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A second chance to learn

The Mahila Shikshan Vihar in Jalore, Rajasthan, is an institution with a difference. With time-bound programmes to enable the illiterate acquire basic education, the organisation has triggered a chain reaction, helping thousands of women experience the three R's. VIMALA RAMACHANDRAN on the miracle that is happening in some villages in the State.

IF an educated person were told that illiterate girls and boys could attain Grade V competence in just one and a half years or less, the statement would perhaps be dismissed. On the contrary, such a miracle does happen... at Mahila Shikshan Vihar, Jalore, where there are bridge courses for child workers. It is run by the M. V. Foundation in Andhra Pradesh and the Mahila Shikshan Kendra, run under the aegis of the Mahila Samakhya Project, Government of India.

Girls, boys and young women (12 to 30 years) join these centres and participate in an education programme that takes them through an intensive teaching scheme. Having dropped out at an early stage from school or never having been to one, they get an opportunity to study.

Based in Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, Mahila Shikshan Vihar, Jalore, is an institution with a difference. In a residential (crash) education programme, 91 women are divided into eight groups (nine to 12 members), according to their educational level and pace of learning. Teachers work with them, testing them and eventually preparing them to take the standard V exam. There is a teacher for every group and each day keeps pace with the learners. The women seem to have boundless energy for games, music, theatre, cycling and even driving the solitary autorickshaw parked on the campus. They manage their food, washing, cleaning, maintaining the premises and the kitchen garden. In the evenings and late into the night, these bright young people can be seen huddled together studying, teaching and learning. Twenty-four hours seem too short.

There is a misconception that illiterate youth are also ignorant. Most of these women have a wealth of knowledge and information - the problem is that they cannot read and write and have never participated in any formal education programme. They can recognise flora and fauna and are very much in tune with nature. They have learnt, early in life, to manage their responsibilities. Many of them have experienced the ups and downs of poverty and social discrimination. Many are married, some have children, some are widows, others deserted or even abandoned. Never would they have thought that some day they would go to school. Therefore, when Lok Jumbish workers talked about this unique educational programme in their villages, many of the girls had to struggle to convince their families. Given the prevailing status of women in rural Rajasthan, it was almost unthinkable to send adolescents and young women out of the community to study. But, when they did go out, they brought back with them tremendous energy and a resolve to succeed.

At the Mahila Shikshan Vihar, they are first taught how to live in a such a set-up and get into a routine of study, games and extracurricular activities. Teachers and senior students teach them personal hygiene. They are given two pairs of clothes of their choice - most of them choosing the salwar-kameez. The dormitories double as classrooms during the day. Each student is given a trunk, a bedroll and space for toiletries. At the crack of dawn, they get busy with personal chores. The groups are allocated different duties by rotation - cleaning, washing, cooking, gardening, childcare. A schedule would be like this: 9 a.m. getting ready, heavy breakfast. At 10 a.m. prayers, singing. Classes after assembly up to 1. p.m.. A hot snack and tea. Work after a short rest.

Mothers visit their children at the day-care centre on the campus. The students reassemble and work up to 4 p.m.. It is then games time - predominantly kho-kho. For most of them, when the traditional Rajasthani dress that covered them from head to toe was mandatory, the salwar-kameez is a liberating experience, giving them greater mobility. Sometimes evenings are spent singing, play-acting in the pursuit of creative activities. The group in-charge of cooking gets busy with dinner and it is study time again. In between one can see them cycling, playing and behaving like children.

Starting with Grade I books, each group gradually works its way up to the next grade - sitting for an examination as and when it is ready. The fast learners can move from one group to another according to their pace and teacher assessment: mathematics, Hindi, science, craft. The MSV does focus on building self-esteem and confidence. The students talk about societal values and norms, poverty, and a host of issues that affect them. They learn about the Lok Jumbish programme, go on short tours to villages nearby and discuss the importance of education. They groom themselves to become Lok Jumbish functionaries when they graduate.

The idea of setting up such a condensed residential programme was explored when Lok Jumbish functionaries realised that they could not hope to involve women at all levels unless a serious effort was made to create a pool of educated women. So, a pool of talent was created. Similar centres were being run at another Government women's education programme, (the Mahila Samakhya at Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh). Lok Jumbish adapted the model to suit the needs of Rajasthan. Women joining these centres were assured of employment in the project and expected to sign a bond promising to work on the project for three years.

The cost per student per month at Jalore is about Rs. 1,800. This includes boarding and lodging, books, two pairs of clothes, teacher salaries, day-care centres (including food and medical care) for children, building maintenance and running costs and day-to-day running expenses. (on an average, teachers are each paid Rs. 3,500 a month). This does not include village-based mobilisation, teacher training, development and publication of books, as these expenses are met from the Lok Jumbish project. Teachers are selected and trained on the job and the regular Lok Jumbish books are used.

This experiment demonstrates that it is possible to help women feel the joy of education. As an exercise, designing and running time-bound programmes to enable illiterate youth acquire basic education is an activity that is bound to pay rich dividends.

Unless we break the vicious cycle of illiteracy and the lack of formal educational opportunities for the underprivileged, universal elementary education can never be made a reality. What is the use of reservations for disadvantaged communities when most of them are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy? The Mahila Shikshan Vihar way may set off a chain reaction that will lift the ghunghat (purdah) of oppression and discrimination and set them free.

(To be continued)

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