Shikshana Gangothri (SG) is a school project covers the rural district of Kolar in the state of Karnataka, about 68 kms from Bangalore. The Shikshana Gangothri project is run by Karuna Trust, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) working out of the city of Bangalore and Karuna Trust acts as our partner in supporting this project.
The primary goals of the SG project are to:
Create an integrated model of education and health care for the under-privileged residents.
Work through public and private partnerships with public schools and government organizations
Focus on three levels of education (pre-school, primary, and adult education)
Replicate the successful integrated education project implemented in another area
The SG project serves the district of Kolar, which is primarily an agricultural society, heavily dependant on climatic factors such as rain to help with cultivation. The community has not been able to progress and suffers from the lack of education.
Historically the SG project has had great successes. Dr. Sudarshan (Padma Sri Award Recipient) has been the overall coordinator of Karuna Trust over the years and the project is currently in year 3 of a clear five year implementation plan
The SG project covers 33 schools in the Kolar district of Karnataka. The schools employ 133 teachers to support over 3000 students. The students are approximately evenly split between males and females, who travel an average of two to four kilometers each to get to school. In addition to the more traditional student population, the schools also support 25 “anganwadis,” which are day-care centers for working mothers with small kids between the ages of 0 and 6yrs. SG also supports 6 volunteers, skills training for teachers, school materials for children, and capacity building and restructuring of the schools.
The community served by the Shikshana Gangothri project is a very rural community in a drought prone district of Karnataka, with a high uneducated population.
SG focuses on a combination of formal and non-formal education. For kids in the age group of 6-15, the focus is on more formalized education to minimize school drop-out rates and for adolescents and adults, the focus is on literacy. In addition to education, the project also focuses on child attendance, monitors the quality of meals provided to students, and ensures a hygienic environment. The schools also hold monthly review sessions amongst parents, teachers, and the townspeople to ensure follow-through.
Shikshana Gangothri has a much wider reach than most other projects by employing 6 volunteers, one to watch over the overall Karuna Trust and 5 others (3 in the Hollur Village and 2 in Idagur Village) covering 4 schools each. Special Training programs are developed and conducted regularly to the teachers; In addition, health camps are conducted to impart the importance of hygiene to teachers and school officials.
Over the last couple of years, Asha has disbursed nearly $13,000 to the SG project. With this WAH fundraiser, the proposal is to raise approximately $10,000 for the year from Aug 2009 to Sept 2010.
With the funds raised through the WAH program, not only will Asha be able to support the 3100+ students. For the year 2009-10, Asha will also be reiterating to Karuna Trust the importance of metrics, such as:
Reduction in Dropout Rate
Increase in New School Admissions
Teacher Absenteeism Reduction
Student Attendance Improvement
Improvement in number of Toilets per School
Reduction in number of Sick Students
Objective Feedback from School Principals/Teachers
