrelevance of the education being imparted to them and
injustices they face within the school system.
 They supported teaching in schools and helped create an environment in the community that
was receptive to new ideas and innovations in education. They also highlighted contemporary
socio-political issues of concern, generating a debate on the use of science and technology
for development
 This basket of activities included bal-melas, poster exhibitions, street plays, etc organised in
schools, villages and small towns; jathas, public campaigns and touring exhibitions that
 covered several villages in campaign mode; and creative activity workshops to train children
to teach others. In addition, several village level forums for children and youth were set up,
including children’s clubs, study groups, youth groups, drama groups etc. As part of this
thrust, a network of libraries and reading rooms was also established at Eklavya’s field
centres, mohallas in small towns and in villages, most of which were run by local
volunteers. workshops were organised to discuss research methodologies and related
concerns; the ‘Women’s Health’, ‘Bhopal Gas Tragedy’,
 generate awareness among the public on science-society, health and gender issues; the
Parasia water quality testing project (1987), in which school children investigated the
problem of drinking water quality in a coal mining centre; and a three-month contact
campaign in remote villages of Dewas district focusing on literacy, employment, school
education and environment problems, 
 One major initiative during the decade was the setting up of a publication unit at Eklavya’s
Bhopal centre (1984). This unit publishes/produces and sells educational books and booklets,
textbooks and other learning materials, activity booklets, educational games and toys, etc. It
also publishes magazines for children, teachers and the general public, launching Chakmak,
the pathbreaking children’s science magazine, in 1985, and Srote, a science feature service
for newspapers and the general public, in 1987. 

A related development was the opening of a workshop in Harda (1986) to manufacture

educational toys, puzzles and science kit items for conducting experiments in schools. The
workshop was also seen as a training centre for local artisans, the objective being to relate
education to livelihood. 

 
HURDLES
 Though the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has been making noises about the programme since long, for
the first time it found an ally in the government. In February, the Hoshangabad district planning
committee (DPC) recommended to the state government that the programme be discontinued. The BJP
MLA from Itarsi, Dr Sitasharan Sharma, in a letter to the district collector, on 27 December 2001, said
HSTP has no linkages with the earlier and post-six to eight class curriculums. The students had to
conduct experiments and also collect 'a number of leaves' due to which they are greatly
inconvenienced. "If it is such a good programme, why has it not spread to other districts" Dr Sharma
asked. "HSTP had ruined the careers of many children. They are brainwashing our students", he
proclaime

 The real reason for Dr Sharma's opposition to HSTP was soon apparent. "Eklavya has influential
backing and they have a political ideology behind the programme. Education is just a front. Most of the
Eklavya activists are members of a political party. They are not content with science, now they have
ventured into social science", he said.

 HSTP was not implemented in all districts and students going out of Hoshangabad faced a problem.
Secondly, children are not familiar with the examination system. They do not know how many marks
they will get for the questions they are answering. It is like a lottery, he added.

 Government sources said that trained teachers were a must for the programme, and with the
proliferation of private schools and the high turnover of teachers this was difficult. Two to three hundred
teachers are trained every year and funds for training did not come last year.

 The government has tabulated the tenth standard board examination results of 2002 to show that
Hoshangabad (together with Harda) do not come within the first fifteen districts in terms of performance
in Science. According to The rejection of the curriculum of Eklavya implemented by it in the district of
Hoshangabad by the district planning committee of Hoshangabad: report on assessment of
 performance and options, this data calls into serious question any impact in terms of learning outcomes
from the HSTP. Added to this is the fact that 69.62 per cent of children in Hoshangabad scored less
than 50 per cent in Science, which to some extent may explain the dissatisfaction, expressed by the
district planning committee

 enforce a uniform curriculum, textbooks and examination system in all the government schools of the
state from the academic session 2002-2003, it has been directed that curriculum and textbooks notified
by Madhya Pradesh government are to be implemented in class one to eight. If any school wishes to
use Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme, Hoshangabad Social Science Programme and
experimental curriculum that has been notified by the government, it can use them as supplementary in
addition to the curriculum and textbooks notified by the state government," according to the order.

The members of the governing body as of June 2008 are:

President Prof. Vijaya S. Varma

180, Mall Apartments,
Mall Road,
Delhi – 110 054
Telephone: (011) 2381 8002

Treasurer Prof. Amitabha Mukherjee

Centre for Science Education and Communication
2nd floor, Academic Research Center Building
(Opp Khalsa College), Patel Marg,
University of Delhi,
Delhi – 110 007
Telephone: (011) 2766 2018

Members Shri Probir Chandra Sen 

Flat 81, Tower 15-A, ATS Greens
Village Expressway, Sector 93-A,
Noida – 201 304
Telephone: (0120) 2461 7443

  Prof. Uma Chakravarti

G–4, Anand Niketan
New Delhi - 110 021
Telephone: (011) 2411 7828 

  Dr. Kumkum Roy

Centre for Historical Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
Delhi – 110 067
Telephone: (011) 2627 6196