Name of the Scheme – NECTAR (Lighthouse)
Department – Department of School Education.
Scheme for : Institution.
Where to Apply : District Headquarter Office.
When to Apply :
About Nagaland Education Project – The Lighthouse (NECTAR)
With support from the World Bank, the Department of School Education launched the ‘Nagaland Education Project- The Lighthouse – Nagaland Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources (NECTAR), with an aim to improve and enhance quality and learning outcomes of Government schools in Nagaland. The NEP-The Lighthouse project will be the first-ever World Bank (WB) financed education project in the north-east region of India to be directly implemented by a state government i.e. Department of School Education (DSE), Government of Nagaland.
The NEP- The Lighthouse is a project that will breathe new life into the education system of the state, providing greater opportunity for students and teachers to realize their potential. The education system in Nagaland faces several challenges, as ultimately reflected in the decline of its student learning outcomes measured by the National Achievement Surveys (NAS). Through this initiative, the state government is committed to prioritize and focus its efforts on addressing three precisely targeted problems within a fixed project duration:
- Enhance the governance of schools across the state
- Improvement in teaching practices
- Enhancement of overall learning environment
This project envisages to directly benefit about –
1,50,000 students in Government schools in Nagaland.
20,000 teachers, including School Heads.
100 District and Sub-District officers Members of 2000 SMC/SMDCs
Components
Improving System and School Management
The first component will seek to focus on strengthening and improving the school management systems through increasing efficiency and implementing technology wherever possible to bridge gaps.
Enhanced Teaching and Learning Environment
This component seeks to provide a roadmap for school improvement and enhance the teaching and learning environment, including but not limited to classrooms and the context in which students learn. It will look beyond to encompass the entire school, including its physical and non-physical characteristics. The project component also focuses on enhancing the learning environment through a holistic approach encompassing the entire learning arena from the curriculum and schools to the teachers and students as well.
Technical Assistance
This component will finance ongoing monitoring, impact evaluation and third-party assessments of project activities and outcomes, undertake immediate COVID-19 response measures and support enabling activities such as communication and capacity building of state level institutions for effective and efficient resourcing, implementation, and sustainability of the project.
The project components are expected to pilot several innovations in teacher management, community-accountability, and improving classroom transactions. The project will develop and implement innovative models for technology integration, decentralized management of education systems, and community driven accountability mechanisms.
Intervention
Lighthouse School Complexes (LSCs) are envisioned as model schools with modern infrastructure and facilities to enhance teaching-learning and school management through the collaboration between the LSC (hub) and neighbouring schools (spokes). The hub and spoke model will facilitate optimum governance and sharing of resources, workforce, and ideas.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisages model school complexes with improved infrastructure, teaching, and governance, and the NECTAR project’s LSCs are a step towards fulfilling that vision. LSCs will alleviate the challenges of isolation between schools and associated administrative challenges; LSCs will also enable parents to transition their children from the Primary stage to the Middle, Secondary, and Higher Secondary stages more smoothly, reducing chances of dropouts. Conforming to the NEP 2020, these stages will eventually be classified as Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary.
LSCs aim to foster community ownership and participation, inclusive and safe learning environments, holistic education, and sustainable and eco-friendly practices that also draw from traditional knowledge. LSCs will serve as a pilot that will inform state education policy and future interventions. To this end, the NECTAR project will establish one LSC in each of the sixteen districts of Nagaland.
All sixteen LSCs have been identified through a rigorous four-stage selection process involving multiple stakeholders at the district and state levels and approved by the State Committee for Lighthouse School Complex (SCLSC). After exercising all due diligence and receiving approval on the site assessment and geotechnical feasibility test and also ensuring that these schools align with the objectives and vision of the project, the selected 16 Lighthouse School Complexes are presented below:
| SL. NO. | DISTRICT | NAME OF SCHOOL |
| 1 | CHÜMOUKEDIMA | GHSS MEDZIPHEMA TOWN |
| 2 | DIMAPUR | GHSS DIMAPUR |
| 3 | KIPHIRE | GHS SITIMI TOWN |
| 4 | KOHIMA | GHSS KIGWEMA |
| 5 | LONGLENG | GHSS BAUTUNG PHOM MEMORIAL LONGLENG |
| 6 | MOKOKCHUNG | GHSS N. I. JAMIR |
| 7 | MON | GHS ANGJANGYANG |
| 8 | NIULAND | GHSS NIULAND |
| 9 | NOKLAK | GHS NOKLAK VILLAGE |
| 10 | PEREN | GHSS PEREN TOWN |
| 11 | PHEK | GHSS PHEK TOWN |
| 12 | SHAMATOR | GHS CHESSORE |
| 13 | TSEMINYU | GHSS TSEMINYU |
| 14 | TUENSANG | GHSS TUENSANG |
| 15 | WOKHA | GHSS WOKHA |
| 16 | ZUNHEBOTO | GHSS SATAKHA |
What is Performance Incentive Grants (PIG)?
Nagaland Education Project seeks to improve community ownership and engagement in the management of Government schools in line with the Nagaland Communitisation of Public Institution and Services Act, 2002. The active participation of the community through School Management Committees (SMCs)/School Management and Development Committees (SMDCs) is one of the key factors in the performance of Government schools and improvement of learning environment. Therefore, in order to strengthen their capacities, the project aims to give financial support to eligible SMCs and SMDCs across the state. This financial support is called Performance Incentive Grants (PIG).
Objectives
- To improve learning environment in Government schools
- To strengthen the capacity of SMCs / SMDCs to enhance their ownership and responsibility
- To strengthen community engagement and participation in the school management
Who can apply?
PIG is available only for SMCs and SMDCs of all Government schools across Nagaland – primary schools, middle schools, high schools, and higher secondary schools. Individuals and NGOs or any educational organizations other than SMC/SMDC will NOT be eligible to apply.
Pre-conditions
- SMC/SMDC should be constituted as per Government guidelines
- Annual School Development Plan should be in place
- Financial record of the development plans executed should be in place
Process
All the SMCs/SMDCs across the state will be invited to apply for PIG. The applications received will be reviewed based on the pre-conditions, quality of applications, geographical targeting and batch limits on school categories.
Qualified and shortlisted SMCs and SMDCs for the first batch will have to undergo a mandatory capacity building programme. This will include:
- Workshop on governance and responsibilities of SMCs/SMDCs
- Needs assessment exercise
- Trainings on project management, monitoring, financial management, etc.
- Preparation of PIG proposal (action plans)
SMCs/SMDCs that finished the capacity building workshop will have to submit their respective PIG proposals. The proposals will be reviewed and approved by the Project Management Unit (PMU). All selected SMCs/SMDCs will have to open separate NECTAR bank accounts. Finally, an MoU will be signed by each SMC/SMDC with the PMU and the first instalment of PIG will be disbursed.
Source: