Experimento con 11 Li

This study arrives at conclusions about MSPs at two levels. The first is through an analysis of REI as MSP and then through cross case analysis of eight partnerships it draws conclusion about the worth of REI. The representativeness of the findings is very limited as the cases speak for themselves and at most are generalisable to other similar cases.

There are some other issues. Firstly the comparison with similar programmes in Jordan is undertaken on the basis of textual evidence available from the WEF sources

(Mckinsey & Co., 2005; Casidy, 2007; Unwin and Wong, 2012) and two research articles published by Bhanji (2008, 2012). Secondly the multisite, multi-scalar, multi partner programmes are in a web of relationships not only embedded in geography and time but also transcending geography and time simultaneously. However, this research was not designed to study networks. There is therefore a methodological limitation. Thirdly in critiquing the partnerships, as discussed in the case study chapters, I have brought forth the fact that the teachers who are mostly expected to be implementers of the partnerships were not involved in the initial discussions to launch partnerships. At the same time I have also not used participatory research approaches to understand partnerships either at the level of data collection or analysis. None of the stakeholders either at the level of the individual or organisation were active research collaborators in this research study. Finally, during the writing of the research findings, conscious and deliberate omission of some data, which could be used as evidence, was inevitable due to ethical considerations (Altheidde and Johnson, 1998, cited in Dunne, Pryor and Yates, 2005, p.79). There have been some limitations vis-à-vis access which I have discussed in the section 7.

9. Conclusion

The Rajasthan Education Initiative was launched by the GoR in the form of MSPs. This was an innovative program which requires a specialised approach to explore the mechanisms and processes rather than the strict traditional form of evaluation with narrow definition of empirical reality. The research was designed as a multicase study to understand the quintain – REI, over an extended period of time. My understanding of reality, which derives from the critical realist position, also guides me to view causality as intricately linked to structures. The methods which I followed for this evaluation study are part of the social anthropological paradigm and my primary concern here, as explained earlier, has been to describe and interpret. Finally in this chapter I also discussed my positionality in terms of negotiating access and how it affected the course of the field work and access to data whilst at the same time giving me insights into politics of partnerships and research.

Chapter 4

The Rajasthan Education Initiative

1. Introduction

This chapter introduces the Rajasthan Education Initiative (REI), the focus of this research study on MSPs. Claims about REI, its goals, mission and how far it has travelled so far are explored using official websites of the partners engaged in the initiative, REI documents and other internet resources, interview and observation data. This chapter thus addresses the first and the second research questions – ‘Why did the GoR initiate the REI and invite multiple providers to support public education service delivery?’ and ‘What are the key features of REI?’

A review of the REI literature and interviews with various actors i.e., government officials, programme partners in REI explores the central assumptions and propositions that underpin the REI as these relate to improved service delivery; the key actors and their goals; the processes that resulted in the REI; the factors which influenced the early development and launch of the REI; the basis for inter-organisational collaboration to deliver educational services and the expected benefits of REI.

I start off with a discussion of the REI backstory – its origin and its relationship with other global education initiatives. The history of development of REI and the key actors involved in the launch of the programme are chalked out to portray the multi-scalar connections of the programme. The analysis thus points towards the presence of transnational alliances liaising (advocating) for interventions at the local and regional level, and consequent adoption and enforcement of such interventions at the region-specific level whereby meanings get translated and/or reconstructed by local actors and players.

This chapter is divided into five substantive sections. I start (i) with an analytic description of the origins of REI. Next I address (ii) typology of partnerships in REI, (iii)

Box 4.1 Excerpt from Chief Minister’s Speech

“to try and bring Rajasthan into, the basic structure, therefore into a framework of a developmental state and to create an economy that will be at par with anything in India and even abroad. That’s the dream. But for that unless I have my basic infrastructure in place, my kids are on same wavelength as they would be internationally and my children are educated enough to take on that load, I would not be able to succeed.” (The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje Scindia; WEF-GEI video transcript. See appendix to chapter 4)

modalities and (iv) scale of the initiative before going into detailed discussion about (v) motives and actions of the major partners in the last section.