The Issue of Sameness among CSOs and NGOs in the Public Education Sector: A Sure Shot Way of Destroying the Organization

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play crucial roles in addressing various social, economic, educational, and environmental challenges. The roles played by CSOs are undeniably significant. These organizations have been pivotal in driving reforms, advocating for policy changes, and implementing grassroots-level interventions aimed at improving educational outcomes. However, a critical issue that threatens the existence of CSOs working in the public education sector is the pervasive sameness among these organizations. The sameness among them is so widespread that if one masks the name and submits the organizational presentation, donors and other stakeholders will not be able to distinguish one from another. This homogenization in their structures, objectives, and methodologies stifles innovation, limits their impact, and ultimately leads to organizational stagnation and, ultimately, the destruction of the organization.

One of the main arguments that CSOs may present is that they are alike because the fundamental structure of classroom instruction is the same. Teachers adhere to a familiar sequence of activities: taking attendance, collecting homework, questioning students, using textbooks, and administering tests. Therefore, even in implementation and grassroots interventions, the workshops, teacher training programs, curriculum development, and community engagement efforts, while named differently, follow similar templates. CSOs believe that the persistence of traditional practices in education requires them to be stable and conservative, which in turn results in sameness.

However, even when implementing new ideas and bringing about transformative change, the sameness among CSOs working in that domain seems perplexing.

It is not that CSOs do not encounter problems due to such sameness. On a frequent basis, they face issues in the form of: (1) donor fatigue, (2) confusion among stakeholders, (3) challenges in monitoring and evaluation, (4) difficulty in scaling, (5) difficulty in collaboration and partnerships, (6) competing for the same pool of limited resources, (7) duplication of efforts, and (8) challenges in negotiating with Government and bureaucracy.

The issue of sameness among CSOs is also rooted in our general tendency to stick with our current beliefs because changing beliefs would require significant cognitive effort. However, the heartbeat of CSOs, that is, donors, also plays a significant role in generating this sameness among CSOs. Donors often prefer funding projects that have a proven track record of success, which reinforces a fixed mindset among CSOs and NGOs. Organizations conform to donor expectations by replicating familiar models rather than proposing innovative, high-risk projects. This conformity perpetuates a cycle of sameness where funding priorities shape organizational strategies.

The issue of sameness among CSOs in the public education sector is a complex and multifaceted problem, but it often goes unnoticed by education professionals, which adds to the problem. This issue of sameness makes an organization a "Kumbhakarna," possessing all abilities yet in deep slumber, unknowingly and unwittingly.

In the next post of this series, I will discuss solutions to the issue of sameness. What do you think are the possible solutions to this?