TED@BCG Paris
Seema Bansal: How to fix a broken education system ... without any more money
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Seema Bansal forged a path to public education reform for 15,000 schools in Haryana, India, by setting an ambitious goal: by 2020, 80 percent of children should have grade-level knowledge. She's looking to meet this goal by seeking reforms that will work in every school without additional resources. Bansal and her team have found success using creative, straightforward techniques such as communicating with teachers using SMS group chats, and they have already measurably improved learning and engagement in Haryana's schools.
Seema Bansal - Education innovator
BCG's Seema Bansal asks: Can governments actually make a meaningful difference in education? And rapidly? Yes, it turns out. Full bio
BCG's Seema Bansal asks: Can governments actually make a meaningful difference in education? And rapidly? Yes, it turns out. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
So we all have our own biases.
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For example, some of us tend to think
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that it's very difficult to transform
failing government systems.
failing government systems.
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When we think of government systems,
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we tend to think that they're archaic,
set in their ways,
set in their ways,
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and perhaps, the leadership
is just too bureaucratic
is just too bureaucratic
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to be able to change things.
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Well, today, I want
to challenge that theory.
to challenge that theory.
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I want to tell you a story
of a very large government system
of a very large government system
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that has not only put itself
on the path of reform
on the path of reform
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but has also shown
fairly spectacular results
fairly spectacular results
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in less than three years.
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This is what a classroom
in a public school in India looks like.
in a public school in India looks like.
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There are 1 million such schools in India.
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And even for me,
who's lived in India all her life,
who's lived in India all her life,
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walking into one of these schools
is fairly heartbreaking.
is fairly heartbreaking.
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By the time kids are 11,
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50 percent of them have fallen
so far behind in their education
so far behind in their education
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that they have no hope to recover.
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11-year-olds cannot do simple addition,
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they cannot construct
a grammatically correct sentence.
a grammatically correct sentence.
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These are things that you and I
would expect an 8-year-old
would expect an 8-year-old
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to be able to do.
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By the time kids are 13 or 14,
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they tend to drop out of schools.
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In India, public schools
not only offer free education --
not only offer free education --
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they offer free textbooks,
free workbooks, free meals,
free workbooks, free meals,
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sometimes even cash scholarships.
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And yet, 40 percent of the parents today
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are choosing to pull their children
out of public schools
out of public schools
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and pay out of their pockets
to put them in private schools.
to put them in private schools.
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As a comparison,
in a far richer country, the US,
in a far richer country, the US,
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that number is only 10 percent.
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That's a huge statement on how broken
the Indian public education system is.
the Indian public education system is.
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So it was with that background
that I got a call in the summer of 2013
that I got a call in the summer of 2013
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from an absolutely brilliant lady
called Surina Rajan.
called Surina Rajan.
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She was, at that time, the head
of the Department of School Education
of the Department of School Education
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in a state called Haryana in India.
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So she said to us, "Look, I've been
heading this department
heading this department
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for the last two years.
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I've tried a number of things,
and nothing seems to work.
and nothing seems to work.
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Can you possibly help?"
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Let me describe Haryana
a little bit to you.
a little bit to you.
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Haryana is a state
which has 30 million people.
which has 30 million people.
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It has 15,000 public schools
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and 2 million plus
children in those public schools.
children in those public schools.
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So basically, with that phone call,
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I promised to help a state and system
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which was as large as that of Peru
or Canada transform itself.
or Canada transform itself.
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As I started this project,
I was very painfully aware of two things.
I was very painfully aware of two things.
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One, that I had never done
anything like this before.
anything like this before.
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And two, many others had,
perhaps without too much success.
perhaps without too much success.
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As my colleagues and I
looked across the country
looked across the country
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and across the world,
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we couldn't find another example
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that we could just pick up
and replicate in Haryana.
and replicate in Haryana.
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We knew that we had to craft
our own journey.
our own journey.
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But anyway, we jumped right in
and as we jumped in,
and as we jumped in,
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all sorts of ideas started flying at us.
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People said, "Let's change
the way we recruit teachers,
the way we recruit teachers,
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let's hire new principals and train them
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and send them on international
learning tours,
learning tours,
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let's put technology inside classrooms."
