Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Back to school Gifts galore for the students

A study of contrasts doesn’t get starker than this. As you drive down Madhapur, you are flanked by plush office complexes of MNCs and Indian IT majors, not to mention new housing communities. Drive further down towards Hafizpet and the swanky buildings seem to be a mirage. A few kilometres away from the IT hub is the Central Upper Primary School (CUPS) where children have gathered to study, beneath the shelter of trees. “We think students studying under a tree, without a permanent school building, happens only in rural areas. But this is reality,” says Smitha Naik of Project 511, an initiative started by the MV Foundation and Round Table to help enhance facilities in government schools.

Students of CUPS will soon move into their new building, thanks to help from Convergys. The IT major adopted the school four years ago when Project 511 was initiated. “The students get free mid-day meals and textbooks from the government but have to meet the expenses towards stationary, school bags and other necessities. This is tough for students coming from poor backgrounds. The monetary help from Convergys helped cover this cost in addition to the school premises. Plus, some of the employees coach students in Maths and English,” informs Smitha. She adds, “Interestingly, the employees tell students that they would provide as much help as then can, on the condition that the students would bring in more children to study. Today, the number of children has gone up and the dropout rates have fallen.”

“Our primary concern was to see that the school had a permanent building; in the present situation, you cannot run the school on a rainy day,” says Paresh Shah, managing director of Convergys. “Social responsibility is one of the seven core values of the organisation. We’ve been focusing on education and it has been rewarding. A couple of years ago, we had focussed classes to help students of seventh standard prepare for their exams. What we’ve not done is to see how far the students have benefited. For this, we rely on feedback from the teachers,” explains Shah. Convergys has contributed around Rs. 2.25 lakh to the school.

The school’s principal, Jai Gopal, affirms, “We have 400 students now. The attendance rate has increased. Of course, there are children of migratory workers who do not stay with us for a long period. But the opening of the school premises will help us start other activities in the long run.”

SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail