Anita Kaul

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Anita Kaul
Born19 September 1954
Died10 October 2016
NationalityIndian
OccupationIndian Administrative Service
Years active1979-2016

Anita Kaul (née Kripalani;19 September 1954 – 10 October 2016) was an Indian Administrative Service officer[1] best known for her contributions to the Indian education sector.[2][3] She was a defining voice of the Right to Education movement and one of the principal architects of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009[4][5] which made education a fundamental right for every child in India. She is also well-known for her role in expanding the Nali Kali ('joyful learning') approach to primary schools in India.[6] Heralded as one of Karnataka's most 'successful, innovative and revolutionary' reform programs,[7] the pedagogic innovations of Nali Kali during Anita Kaul's tenure have been described as 'little short of a renaissance' in Indian education.[8]

Anita Kaul retired as Secretary, Department of Justice, the highest ranking civil servant in the Ministry of Law and Justice.[9]

Career highlights[edit]

Education[edit]

Right to Education Act and National Curriculum Framework: 2006–2012[edit]

The highlight of Anita Kaul's tenure in the Department of School Education[10] was coordinating the passage[11] of the Right to Education Act. Described as a 'harbinger of a new era',[12] the enactment of the Right to Education Act resulted in India becoming the 135th country in the world where education is a fundamental right.[13] Anita Kaul also played a critical role in successfully defending the Right to Education Act before the Supreme Court of India[14] including some of its most contentious provisions – (a) at least 25% from disadvantaged groups are admitted in Class 1[15] and (b) the "no detention" and "no expulsion" provisions.[16]

In 2005-06, Anita served as Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)[17] where she led efforts in the drafting of the National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF). The NCF sets out what should be taught to children in India and how. It continues to serve as the statutory framework for syllabus and teaching practices for schools across India.[18]

Education in Karnataka and the Nali Kali reforms: 1996–2000[edit]

In the 1990s, as Project Director of the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)[19] and Secretary, Department of Education in the Government of Karnataka,[20] Anita played an important role[21] in bringing the Nali Kali (or joyful learning) approach to learning to Karnataka's primary schools.[6][7] Developed with UNICEF assistance, the Nali Kali strategy adopted creative learning practices in a joyful, affirming, non-threatening environment that helped significantly improve enrollment, particularly of girls, in rural primary schools in Karnataka.[22] Since 2000, the Nali Kali-inspired, joyful learning strategies have expanded to several Indian states, including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.[23] Academic studies[23] have shown that the Nali Kali reforms provided striking insights into how schools can deal more sensitively and effectively with issues of social inequality and exclusion.[7] Heralded as one of Karnataka's most 'successful, innovative and revolutionary' reform programs,[7] the pedagogic innovations of Nali Kali during Anita Kaul's tenure have been described as 'little short of a renaissance' in Indian education.[8]

National Literacy Mission: 1988–1992[edit]

Earlier in her career, Anita served as Director of the National Literacy Mission (1988-1992) where she was instrumental in taking the Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs) from less than ten districts to almost 100 districts across India.[24][25][26] Started in Ernakulam district in 1989, the 'TLC model' of mass literacy constituted the principal strategy of eradicating illiteracy in India during the 1990s.[25]

Anita Kaul at a National Literacy Mission training workshop (1992)
Anita Kaul representing India at the "World Conference on Education for All" (1990) in Thailand

Other career highlights[edit]

A large part of Anita's work centered around empowering women. During her tenure in the Department of School Education, she strengthened the Mahila Samakhya programme[25] which sought to enhance self-esteem and self-confidence of women to enable them to make informed choices in areas like education and employment. Similarly, as Director, Women and Child Development in the Government of Karnataka (1993-1995) and Director General of the State Institute of Rural Development (2002-2006), Anita conceptualized and implemented training programs that were large-scale, participatory and satellite-based.[27][28]

Following her retirement from the Indian Administrative Service, Anita joined the Council for Social Development as its Director.[29] She was planned to join the Centre for Equity Studies in New Delhi but died a week before in October 2016.[23]

Anita Kaul Lecture Series[edit]

The Anita Kaul Lecture is an annual lecture organised by the Centre for Equity Studies, Rainbow Foundation India and Mobile Creches in memory of Anita Kaul.

First Anita Kaul Lecture – Education and Inequality in India[edit]

The First Anita Kaul Lecture was delivered on 15 October 2017 by Professor Krishna Kumar, former Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and chaired by Professor Shanta Sinha, former Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Government of India.[30]

Second Anita Kaul Lecture – Realizing the Right to Education for All: At the Altar of the Courts or in the Hands of the People[edit]

The Second Anita Kaul Lecture was delivered on 13 October 2018 by Professor Amita Dhanda, Professor of Law, Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad and chaired by Aruna Roy, Founder, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan.[31]

Third Anita Kaul Lecture – Reaffirming Hope: Transformative Education for Equity and Empathy[edit]

The Third Anita Kaul Lecture was delivered on 2 November 2019 by Professor Anita Rampal, Former Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Delhi and chaired by Anshu Vaish, former Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India.[32]

Fourth Anita Kaul Lecture – Challenges to India's Democracy and the Role of the Indian Media[edit]

The Fourth Anita Kaul Lecture was delivered on 23 October 2021 by Pamela Philipose, senior journalist and Ombudsperson, The Wire and chaired by Dr. Harish Khare, former media advisor to the Prime Minister of India and former Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune.[33]

