Mr. Shankar Prakash Jamjagale will present his MTP2 as per the details:

Date: 24th June, 2026

Time: 1430 - 1630 hrs.

Venue: C-TARA Conference Room No.1

Title: Study of activity-based learning in schools: A case study for Maharashtra

Guide: Prof. Priya Jadhav

Examiners:  Prof. Chaaruchandra Korde, Prof. Milind Sohoni

Abstract:

India's school education system, despite significant gains in enrollment, continues to face a deep learning crisis. ASER 2024 reports that only 43.3% of Class 5 students in rural India can read a Class 2-level text, and only 40% of students enrolled in Mumbai's BMC schools reach Class 10 (Praja Foundation, 2022). This crisis is not a failure of children; it is a failure of pedagogy.

This thesis investigates Activity-Based Learning (ABL) and Experiential Learning as viable, scalable alternatives to the rote-based, textbook-driven instruction that dominates formal schooling in India. The research is conducted across three primary sites in Maharashtra: ASHA Mumbai (Powai), a 20-year-old urban NGO supplementary education centre serving 250–275 underprivileged students; Ratnagiri District, a rural ZP school pilot implementing locally contextual ABL activities; and Dharashiv District  a rural ZP school scaling study using cadastral village maps for spatial learning. Nandurbar's Katri Village provides a supplementary context for a tribal school.

Data was collected through volunteer and teacher interviews  , classroom observation, student admission form analysis , timetable documentation, an interactive session with ZP Schools Teachers at Jawalka , Dharashiv District and four annotated cadastral maps.

Keywords: Activity-Based Learning, Experiential Learning, Community-Based Learning, Maharashtra, ASHA Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Dharashiv, Nandurbar, NEP 2020, Multigrade Classrooms, Cadastral Maps.