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By the end of week one,
we had 50 ideas on the table,
we had 50 ideas on the table,
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all amazing, all sounded right.
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There was no way we were
going to be able to implement 50 things.
going to be able to implement 50 things.
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So I said, "Hang on, stop.
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Let's first at least decide
what is it we're trying to achieve."
what is it we're trying to achieve."
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So with a lot of push and pull and debate,
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Haryana set itself a goal
which said: by 2020,
which said: by 2020,
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we want 80 percent of our children
to be at grade-level knowledge.
to be at grade-level knowledge.
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Now the specifics of the goal
don't matter here,
don't matter here,
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but what matters
is how specific the goal is.
is how specific the goal is.
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Because it really allowed us
to take all those ideas
to take all those ideas
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which were being thrown at us
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and say which ones
we were going to implement.
we were going to implement.
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Does this idea support this goal?
If yes, let's keep it.
If yes, let's keep it.
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But if it doesn't or we're not sure,
then let's put it aside.
then let's put it aside.
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As simple as it sounds,
having a very specific goal right up front
having a very specific goal right up front
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has really allowed us to be
very sharp and focused
very sharp and focused
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in our transformation journey.
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And looking back over
the last two and a half years,
the last two and a half years,
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that has been a huge positive for us.
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So we had the goal,
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and now we needed to figure out
what are the issues, what is broken.
what are the issues, what is broken.
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Before we went into schools,
a lot of people told us
a lot of people told us
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that education quality is poor
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because either the teachers are lazy,
they don't come into schools,
they don't come into schools,
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or they're incapable,
they actually don't know how to teach.
they actually don't know how to teach.
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Well, when we went inside schools,
we found something completely different.
we found something completely different.
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On most days, most teachers
were actually inside schools.
were actually inside schools.
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And when you spoke with them,
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you realized they were perfectly capable
of teaching elementary classes.
of teaching elementary classes.
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But they were not teaching.
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I went to a school
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where the teachers were getting
the construction of a classroom
the construction of a classroom
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and a toilet supervised.
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I went to another school
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where two of the teachers
had gone to a nearby bank branch
had gone to a nearby bank branch
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to deposit scholarship money
into kids' accounts.
into kids' accounts.
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At lunchtime, most teachers
were spending all of their time
were spending all of their time
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getting the midday meal cooking,
supervised and served to the students.
supervised and served to the students.
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So we asked the teachers,
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"What's going on,
why are you not teaching?"
why are you not teaching?"
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And they said, "This is
what's expected of us.
what's expected of us.
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When a supervisor comes to visit us,
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these are exactly the things
that he checks.
that he checks.
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Has the toilet been made,
has the meal been served.
has the meal been served.
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When my principal
goes to a meeting at headquarters,
goes to a meeting at headquarters,
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these are exactly the things
which are discussed."
which are discussed."
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You see, what had happened was,
over the last two decades,
over the last two decades,
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India had been fighting the challenge
of access, having enough schools,
of access, having enough schools,
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and enrollment, bringing children
into the schools.
into the schools.
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So the government
launched a whole host of programs
launched a whole host of programs
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to address these challenges,
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and the teachers became
the implicit executors of these programs.
the implicit executors of these programs.
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Not explicitly, but implicitly.
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And now, what was actually needed
was not to actually train teachers further
was not to actually train teachers further
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or to monitor their attendance
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but to tell them
that what is most important
that what is most important
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is for them to go back
inside classrooms and teach.
inside classrooms and teach.
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They needed to be monitored
and measured and awarded
and measured and awarded
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on the quality of teaching
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and not on all sorts of other things.
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So as we went through
the education system,
the education system,
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as we delved into it deeper,
we found a few such core root causes
we found a few such core root causes
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which were determining, which were
shaping how people behaved in the system.
shaping how people behaved in the system.
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And we realized that unless we change
those specific things,
those specific things,
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we could do a number of other things.
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We could train, we could put
technology into schools,
technology into schools,
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but the system wouldn't change.
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And addressing these non-obvious
core issues
core issues
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became a key part of the program.
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So, we had the goal and we had the issues,
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and now we needed to figure out
what the solutions were.
what the solutions were.
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We obviously did not want
to recreate the wheel,
to recreate the wheel,
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so we said, "Let's look around
and see what we can find."
and see what we can find."