Further reading[edit]

Anita Kaul's career is profiled in the chapter 'Power of the People' in Women of Influence: Ten Extraordinary IAS Careers written by Rajni Sekhri Sibal and published by Penguin in 2021.[23]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Anita Kaul, a 1979 batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, took charge as the Secretary, Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law & Justice on Thursday". The Times of India. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Anita Kaul: A civil servant devoted to educational reform". The Hindu. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Anita Kaul's role in reforming education system was vital". Times of India. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Remembering IAS Officer Anita Kaul, Who Reformed Our Education System with the RTE Act". Yahoo News. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  5. ^ Ramachandran, Vimala (2016). "In Memoriam: Anita Kaul". Seminar. 687 (November 2015).
  6. ^ a b Nali Kali - A not so silent revolution for joyful learning (PDF). Planning Commission of India. "The Nali-Kali approach is unique and precious, because it is entirely primary school teacher created." Anita Kaul, Education Secretary and ex-State Project Director, DPEP, Karnataka
  7. ^ a b c d Sekhri Sibal, Rajni (2021). Women of Influence - Ten Extraordinary IAS Careers. Penguin. p. 81. ISBN 9780143454069. A student-centered system of learning, assessment and classroom management for primary schools, Nali Kali stated in 1995 as a small UNICEF-assisted pilot project in HD Kote, Mysore but became a reality under Anita's vision and insight through the DPEP in Karnataka. Nali Kali gradually expanded to 270 schools in Mysore between 1995-96, 4,000 schools in the districts of Mysore, Mandya, Kolar, Raichur and Belgaum by 1998 and soon became a statement movement. The pedagogical innovations of the DPEP during this period were heralded as "little short of a renaissance" in the development of Indian education.
  8. ^ a b Sriprakash, Arathi (2012). Pedagogies of Development - The Politics and Practice of Child-Centered Education in India. Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-2669-7.
  9. ^ "Anita Kaul new Secretary, Justice in Law Ministry". Business Standard.
  10. ^ "MHRD official visits block resource training centre". The Hindu.
  11. ^ "About Bureaucrats in India". 12 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Parliament passes landmark Right to Education Bill". The Hindustan Times.
  13. ^ "India joins list of 135 countries in making education a right". The Hindu.
  14. ^ "Supreme Court upholds constitutional validity of RTE Act". 6 May 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  15. ^ Kaul, Anita (2009). Government of India submissions before Supreme Court of India. "…The [25% rule] is not merely to provide avenues of quality education to poor and disadvantaged children. The larger objective is to provide a common place where children sit, eat and live together for at least eight years of their lives across caste, class and gender divides in order that it narrows down such divisions in our society".
  16. ^ Kaul, Anita. Government of India submissions before Supreme Court of India. "The 'no detention' provision in the RTE Act does not imply abandoning procedures that assess children's learning. The RTE Act provides for putting in place a continuous and comprehensive evaluation procedure – a procedure that will be non-threatening, releases the child from fear and trauma of failure and enables the teacher to pay individual attention to the child's learning and performance. Such a system has the best potential to improve quality, rather than punishment, fear of failure and detention".
  17. ^ "Focus on developing fluency in mother tongue". The Hindu. 10 July 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2016.[dead link]
  18. ^ "National Curriculum Framework 2005" (PDF).
  19. ^ "Top Down Travails". 30 March 2000. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Centre for Innovations in Public Systems - Education". Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Anita Kaul: A civil servant devoted to educational reform". The Hindu. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Nali-Kali initiative - Karnataka". UNICEF India. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  23. ^ a b c d Sekhri Sibal, Rajni (2021). Women of Influence: Ten Extraordinary IAS Careers. Penguin. ISBN 9780143454069.
  24. ^ Mangla, Akshay (June 2017). "Elite strategies and incremental policy change: The expansion of primary education in India". Governance. 31 (2): 381–399. doi:10.1111/gove.12299. ISSN 1468-0491. It bears emphasizing that the officials advocating for reforms were in some ways unconventional....Perhaps, for that reason, social programs attracted highly committed officials. For example, Anita Kaul, who led the NLM during its first two years, spent more than 25 years of her IAS career working in social sector programs, including education, nutrition and women and child development.
  25. ^ a b c Ghosh, Avik (1997). "Looking Beyond Literacy Campaigns". Economic and Political Weekly. 32 (51): 3246–3248. JSTOR 4406195.
  26. ^ Bordia, Anil; Kaul, Anita (March 1992). "Literacy Efforts in India". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 520 (1): 151–162. doi:10.1177/0002716292520001016. S2CID 144724694.
  27. ^ Kato, Rika (2004). "Research Visit to India" (PDF). Research Centre for the Local Public Human Resources and Policy Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  28. ^ Balasubramaniam, Dr. (21 October 2016). "Anita Kaul , one of Karnataka's finest Bureaucrats".
  29. ^ Govinda, Rangachar. "Remembering Anita Kaul: A Champion of Child-Centred Education". Social Change (Soc Change).
  30. ^ "1st Anita Kaul Memorial Lecture". YouTube. 24 December 2018.
  31. ^ "2nd Anita Kaul Memorial Lecture". 24 December 2018.
  32. ^ "3rd Anita Kaul Memorial Lecture". YouTube. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  33. ^ "4th Anita Kaul Lecture". Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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