Articles by Vimala Ramachandran

The political economy of managing the contract teacher cadre has proved difficult, with protests, strikes, anger and court cases consuming teacher as well as administrative time and resources, while doing little to build stability and effectiveness inside classrooms. Indeed, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh--two of the earliest adopters of contract teachers--have either reversed or significantly modified their policy of hiring teachers on contract. A study conducted in nine states --Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh--examines how widespread is the practice of hiring contract teachers across states; to what extent does the profile of the average contract teacher differ from that of regular teachers; what have been the challenges faced by states in meeting their enrolment goals using contract teachers from a political-economy perspective; and how sustainable is the practice of hiring contract teachers.

There have been plenty of policy recommendations and interventions to increase the pool of women teachers in India, especially at the school level. Despite this, research in three districts of Rajasthan shows that any such attempt would need an integrated and organic approach that builds bridges across the secondary, collegiate, and teacher-training levels. The paper points out that what is needed is a definite break from past practice to creatively re-conceptualise the education continuum, while putting forward some recommendations to lower barriers in the way of secondary education for girls in the state.

Primary schoolteachers in India have no source of academic support whatsoever. In order to enhance efficiency what they require is assistance to cope with classroom situations involving everyday problems or needs. This article examines the drawbacks of primary education system in five Indian states and highlights the problems faced by teachers, administrators and teacher educators, and puts forth ideas for good practices that emerged during the course of the investigation.

When we speak of access to education it means that children are going to school and learning. It may be more appropriate to use the term "meaningful access" encompassing enrolment, regular attendance of children and teachers, availability of books and other learning materials, a learning environment in a functioning school. This paper attempts to synthesise the experience of small and larger projects of the government and non-governmental organisations to address the issue of learning in the government school system.

Education and Social Change in South Asia by Krishna Kumar and Joachim Oesterheld (eds)