PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE GRANTS (PIG)
The Performance Incentive Grants (PIG) aims to strengthen the sense of ownership and responsibility among the community for all-round school development. The grant empowers the School Management Committee (SMC) and School Management and Development Committee (SMDC) to plan and execute various school improvement activities based on their specific needs.
Besides compulsory activities such as SMC/SMDC meetings, Parents Teachers Meetings, record maintenance, and outreach activities, PIG also recommends a comprehensive list of activities for schools availing of the grant to take up.
The story featured below highlights how a school is implementing the recommendations and bringing about transformation through the efforts of a committed school head.
GPS YEMISHE: NEW INITIATIVES TOWARDS NEW HORIZONS
Not far from the Zunheboto district headquarters is the village of Yemishe, surrounded by lush hills and paddy fields. GPS Yemishe is one of the schools in Nagaland that is coming up with new initiatives of community engagement with the support of the Performance Incentive Grant (PIG).
Despite the importance of Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTM), many parents fail to attend them because they have to work on their fields regularly, and in some cases, they are not invited to the meetings. To remedy this problem, GPS Yemishe sent an invitation card to every parent and guardian. This conveyed the message to the parents that they are important stakeholders in the school. It resulted in an impressive 100% parent attendance during the last PTM.
During the PTMs, a general meeting is conducted in which agenda items such as examinations, sports week, and uniforms, among others, are discussed by the teachers and suggestions are invited from the parents. This is followed by one-on-one interactions between the teacher and each parent to discuss their child in detail. These interactions are also agenda-oriented, and every student’s academic performance, behaviour, and hygiene are discussed with their parents.
One of the guardians who attended the PTM shares her observation:
“What I learned from the meeting today is that we always complain to the teacher without knowing how our children are doing in school. Through this meeting, we learned how our children are doing in the class and how teachers are teaching. Without knowing the real situation, we tend to criticise and complain, but after attending today’s meeting, we understood the sacrifice of time and energy made by the teachers.”
Ms Botoli Sema, the Teacher-in-Charge makes sure that every parent shares their valuable suggestions, which will benefit the students and the school as a whole. She asks all the subject teachers to sit with each parent and update them on their child’s performance in various subjects, and suggestions for improvement are also given. This helps parents and guardians know about the strengths and weaknesses of their child and guide them at home. The Teacher-in-Charge also makes sure that there is constant communication between them, even through phone calls.
Mrs. Shekhali, a farmer, homemaker, and mother of a fifth-grade student, shares her experience from the PTM: “Attending PTMs was a good learning experience for me, as I got to know better the work and efforts that the teachers put in to make learning more enjoyable and satisfactory. I feel honoured to be invited to such meetings as the teachers welcome us with warmth and respect, which makes us want to attend more meetings.”
Earlier, there was limited communication between the school and the parents, and the students did not have proper access to all the government-funded facilities that were planned for them. Since Ms Botoli Sema took over as the Teacher-in-Charge, parents are regularly informed about all the facilities available at the school. They are even invited to the school to see how classes are being conducted. Ms Botoli remarks:
“We told the parents that we would provide everything necessary for their child’s education, from notebooks to stationery to school bags and shoes. We also assured them that meals would be provided as often as possible. On the days we can’t provide hot meals, we give them refreshments.”
Besides strengthening PTMs, GPS Yemishe, led by Ms Botoli and the School Management Committee (SMC), has also endeavoured to improve student enrolment at the school. They conducted enrolment drives, which is a compulsory community outreach activity under PIG. Through door-to-door visits, three new students were enrolled in March 2024.
Further, Ms Botoli invites the village council members to coordinate meetings in order to get maximum community engagement. This has enabled the community to contribute significantly to the school by completing the activities related to PIG.
Nagaland is known for its community-led management of public institutions and services, and the Performance Incentive Grant has brought schools and communities even closer to work towards improving the welfare of all stakeholders.
