HOSHANGABAD SCIENCE TEACHING PROGRAMME
(1972- 2002)
The HSTP, run by a volunteer organization Eklavya, has been one of the few
programs that were run in government schools that look towards joyful
learning techniques.
These techniques include learning through experiments using locally available
materials, observation, discussion, etc.
This program started in 1972 with 16 schools and now covers over 1000
schools in rural areas of Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh.
This program was reviewed by a panel of the NCERT and proposed to be
used all over the country. This program has suddenly been ordered to be
closed down.
HOSHANGABAD SCIENCE TEACHING PROGRAMME
The HSTP story began in early 1972, when a group of scientists, engineers,
educationists and social activists formulated a vision of developing a model of
school science teaching close to the ideal envisaged in various policy directives.
The Department of Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh, permitted
two non-governmental organisations, Friends Rural Centre (FRC), Rasulia,
and Kishore Bharati (KB) to take up a pilot project in May 1972 in 16 middle
schools spread over two blocks of Hoshangabad district.
OBJECTIVES AND PERSPECTIVE OF HSTP (as they evolved)
From this viewpoint, the thirty years of HSTP can be divided into four
distinct phases:
- Phase I (1972-77): 16-school phase of evolving a science teaching programme
appropriate for rural areas.
- Phase II (1977-83): District-level expansion aiming to evolve systems for
introducing innovation in school system.
- Phase III (1983-90): Seeding in new districts, taking it to new settings to
further evolve the package across regions and prepare ground for further
spread of the innovation.
- Phase IV (1990 onwards): Building up towards mainstreaming the
innovation in Madhya Pradesh and spreading the innovative ideas beyond.
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
The main objective of the project, which came to be known as the HSTP
(Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme), was to explore the extent to
which innovative changes can be introduced within the framework of the
government school system.
To test this hypothesis, the HSTP undertook to investigate whether it would
be feasible to introduce the ‘discovery’ approach to learning science in village
schools in place of the traditional textbook-centred ‘learning by rote’
methodology.
In course of time, the concept of environment-based education was included
as an integral part of science teaching.
A basic assumption behind this effort was that learning science through
experiments and field studies would help build up a questioning and analytical
attitude in children.
Since the programme also emphasised learning directly from the local
environment, it was hoped that the children would eventually begin to
question the traditional social structure of their village society.
The Madhya Pradesh education department played a special role in this effort
by giving administrative backing and academic freedom to experiment with
books, kit, curricula, teacher training and examinations.
This freedom allowed the HSTP to address innovation and quality
improvement in science education as an integrated whole, focusing on all
aspects of school functioning to facilitate innovative teaching.
This unique instance of a state government accepting the role of a voluntary
agency in changing school education within its own framework was a
landmark in education in the country, enabling the HSTP to evolve as a model
for innovative quality improvement in the mainstream education system on a
macro scale.
The programme was academically guided through the active involvement of
young scientists, educators and research students from some of the leading
academic and research institutions in the country.
The initial impetus was given by groups from the All-India Science Teachers
Association (Physics Study Group) and Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research (TIFR), Mumbai.
They were joined in 1973 by a group from the University of Delhi, which went
on to take over the academic responsibility for the programme. Other
institutions of repute that contributed to the effort included the Indian
Institutes of Technology (IITs), various universities and post-graduate
colleges.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) granted fellowships to faculty
members from Delhi University and other academic institutions to participate
in the programme at the field level,
While the Madhya Pradesh government also permitted its college science
teachers to interact on a regular basis from 1975.
This synergy (working together) between the university community and
school science teachers in developing academically sound curricular materials
for village schools was also a unique feature of the programme.
