In the first part of this two-part series, the case for building life skills in the context of the National Education Policy (NEP, 2020) implemented by the Government of India was analyzed. In this second article, we look at the implications of the NEP proposal to establish a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), to facilitate the use of technology in education. The NETF also has an explicit objective to collect, maintain, and analyze data on education in India to improve the delivery of education. Given the continuing emphasis on online learning and disparate access to technology among students in India, the role of the NETF is paramount in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For instance, data collected by the Centre for Catalyzing Change found that adolescent girls reported a higher likelihood of dropping out of school/college due to the lockdown as compared to boys; girls were also less likely to be able to access resources required for online schooling as compared to boys. Although policies such as the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Andolan (roughly translated as Save a Girl, Educate a Girl) have been implemented in various states in the past six years, aimed at encouraging girl-child education, in particular, they have not been evaluated extensively by researchers or policymakers.

Increasingly, evidence-based policymaking has gained importance in South Asia, given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. As researchers have long suggested, the value from gathering data is critical in helping design the right policy for the right target group. For example, designing a particular type of cash-based transfer scheme to improve girl-child education should directly address existing barriers to achieving better school attendance for girl children. Thus, in the absence of data, policymaking tends to take place in a vacuum and could even have unintended consequences. For instance, prior to the National Education Policy (NEP), data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) from 2017-18 was used to discuss education inequalities, and test various claims.

As the NEP suggests, data monitoring becomes even more crucial, not only for developing future interventions but also for tracking real-time progress. Carefully gathering data on educational outcomes, such as school attendance, enables implementing course-correction measures if/when required. In this regard, Magic Bus India Foundation is one such NGO committed to meeting the fourth SDG of ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all. Their flagship initiative provides life skills education to children to facilitate the development of socio-emotional skills and tie into school-based outcomes. For instance, the Magic Bus Programme instills competencies like resilience and problem-solving - skills needed both inside and outside the classroom for effectively navigating one's circumstances.

Not only does Magic Bus run these programs across the country (Figure 1), it also collects rich and varied data on program effects and impact. By implementing standardized psychometric tools to measure aspects like self-efficacy and egalitarian gender attitudes, MB's approach to encouraging education is unique. In addition to focusing on school completion, school regularity, aspirations for higher education and the like, socioemotional skills are also nurtured.

The connection between a student's psychological make-up and their education-related outcomes is acknowledged and leveraged to help students stay in school. Through such rigorous monitoring and evaluation, MB is able to adapt to changing needs of the children and the contexts within which they reside. Without having rich data on socio-emotional learning and development, it would be impossible for MB (or any NGO or policymaker) to fully account for the role that they play in achieving educational outcomes. It is worth noting that the data that MB collects on socio-emotional skills is not specific to any one project or region -- these questions are part of nearly every survey that they do with children when collecting data, resulting in a unique and large database on socio-emotional skills that are not just psychometrically validated, but also crucial to uncovering their importance in achieving the intended project impacts.

Measuring impact is as important as creating impact Emerging trends in civil society as well as in policymaking point toward the importance of collecting, using, and analyzing appropriate data to inform program design and uptake. This is a tremendous challenge and opportunity for non-profits, especially those working in the education sector following the dramatic shifts in delivery and access to education in the past year. Research from Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan, professors at Harvard Business School, suggest that it is infeasible to expect social sector organizations to rigorously collect and analyze data for program design continuously. Instead, the challenge lies in designing appropriate data collection processes that inform the organization's mission and objectives. In India, there is a strong collective of NGOs in the educational space that are striving towards more data-driven insights not just on impact, but also on program design.

NGOs such as Magic Bus India Foundation, Pratham, Educate Girls, Child Rights and You (CRY) focus on many different aspects of education in India and regularly use data and research to strengthen their key program elements. This includes, but is not limited to, using randomized control trials (RCTs) to design and evaluate project outcomes, expanding the outcomes on which data is collected, and integrating data collection and monitoring as a core process to achieving impact - both externally for children as well as internally for refining the program. In order to design effective educational policies, there is a vast potential for the data gap to be bridged and the setting up of the NETF is the first step in that direction.

However, it is important to note that collecting data involving minors is ethically a sensitive domain. Following child protection policies (especially in terms of children's data privacy), research ethics related to working with minors, and educating parents about their roles and responsibilities are critical. This will not only help ensure the quality of data but also that the main beneficiaries of this research - children - are always at the forefront of the program.

Anirudh Tagat

This article was first published in News9 on 9th November 2021
https://www.news9live.com/education-career/the-value-of-data-in-understanding-childrens-education-in-india-132435?infinitescroll=1