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And we found these beautiful,
small pilot experiments
small pilot experiments
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all over the country
and all over the world.
and all over the world.
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Small things being done by NGOs,
being done by foundations.
being done by foundations.
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But what was also interesting
was that none of them actually scaled.
was that none of them actually scaled.
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All of them were limited
to 50, 100 or 500 schools.
to 50, 100 or 500 schools.
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And here, we were looking
for a solution for 15,000 schools.
for a solution for 15,000 schools.
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So we looked into why,
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if these things actually work,
why don't they actually scale?
why don't they actually scale?
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What happens is that
when a typical NGO comes in,
when a typical NGO comes in,
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they not only bring in their expertise
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but they also bring in
additional resources.
additional resources.
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So they might bring in money,
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they might bring in people,
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they might bring in technology.
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And in the 50 or 100 schools
that they actually operate in,
that they actually operate in,
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those additional resources
actually create a difference.
actually create a difference.
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But now imagine that the head of this NGO
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goes to the head
of the School Education Department
of the School Education Department
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and says, "Hey, now let's do this
for 15,000 schools."
for 15,000 schools."
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Where is that guy or girl
going to find the money
going to find the money
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to actually scale this up
to 15,000 schools?
to 15,000 schools?
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He doesn't have the additional money,
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he doesn't have the resources.
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And hence, innovations don't scale.
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So right at the beginning
of the project, what we said was,
of the project, what we said was,
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"Whatever we have to do
has to be scalable,
has to be scalable,
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it has to work in all 15,000 schools."
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And hence, it has to work
within the existing budgets
within the existing budgets
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and resources that the state actually has.
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Much easier said than done.
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(Laughter)
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I think this was definitely
the point in time
the point in time
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when my team hated me.
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We spent a lot of long hours
in office, in cafés,
in office, in cafés,
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sometimes even in bars,
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scratching out heads and saying,
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"Where are the solutions,
how are we going to solve this problem?"
how are we going to solve this problem?"
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In the end, I think we did
find solutions to many of the issues.
find solutions to many of the issues.
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I'll give you an example.
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In the context of effective learning,
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one of the things people talk about
is hands-on learning.
is hands-on learning.
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Children shouldn't memorize
things from books,
things from books,
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they should do activities,
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and that's a more effective way to learn.
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Which basically means
giving students things
giving students things
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like beads, learning rods, abacuses.
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But we did not have
the budgets to give that
the budgets to give that
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to 15,000 schools, 2 million children.
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We needed another solution.
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We couldn't think of anything.
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One day, one of our team members
went to a school
went to a school
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and saw a teacher pick up sticks
and stones from the garden outside
and stones from the garden outside
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and take them into the classroom
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and give them to the students.
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That was a huge eureka moment for us.
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So what happens now
in the textbooks in Haryana
in the textbooks in Haryana
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is that after every concept,
we have a little box
we have a little box
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which are instructions
for the teachers which say,
for the teachers which say,
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"To teach this concept,
here's an activity that you can do.
here's an activity that you can do.
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And by the way, in order
to actually do this activity,
to actually do this activity,
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here are things that you can use
from your immediate environment,
from your immediate environment,
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whether it be the garden outside
or the classroom inside,
or the classroom inside,
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which can be used
as learning aids for kids."
as learning aids for kids."
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And we see teachers all over Haryana
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using lots of innovative things
to be able to teach students.
to be able to teach students.
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So in this way, whatever we designed,
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we were actually able to implement it
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across all 15,000 schools from day one.
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Now, this brings me to my last point.
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How do you implement something
across 15,000 schools
across 15,000 schools
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and 100,000 teachers?
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The department used to have a process
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which is very interesting.
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I like to call it "The Chain of Hope."
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They would write a letter
from the headquarters
from the headquarters
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and send it to the next level,
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which was the district offices.
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They would hope that in each
of these district offices,
of these district offices,
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an officer would get the letter,
would open it, read it
would open it, read it
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and then forward it to the next level,
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which was the block offices.
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And then you would hope
that at the block office,
that at the block office,
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somebody else got the letter,
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opened it, read it and forwarded it
eventually to the 15,000 principals.
eventually to the 15,000 principals.
