HYDERABAD: The lockdowns induced by the pandemic changed the way children receive education. While the privileged with access to online learning platforms were able to wade through the extended break in physical classes with relative ease, students, who study in government schools and are from marginalised backgrounds, were greatly affected, However, a Bengaluru-based education NGO, Bal Utsav, hopes to transform government schools.
Through their flagship programmes — iShaala and Sampoorna Shaala — the NGO imparts inclusive, innovative and internet-driven education. The most prominent difference between these two is that while an iShaala manages about 100 students, a Sampoorna Shaala manages more than 500 students.Bal Utsav has recently taken up a pilot project to convert the Mandal Parishad Primary School (MPPS) in Nizampet of Hyderabad into a model school called iShaala.
The four elements to achieve their goal are infrastructure, teacher development, scholarships and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). “The idea is to demonstrate that great public education through model schools is possible by optimising the use of resources,” Bal Utsav co-founder Ramesh Balasundaram tells Express.
Invaluable intervention
Apart from applying a fresh coat of paint to raise the spirits of children, they also build toilets to ensure that basic infrastructure is present in schools. To address the student to teacher ratio issue, they even hire temporary ‘para-teachers’, whose salary is paid by the NGO. The teachers are engaged in ‘teacher development programmes’. Additional janitors are also hired in a similar way.
Bal Utsav has also partnered with leading edtech firms to provide smart television sets with pre-loaded curriculum content for free in the schools. The children and teachers are then provided with a ‘learning licence,’ so that they can access the content on their smartphones or tablets.
Under the WASH program, Bal Utsav is installing a vending machine to dispense sanitary pads. Four coins would be given to each adolescent girl per month, which would fetch 12 pads (three in a pack). An incinerator is also installed so that the used pads can be disposed of safely. Well-performing students who wish to pursue higher education are offered also scholarships.
School complexes
“What we expect from the school through this engagement is a five per cent increase in enrollment year-by-year, three per cent reduction in attrition and their commitment to achieving better learning outcomes,” says Ramesh, adding that typically they invest about three to five years to transform a school.
Referring to the National Education Policy (NEP) which mentions ‘school complexes’, Ramesh envisions a group of five to seven schools sharing resources. “While the high school in the complex will be the Sampoorna Shaala, all other schools will become feeder schools, which share the resources (teaching, technology and others) with the high school,” explains Ramesh.
Bal Utsav, which has transformed more than 200 government schools in Karnataka, is presently targeting to convert one model school per district with a cluster of seven to 10 schools. They are foreseeing the transformation of around 300 schools across Telangana into such model schools, once the State government formally enters into partnership with them, which is under negotiation.