Vidya Shilpa - Improving Education in Slum Schools

Overview

“Before Madam Sarita (a Yuvacharya) came, we used to argue and fight in the class every day. She taught us how to stay calm and concentrate better with meditation. We also learned how to be nice to each other. There are no more fights in the class now. We laugh and enjoy class every day.”

– Yashoda, 12yrs old, Student, Sriramapura Govt. Girls High School

One out of every three students who start primary school in India ends up dropping out before finishing school. Even when they continue school, many don’t demonstrate learning commensurate with their grade. Roughly 30-40% of students in Class IV-VI in government schools do not have the basic ability to read and write. With no one to guide and mentor, these students from poor families turn away from school and find refuge in crime, drugs, and child labor.

Understanding that there is a need to augment the existing education mechanism, we initiated Vidya Shilpa – a program that includes engaging with students, parents, teachers and school administrators to make education delivery more efficient. Over 7000 students from across urban slums in Bangalore have benefited from our efforts. Attendance levels in the schools where we worked increased by 10%.

What change did we bring?

We were able to help the children by ensuring that the child and his education is adequately supported. There was a marked improvement in the teacher’s effectiveness, resulting in improved attendance and performance of students in academics. Apart from this, hygiene and cleanliness of students and student’s interpersonal relationship saw a positive transformation.

How does the journey look so far?

• Over 30 government schools in slum areas catering to around 7000 children were adopted
• 1496 students who were unable to read/write in Kannada became literate through Utthana (special) classes
• Average attendance of students improved by 10%
• Over 250 students rejoined school
• 10-30% increase of the parents' participation in their child’s education across schools
• Over 2700 children participated in medical and environment awareness camps conducted as a part of this initiative

How did we work?

We conducted the following programs as a part of this project:

• Utkarsh Yoga and Medha Yoga for students – Workshops aimed at improving the intellectual and emotional faculties of students and helping them tap into their full potential
• LIVE (Lessons in Value Education) for Teachers/Administrators - An effective workshop to bring self-awareness to values and how to nurture these values in the children they teach
• KYC (Know Your Child) for Parents – Programs that make parents take greater responsibility for themselves, their children, and understand their needs better
• Regular SDMC (School Development Managing Committee) and Parent-teacher meetings to ensure better infrastructure and greater involvement in child’s development

What did we learn?

A large proportion of India has the educational infrastructure in place. However, to ensure good learning outcomes, further involvement of parents and school administration in the child’s education has to be encouraged.

How can you contribute?

Mentoring and guidance that a student receives out of school are very important to ensure the growth of the student. We would like to expand the scope of these projects to include more schools and children.