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And then one would hope
that the principals
that the principals
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got the letter, received it,
understood it
understood it
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and started implementing it.
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It was a little bit ridiculous.
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Now, we knew technology was the answer,
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but we also knew
that most of these schools
that most of these schools
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don't have a computer or email.
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However, what the teachers do have
are smartphones.
are smartphones.
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They're constantly on SMS,
on Facebook and on WhatsApp.
on Facebook and on WhatsApp.
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So what now happens in Haryana is,
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all principals and teachers are divided
into hundreds of WhatsApp groups
into hundreds of WhatsApp groups
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and anytime something needs
to be communicated,
to be communicated,
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it's just posted across
all WhatsApp groups.
all WhatsApp groups.
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It spreads like wildfire.
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You can immediately check
who has received it,
who has received it,
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who has read it.
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Teachers can ask clarification
questions instantaneously.
questions instantaneously.
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And what's interesting is,
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it's not just the headquarters
who are answering these questions.
who are answering these questions.
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Another teacher from
a completely different part of the state
a completely different part of the state
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will stand up and answer the question.
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Everybody's acting
as everybody's peer group,
as everybody's peer group,
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12:16
and things are getting implemented.
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So today, when you go
to a school in Haryana,
to a school in Haryana,
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12:22
things look different.
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12:23
The teachers are back inside classrooms,
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12:26
they're teaching.
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12:27
Often with innovative techniques.
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12:29
When a supervisor
comes to visit the classroom,
comes to visit the classroom,
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12:32
he or she not only checks
the construction of the toilet
the construction of the toilet
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12:36
but also what is the quality of teaching.
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12:40
Once a quarter,
all students across the state
all students across the state
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are assessed on their learning outcomes
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12:45
and schools which are
doing well are rewarded.
doing well are rewarded.
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12:48
And schools which are not doing so well
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12:50
find themselves having
difficult conversations.
difficult conversations.
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12:53
Of course, they also get
additional support
additional support
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12:55
to be able to do better in the future.
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12:59
In the context of education,
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13:00
it's very difficult
to see results quickly.
to see results quickly.
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13:03
When people talk about systemic,
large-scale change,
large-scale change,
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they talk about periods
of 7 years and 10 years.
of 7 years and 10 years.
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13:10
But not in Haryana.
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13:12
In the last one year, there have been
three independent studies,
three independent studies,
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13:16
all measuring student learning outcomes,
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2579
13:18
which indicate that something fundamental,
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13:21
something unique is happening in Haryana.
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2090
13:23
Learning levels of children
have stopped declining,
have stopped declining,
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13:26
and they have started going up.
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13:28
Haryana is one of the few
states in the country
states in the country
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which is showing an improvement,
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13:33
and certainly the one that is showing
the fastest rate of improvement.
the fastest rate of improvement.
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13:38
These are still early signs,
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13:39
there's a long way to go,
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13:40
but this gives us a lot of hope
for the future.
for the future.
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13:44
I recently went to a school,
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13:46
and as I was leaving,
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13:48
I ran into a lady,
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her name was Parvati,
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13:50
she was the mother of a child,
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13:52
and she was smiling.
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13:53
And I said, "Why are you smiling,
what's going on?"
what's going on?"
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13:56
And she said, "I don't know
what's going on,
what's going on,
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13:59
but what I do know
is that my children are learning,
is that my children are learning,
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14:02
they're having fun,
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1451
14:04
and for the time being, I'll stop
my search for a private school
my search for a private school
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14:07
to send them to."
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14:09
So I go back to where I started:
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14:11
Can government systems transform?
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14:14
I certainly believe so.
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14:15
I think if you give them the right levers,
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they can move mountains.
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Thank you.
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14:20
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Seema Bansal - Education innovatorBCG's Seema Bansal asks: Can governments actually make a meaningful difference in education? And rapidly? Yes, it turns out.
Why you should listen
BCG's Seema Bansal is an associate director in the New Delhi office. Since joining BCG in 2000, she has worked extensively in financial services and telecommunications. Today, Bansal leads BCG's social impact and development practice in India, and works on disparate projects in fields including education, food security and nutrition and governance within government agencies.
Bansal earned an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, and a degree in electronics and electrical communication from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh.
Seema Bansal | Speaker | TED.com