Starfish and Spiders: Decentralization in play in public schools of Nagaland
Performance Incentive Grants to the communities of Nagaland
Starfish and spiders may look alike, but they have a phenomenal distinction. Cut off a spider’s leg and the spider is crippled. Cut off a spider’s head and the spider is dead. But cut off a starfish’s arm and it will grow back. Surprisingly, the chopped-off arm can even regenerate into a whole new starfish. Starfish are able to survive this way because, unlike spiders, they have decentralised neural networks- every organ is replicated across each arm.
In their book, The Starfish and The Spider, Ori Bradman and Rod A. Beckstrom use these animals to describe organisational structures. They highlight how a starfish structure- in which decisions are decentralised and individuals are empowered to quickly adapt to dynamic local needs, can foster resilience, participation and creativity.
As we work to strengthen citizen agency, encourage participatory governance and activate existing platforms; we regularly witness resilience, participation and creativity in the stakeholders we work with.
The story of transformation in the government schools of Nagaland is one such example — a story of a Starfish reaching for the stars.
Nagaland Education Project and Performance Incentive Grants
The Nagaland Education Project- The Lighthouse- Nagaland Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources (NECTAR) was launched with support from the World Bank, aimed at improving and enhancing the quality of learning outcomes of government schools in Nagaland. The project also seeks to improve community ownership and engagement in the management of government schools by providing financial support to eligible School Management Committees (SMCs) and School Management and Development Committees (SMDCs). This financial support, given in the form of grants in different tranches, is called Performance Incentive Grants (PIG). PIG functions as a tool/vehicle for building the capacity of SMC/SMDCs.
In order to obtain grants, the school must undertake certain mandatory activities and have some mandatory documentation, both of which are part of the capacity building element of PIG. By incentivizing practices such as initiating community outreach programmes, conducting regular SMC meetings and PTMs, maintaining records of student attendance, mid-day meal distribution and school grant utilisation, the PIG system builds accountability and ownership in schools. It establishes a culture of consultation and participation that aims to undertake development not just for the community, but with the community.
An overview of the execution process of PIG
As of June 2023, around 1700 schools in Nagaland have obtained grants under PIG. Armed with these grants and the capacity to make independent decisions, many schools have made tremendous improvements. Schools have self-reported a regular frequency of community-related activities with an average of 3 SMC/SMDC meetings, 1 PTM, 1 enrollment drive and 1 community engagement event within a period of 3 months.
Here are a few such examples of schools in Nagaland improving student attendance, reimagining learning environments and enhancing student pride through innovative, practical and effective utilisation of grants.
Sports Improves Attendance- GHS Asuloto
GHS Asuloto (Zunheboto district) utilised PIG to purchase indoor sports equipment. With this innovative measure, the school has not only provided a new facility for the students but also seen a drastic improvement in student attendance.
The purchase of indoor sports equipment increased student attendance at GHS Asuloto
The Power Of A Community
The SMC in GMS 7th Mile (Chumukedima district) conducted an enrollment drive as part of their PIG activities. The teachers spoke to families of students who had dropped out during the pandemic and discussed the importance of education. They requested the parents to send their children back to school. In incentivising behaviours that engage with the community while focusing on the welfare of students, PIG functions as an efficient means to strengthen the muscle of collaborative action in government schools.
Still from an enrollment drive in Chumukedima district
A Door of Opportunity- GHS Lengrijan
At GHS Lengrijan (Dimapur district), the school set up a roller shutter door to prevent theft of school assets. Staying resilient amidst their problems, the school found an insightful use of PIG.
A roller shutter door set up with grants from PIG
Community in Partnership- GMS Longstunger
GMS Longstunger in Kiphire District completely revamped their learning environment with the active participation of the community. The community (church staff, Students Union, Village Council and the Village Guards) supported the school by volunteering their time for 2 weeks during construction and painting of the school building. This example illustrates how the pre-existing culture of community participation in Nagaland can be leveraged through the incentive provided by PIG.
A before and after comparison of GHS Longstunger
Resourceful Innovation- GPS Changkhong
Government Primary School in Changkhong utilised PIG to renovate floors, repair windows and boards and buy stationery materials for extracurricular activities. The community helped the school by providing a teacher and building a quarter for teachers near the school. By using PIG for varied activities, GPS Changkhong exhibits the resourcefulness and collaboration that is necessary to make sustainable improvements in a public institution. Incentivizing such participatory behaviour has been one of the key objectives of PIG.
Resourceful innovation using PIG in GPS Changkhong
These stories offer only a tiny glimpse into the potential impact of PIG across Nagaland. Government schools in Nagaland with such remarkable innovations through resourceful use of PIG are not the exception, but the norm.
PIG is an effective tool that is empowering local governing bodies (SMCs/SMDCs) by directly giving them grants and incentivizing participatory governance practices. Schools have seen community contribution across the districts in the form of time, skills, resources, funds, and workshops for children. The schools function as decentralised arms in the PIG Starfish, creating an active, empowered, independent ecosystem with a heightened sense of ownership. When autonomy rests with local bodies instead of being concentrated centrally, we move from resistance to radical change, from inertia to innovation and from passivity to participation.
Research shows that fiscal, political and administrative decentralisation improves the quality of delivery of public services. Improved citizen engagement and social interaction among citizens to overlook government activities are also proven to have a positive effect on service delivery in a decentralised system.
The resilience, participation and creativity shown by the schools of Nagaland showcase the importance of participatory governance in solving large scale challenges. To navigate the oceans of hurdles that still plague our institutions, we need more Starfish in the system- connected yet independent units with autonomy, with agency, with increased ownership and accountability.
