Half-yearly report
SAHANIVASA
HALF YEARLY REPORT 2003-2004
on "Dalit Children's Access to Education, equity & Liberation"
Backdrop:
SAHANIVASA believes that education is the main tool for human being to lead
harmonious life. The economic status of a person influences the educational
status in the society. In Indian context the communities deprived of economic
resources are not able to access to educational ladders. As the poverty and
education are very much interlinked issues, the deprived communities have been
continuously kept themselves away from the education as they always find
justification of saying that because of their economic vulnerability, they can
not be access to education, Inspite of sate provided adequate spaces for such
education. The cultural hatred against the exploiters who are always so called
educators, the deprived communities developed culture of negating formal
education. That is the reason today we are far reach to 100% literacy among the
marginalized communities.
SAHANIVASA believes the education has to empower the people not in isolated
manner but in collective and also at community level. As long as few individual
get the educational opportunities the society and community can not be
liberated from the bondedness. Therefore, while attending to educate one group
of people we have to enter in to the areas where the entire community become
part of the total process. Therefore, SAHANIVASA Educational interventions
always has three components which are interlinked and support each other to
achieve the objectives of the education and empowerment process. We are only
grateful to ASHA's partnership with this process as :
Special Educational interventions for 15 Primary schools and also 8 High
schools.
Ensure community participation to successfully utilize the state provided
school facilities in the project area of 3 Mandals.
Link the formal education to the informal rights assertion struggles to support
and reciprocate to each other components to ensure the better results both in
education and access to the resources by the entire community.
Primary Schools
The mentioned below 15 Primary schools are functioning during this year. 5 out
of 15 are the new schools started based on the need and also the strength of
the children. The details of the centers are.
Consolidated details of Primary school children in 15 villages
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|SNo |School Name |Mandal |English |Maths |Science |
|1 |Gangadhara |G.D.N |A.Violet |G.Renu Prasad |J.Shobha |
| |Nellore | |Sophia |Naidu | |
|2 |Mukkalathur |G.D.N |G.Sarasa |M.Paradesi |R.Ammulu |
|3. |Nellepalli |G.D.N |P.Babu |P.Ramesh babu |N.Bujji Babu |
|4. |A.D.Kandiga |G.D.N |T.Gopi |G.Jayachandra |N.Lakshmana |
| | | | |Reddy |Reddy |
|5 |S.S.Konda |G.D.N |E.Prakash |V.Renuka |T.Hari |
| | | |Babu | | |
|6 |N.R.pet |Chittoor |K.Govardhan |K.Ganesh Kumar |K.Prasad |
|7 |Thalambedu |Chittoor |V.Sudheer |B.Nagabhushanam |R.Doraswamy |
| | | | |Reddy | |
|8 |Gangammagudi |S.R.Puram|K.Raja Mani |K.Bhaskar |P.Babu |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Due to drought and famine accumulated over years of failure of monsoon rains,
the children of all other castes also find it difficult to pay for their extra
coaching at outside. Hence, on their request and also request of the school
administration, all the poor children, irrespective of the caste have been
participating in the special coaching program.
This year the coaching has been started even before one month of the school
reopening. This has helped the students to understand the regular school
syllabus in much easier manner and prepare for the regular test.
The entire syllabus is completed by November and the vigorous revisions has
started then onwards.
Fortnightly and monthly test have been regularly conducted to assess the
students progress and to follow up with the dull students.
The main focus of coaching has been English, Maths and Science and the rest of
the subjects are requested and arranged with the regular school teachers to
concentrate. Only doubts will be clarified on the rest of the subjects.
The full time reading and preparations are done in the centers as the children
can not get any assistance from the parents in their respective houses due to
illiterate parents .
Parent's committees are formed at every high school level and once in bi-
monthly their meetings are regularly conducted where the teachers and
SAHANIVASA Director will sit together to listen to them and also motivate them
to allow the children to read in their houses. The parents meetings have been
very helpful for the teachers to understand the students problems.
Government Schools co-operation:
All government schools extend their cooperation except two centers. i.e.
N.R.Peta & G.D.Nellore. our teachers are diplomatically maintaining cordial
relationship even with them. The Head masters are occasionally invited to the
evening coaching program where they also encourage the children to study well.
