Minutes of the conf. call yesterday : Attendees : Mr. Raghunatha Rao (Jigani school rep.), Radhakrishna, Sanjeev, Anita, Vinod, Gaurav, Santhosh. 1. Where do the dropout kids go? Why ? Parents' illiteracy, poverty, family envmt, lure of small jobs etc. cause children to drop out. Jigani school mgmt tries to approach the families in which kids drop out to bring them back to school. Free education cannot be gven to all children because of the lack of funds. They try and do a door to door campaign to create awareness among parents. They put in extra effort for 'bright' students who drop out. 2. Where do the passing out kids go/do? They organize ITC - a one year course - its job oriented computer training. They get sponsorship for kids from the industrial estate. Some times the kids get entreprenueral training from the industries around - so as to train in carpentry, smithy, welding etc. and set up their own shop. When can the children get the training in skills ? They can get it either after 10th or before 10th std. They are better equipped to manage a store etc. if they hav done at least 10th std. before being self-employed. 3. Is it just an other school or do they have any thoughts or measures to try and reach out to each child in the school? They try and go after every child who drops out. They approach the kids' parents and try to get them back to school. They conduct special classes, remedial classes, special tests and give special attention to kids who find it difficult. The teachers are determined in making every child make use of the school. They want every child to pass out of the school successfully. Extra curricular activities -quiz, debates etc. are highly encouraged. Kids have an opportunity to be a part of different kinds of sports activities. Students have expressed interest in social work, farming etc. They try and identify each child's interest to support and encourage them. 4. Caste ratio in school? Will send detailed no.s later - approx. 35% of the students belong to scheduled caste community. 5. Is the school sensitive to caste issues and actively try to be fair? There is no discrimination of any sorts in the school. No caste system in the school. The mgmt has representation from all communities. Are there any gender issues in the area ? Do girl children get married away early ? What are the issues in the area ? Ppl in the region are sort of aware of govmt. policies and a bit more progressive. Some cases of forced underage marriages do happen. The school tries to change things by giving 'General talks' periodically to sensitise children to issues. The mgmt talks to kids. Health/Medical camps are held for kids regularly etc. 6. Do they cater to any disabled children (physical) They do take care and have a few children who are afflicted with 'polio'. They give physio therapy, provide calipers and provide all kind of support that they can. Need more info on : 1. Last 3 years' enrollment ( Note: 10% drop out is the total no of students who drop out of the school in a year ) 2. Caste ratio - get exact numbers. 3. Gender ratio - get exact numbers, especially for higher classes.