In 2017, the Azim Premji Foundation published a study on teacher absenteeism in government elementary schools. While many other studies claim an absenteeism rate of 20-25%, the APF study argues that the absenteeism rate is really only around 2.5-5%. It makes it a point to distinguish between absence and absenteeism, and takes into account that many cases of absence are the result of teachers being engaged in other academic/administrative/departmental work, as part of their duties as government employees. It also describes the often arduous effort that the teachers put in to improve conditions for their students. The report emphasises the need for systemic change to support the teachers and shift focus from accountability to motivating the teachers.
The brief was to create an informative poster out of the primary findings of this study, to be put up in the district institutes and field offices of the Foundation. My process for designing this poster included identifying and structuring salient data to form a cohesive narrative, feedback sessions with teachers and field workers in Uttarakhand, editing content, and visual design.
The plan was to translate this into multiple languages for all the field locations of the Foundation, but so far only the Hindi translation has been completed.
