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as one of the main areas of concern in an appraisal carried out eight years
later (Ramachandran, 2001).
All the Shiksha Karmis we met voiced their worries about the future: Is
the project going to continue beyond the first few years? What will become
of them when Sida no longer supports the project? In our reports to the
Joint Review we pointed out that these worries had to be taken seriously
and that it was necessary to keep the Shiksha Karmis informed about the
intentions of the donor and the governments.
Review
The information we gleaned during our dialogues in the field was forwarded
together with recommendations to the Joint Review. During the Review
there was never enough time for a real dialogue. Our reports did influence
the proceedings but on the Indian side there was a noticeable reluctance to
accept criticism and recommendations from a non-Indian consultant. The
problems we pointed out were usually denied and our recommendations, at
least initially, ignored. However, a year or two later similar recommendations
were often put forward by the Shiksha Karmi Board or the Institute of
Development Studies and subsequently accepted.
The Swedish delegation usually accepted our statements and recommendations.
Here the problem was rather the rapid turnover and the variable
professional standard of the Sida officials involved.
Conclusions
Our approach, basing appraisals on what was really happening in the project
villages and how the project was perceived by the intended beneficiaries,
worked well. Perhaps too well for some of the officials of the Shiksha Karmi
Board. Our extensive trips and many dialogues with Shiksha Karmis, parents
and local NGOs enabled us to identify a number of problems that otherwise
would never have been brought to the attention of the Joint Review.
During the first couple of years attempts were made to prevent our extensive
field visits and Sida’s attempts to base the review consultant in Rajasthan
were blocked. But we struggled on, visited even the remotest villages, stayed
overnight to be able to meet the farmers when they returned from the
fields and spend the evening talking to them about whatever they wanted
to bring up.
The resulting dialogues and observations enabled us to identify problems
at an early stage. We were thus able to point out:
Deficiencies in supply system and support structure.
Growing dissatisfaction amongst the Shiksha Karmis about service conditions
and lack of career opportunities.