We have also invited Headmasters for the parents meeting and the Headmasters of
Thalambedu, Nellepalli, S.S.Konda have participated in such meetings. The co-
coordinator has been consistently monitoring the teachers performances and the
teachers are well disciplined to run the special coaching strictly on the
timings allotted. For instance the coaching starts at 6 in the morning and ends
the first session at 7.15 and the second session starts at 7.45 and continue
till 9.30. Similarly in the evening starts at 4.45 and continue till 7.00.P.M.
depends on the students performance, teachers stay back till 9.00 P.M. to
assist the dull students.
Coaching is conducted for Half day in all holidays including Sunday.
Extra curricular activities
We know the 10th class students are overburden with regular school syllabus. In
order to keep up their interest and also provide new dimensions to their
education SAHANIVASA conducts elocutions competitions, essay writings and
drawing competitions on every third Saturday. So far we have conducted 3 essay
writing competitions on different themes. They are;
impact of the liquor and possible remedies to over come the issue
Impact of drought and its linkages to Ecology & Environment
Role of students in preventing the growth of communalism and fascism
The winners will be appreciated with small gifts in the farewell function
after the examination.
Strengthening of old students association
Old students have met twice both in the quarterly holidays - Dasara holidays &
Half yearly holidays - Pongal holidays at N.R.Peta and G.D.Nellore
respectively. Besides what they are going to offer to the community they have
also come out the list of the problems that they encounter in their higher
education and also employment places. It is also quite interesting and also
challenging to participate in their meetings to understand the youth aspiration
and interest. Two of our SAHANIVASA board members have participated in each of
the meetings who talk to the old students.
Linking with the wider level rights assertion campaigns and struggles.
The teachers and the old students are encouraged to participate in the on going
campaigns and struggles to assert the project area. The intervention of old
students has helped the bonded child labour to join in the regular schools.
This way bonded children have quit their jobs to join the bridge school run by
Government. They have also involved in other issues in the area. For instance,
the old students have exposed corruption in food for work schemes and
discrimination in midday meals scheme, with the support of parent's committees
and the teachers.
Mobile Library is the gift of ASHA in the New Year
We thank ASHA for the books sent to SAHANIVASA. It is considered as the gift in
the New year as the books arrived towards end of the year 2003. A detailed
discussion has been carried on in the teachers meeting on January 2nd who have
expressed their concern and also interest to take the books in systematic
manner to the students. All the high school teachers ad also elementary school
teachers have decided to act on disseminate the books to the students while
simultaneously they also engaged to read the books and also transfer the
information to the students. This is quite encouraging to the entire
SAHANIVASA education centers and student community. The details of books that
we have got from ASHA is : -
+----------------------------------------------------+
|Sl.No|Name of the Publishers |No.of |
|. | |Books |
|1. |Tulika Publishers |44 |
|2. |Childrens Book Trust |7 |
|3. |National Book Trust |43 |
|4. |Telugu Titles |168 |
|5. |Other Publishers |9 |
|6. |Other Publishers Telugu |48 |
| |Total |319 |
+----------------------------------------------------+
Towards end of this academic year we will get the feedback of students and
teachers which will help us to improve the method of using books in much more
systematic manner than present way.
Regular visits and monitoring the schools.
SHANANIVASA project Director has been regularly visiting both primary schools
and also the high schools to encourage the students. The movement register is
maintained for the visit of education coordinator and also the Project
director. Education coordinator has been spending time regularly as full timer
in all the schools. He has been sent to the training outside to pick up his
skills and also to assist the teachers in encouraged meaner. All the teachers
meet once in every month for 2 days where the Project Director and also
educational Coordinator review the progress and plan for the month. In order to
continue their special coaching both morning and evenings these monthly
meetings are conducted from 10.00 A.M to 3 P.m.. Once in every fortnightly the
educational coordinator meet both primary school teachers and high school
teachers separately. This way the education program has been systematically
followed up and carried on.
We thank ASHA for the support extended to carry on this program and we know
without the partnership of ASHA we will not be able to render the services to
the children's education in the project area.
Thanking you,
Submitted by
[pic]
(P.SURIA RAJINI)
Project Director
26th January-2004
