Anita Kaul (néeKripalani;19 September 1954 – 10 October 2016) was an Indian Administrative Service officer[1] best known for her contributions to the Indian education sector.[2][3] She was a defining voice of the Right to Education movement and one of the principal architects of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009[4][5] which made education a fundamental right for every child in India. She is also well-known for her role in expanding the Nali Kali ('joyful learning') approach to primary schools in India.[6] Heralded as one of Karnataka's most 'successful, innovative and revolutionary' reform programs,[7] the pedagogic innovations of Nali Kali during Anita Kaul's tenure have been described as 'little short of a renaissance' in Indian education.[8]
Right to Education Act and National Curriculum Framework: 2006–2012
The highlight of Anita Kaul's tenure in the Department of School Education[10] was coordinating the passage[11] of the Right to Education Act. Described as a 'harbinger of a new era',[12] the enactment of the Right to Education Act resulted in India becoming the 135th country in the world where education is a fundamental right.[13] Anita Kaul also played a critical role in successfully defending the Right to Education Act before the Supreme Court of India[14] including some of its most contentious provisions – (a) at least 25% from disadvantaged groups are admitted in Class 1[15] and (b) the "no detention" and "no expulsion" provisions.[16]
Education in Karnataka and the Nali Kali reforms: 1996–2000
In the 1990s, as Project Director of the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)[19] and Secretary, Department of Education in the Government of Karnataka,[20] Anita played an important role[21] in bringing the Nali Kali (or joyful learning) approach to learning to Karnataka's primary schools.[6][7] Developed with UNICEF assistance, the Nali Kali strategy adopted creative learning practices in a joyful, affirming, non-threatening environment that helped significantly improve enrollment, particularly of girls, in rural primary schools in Karnataka.[22] Since 2000, the Nali Kali-inspired, joyful learning strategies have expanded to several Indian states, including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.[23] Academic studies[23] have shown that the Nali Kali reforms provided striking insights into how schools can deal more sensitively and effectively with issues of social inequality and exclusion.[7] Heralded as one of Karnataka's most 'successful, innovative and revolutionary' reform programs,[7] the pedagogic innovations of Nali Kali during Anita Kaul's tenure have been described as 'little short of a renaissance' in Indian education.[8]
National Literacy Mission: 1988–1992
Earlier in her career, Anita served as Director of the National Literacy Mission (1988-1992) where she was instrumental in taking the Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs) from less than ten districts to almost 100 districts across India.[24][25][26] Started in Ernakulam district in 1989, the 'TLC model' of mass literacy constituted the principal strategy of eradicating illiteracy in India during the 1990s.[25]
Anita Kaul at a National Literacy Mission training workshop (1992)
Anita Kaul representing India at the "World Conference on Education for All" (1990) in Thailand
Other career highlights
A large part of Anita's work centered around empowering women. During her tenure in the Department of School Education, she strengthened the Mahila Samakhya programme[25] which sought to enhance self-esteem and self-confidence of women to enable them to make informed choices in areas like education and employment. Similarly, as Director, Women and Child Development in the Government of Karnataka (1993-1995) and Director General of the State Institute of Rural Development (2002-2006), Anita conceptualized and implemented training programs that were large-scale, participatory and satellite-based.[27][28]
Third Anita Kaul Lecture – Reaffirming Hope: Transformative Education for Equity and Empathy
The Third Anita Kaul Lecture was delivered on 2 November 2019 by Professor Anita Rampal, Former Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Delhi and chaired by Anshu Vaish, former Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India.[32]
Fourth Anita Kaul Lecture – Challenges to India's Democracy and the Role of the Indian Media
The Fourth Anita Kaul Lecture was delivered on 23 October 2021 by Pamela Philipose, senior journalist and Ombudsperson, The Wire and chaired by Dr. Harish Khare, former media advisor to the Prime Minister of India and former Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune.[33]
^ abNali Kali - A not so silent revolution for joyful learning(PDF). Planning Commission of India. "The Nali-Kali approach is unique and precious, because it is entirely primary school teacher created." Anita Kaul, Education Secretary and ex-State Project Director, DPEP, Karnataka
^ abcdSekhri Sibal, Rajni (2021). Women of Influence - Ten Extraordinary IAS Careers. Penguin. p. 81. ISBN9780143454069. A student-centered system of learning, assessment and classroom management for primary schools, Nali Kali stated in 1995 as a small UNICEF-assisted pilot project in HD Kote, Mysore but became a reality under Anita's vision and insight through the DPEP in Karnataka. Nali Kali gradually expanded to 270 schools in Mysore between 1995-96, 4,000 schools in the districts of Mysore, Mandya, Kolar, Raichur and Belgaum by 1998 and soon became a statement movement. The pedagogical innovations of the DPEP during this period were heralded as "little short of a renaissance" in the development of Indian education.
^ abSriprakash, Arathi (2012). Pedagogies of Development - The Politics and Practice of Child-Centered Education in India. Springer. ISBN978-94-007-2669-7.
^Kaul, Anita (2009). Government of India submissions before Supreme Court of India. "…The [25% rule] is not merely to provide avenues of quality education to poor and disadvantaged children. The larger objective is to provide a common place where children sit, eat and live together for at least eight years of their lives across caste, class and gender divides in order that it narrows down such divisions in our society".
^Kaul, Anita. Government of India submissions before Supreme Court of India. "The 'no detention' provision in the RTE Act does not imply abandoning procedures that assess children's learning. The RTE Act provides for putting in place a continuous and comprehensive evaluation procedure – a procedure that will be non-threatening, releases the child from fear and trauma of failure and enables the teacher to pay individual attention to the child's learning and performance. Such a system has the best potential to improve quality, rather than punishment, fear of failure and detention".
^ abcdSekhri Sibal, Rajni (2021). Women of Influence: Ten Extraordinary IAS Careers. Penguin. ISBN9780143454069.
^Mangla, Akshay (June 2017). "Elite strategies and incremental policy change: The expansion of primary education in India". Governance. 31 (2): 381–399. doi:10.1111/gove.12299. ISSN1468-0491. It bears emphasizing that the officials advocating for reforms were in some ways unconventional....Perhaps, for that reason, social programs attracted highly committed officials. For example, Anita Kaul, who led the NLM during its first two years, spent more than 25 years of her IAS career working in social sector programs, including education, nutrition and women and child development.
^ abcGhosh, Avik (1997). "Looking Beyond Literacy Campaigns". Economic and Political Weekly. 32 (51): 3246–3248. JSTOR4406195.
^Bordia, Anil; Kaul, Anita (March 1992). "Literacy Efforts in India". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 520 (1): 151–162. doi:10.1177/0002716292520001016. S2CID144724694.
^Kato, Rika (2004). "Research Visit to India"(PDF). Research Centre for the Local Public Human Resources and Policy Development. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
