SOCIETY
Staying in school
MALVIKA KAUL
|
An NGO in Jaipur helps students, and parents, from the economically weaker sections prepare for the rigours of organised learning.
|
An example to emulate: The Amagarh Bodhshala in Jaipur.
BENAZIR AKHTAR and Aseem Mohammad (both barely 12) live in a slum located in Amagarh basti in Jaipur city, Rajasthan. They go to Amagarh Bodhshala — a school run by the local community and an NGO, the Bodh Shiksha Samiti, which, for a quarter century, has been working towards quality education for poor urban and rural children.
Most of the families in Amagarh are Muslims and polish colourful stones (for decoration and jewellery) to make a living. Localities like Amagarh are "hard to reach" as far as education is concerned, says Yogendra, Secretary of Bodh. There are no private or government schools nearby. Most parents are illiterate, daily wage earners who dream of educating their children but don't know what it takes to just keep the child in school. Neither they, nor their children, are prepared for the responsibility and rigour of a regular school.
But Bodh has managed to help parents and students make this giant leap; its pre-school programme enables families to train for and stay in school. In fact, the Bodhshala has a shala poorv — early-school, quite similar to the city playschools where children come to just have fun but eventually get trained for the big school.
Early childhood and education
The recent Education for All (EFA) Global monitoring report, "Strong Foundations: Early Childhood Care & Education", published by UNESCO, says that the connection between early childhood and primary education is crucial for achieving EFA goals. Very few countries in the developing world have integrated early childhood care, health and nutrition with education. The report says that pre-school programmes not only help in better brain development, but also improve performance of the child at the primary level. In a pre-school, issues like malnutrition and diseases can be addressed better.
Although city playschools in India have cosmetically adopted the "pre-school" concept, Bodh's experience has been that the poor and disadvantaged children stand to benefit even more from such programmes, however informal they might be. For, it is in a pre-school that children understand the concept of organised learning.
When Benazir and Aseem first came to Bodhshala around eight years ago, they had Batool aapa (means "aunt" in the local language), a mother-teacher in the shala poorva. Mother-teachers are the face of Bodh's pre-school programme — local women who give care and develop the three and four-year-olds' cognitive skills. Batool — who is nearly 70 — did not need textbooks; she used a dholak and lots of poetry to help Benazir and Aseem take their first steps. She was also their nurse, confidante and "mummy". To all the children, Batool aapa is a familiar figure, someone they can trust and relate to.
A programme that works
Bodh's mother-teacher programme is now part of the Programme for Enrichment of School Level Education (PESLE), initiated by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in India, and supported by the European Commission. This pre-school programme focuses on improving the child's social environment and prepares the community and the child for long-term education.
"While parents (from slums) have a strong desire to send their children to a school, they are not sure how to prepare the child for it," says Sayida Akhtar, another mother-teacher in Amagarh. Initially, children would come to the school and start crying for their mothers after 10 minutes. Since they all live close to the school, the children would simply go home each time they wanted to see their mother. "In the first six months, our efforts are to simply help the child understand that she or he has to stay in the classroom for some time," says Sayida.
As the mother-teachers are familiar with everyone in the neighbourhood, they also visit families and explain the kind of nutritious food the child's tiffin should have, emphasise daily hygiene and toilet training. The mother-teacher also informs families about immunisation and medical facilities available for children.
Overcoming barriers
Language and culture can be a huge barrier in education. Children may not understand what the teacher is saying because they pronounce words differently at home and may even use coarser language in the house. "In shala poorva, a lot of our time is spent in helping them say things differently," says Kanupriya, who teaches the four-plus students in Amagarh. "For a month or so, most students refer to a cup as `cope'. For them, that is the correct pronunciation. `Cup' is a new word for them."
Anil Kaur, 20, recalls her pre-school days in the Guru Tegh Bahadur basti Bodhshala. "The concept of attending school was new to so many in the Guru Tegh Bahadur basti. Children came without washing, wearing dirty clothes. Slowly, their parents started sending them to school, all clean and tidy. They too got into the habit of sending their child regularly to school." Today Anil teaches class II and III level students in another Bodhshala.
When Bodh first started primary level schools in slums across Jaipur and in some villages of Rajasthan, it noticed a clear pattern: the older children were always accompanied by their siblings, who were barely three or four. As most parents needed to work, the younger siblings were also sent to the school. Bodh noticed that many of the younger children picked up a lot of classroom behaviour and later adjusted better in primary school. Bodh saw an opportunity here — enrol students early so that they learn to enjoy school.
Bodh's concept of learning is largely based on self-discovery and innovation. Children start discovering their abilities and their environment in shala poorva. They also become more confident and independent after participating in various activities organised by the teachers. "The focus in my class is not on literacy. The child is learning to express, listen and observe. The world is opening up for her. We send them out on observation trips; they go around Amagarh and tell us what they have seen. Many children spot the chai wallah, goats and the local sweatshop. A few notice trees and the mountains in the background. They become more aware of their surroundings," says Batool.
Both Batool and Sayida observe that girls who come to pre-school have better chances of continuing their studies. "The girls and their parents become more confident."
Different methods
Of course, says Yogendra, the community has taken time to understand Bodh's unconventional ways of teaching. Even in higher classes, students don't really depend on textbooks for their lessons. The common image of a school involves a teacher (usually carrying a cane), a blackboard and a crowded classroom. The Bodhshalas don't fit the image. "Some parents ask what learning is happening when the children are usually seen singing and dancing in class," says Yogendra.
But for Bodh, learning is not simply about literacy. Most learning programmes for the poor do not focus on quality, innovation. "In Bodh, we aim to nurture individuals; we help the children learn to learn," he adds.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
