SagarWatch@Sachin Jyotishi “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”― Leo Tolstoy
You might have been told those adventure-tales of your parents and grandparents of how they used to commute miles to reach schools to liberate themselves. After a span of seventy years of independence, you may still find these tales buzzing in India.
What happens when a big country like India has over 3 million children living on the streets? Or has more than 150 million children working as bonded labourers? Or one out of every six girl child are not lucky enough to live to see her 15th birthday? What happens when in spite of having a national policy for compulsory primary education, only 50% of children have access to education?
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The assertion "Children are the future of the nation" stops making sense, then! In fact, it sounds like an ominous prophecy. So how can we explain that even after 60 years of independence, half of India's children are illiterate? Despite identifying primary education as a key thrust area and having one of the largest networks of schools in the world?
So, what is the solution? If we look around the solution is right before us. Yes, we don’t claim that it would eradicate the problem to its fullest but it will surely help to an extent. SOW- what is SOW? let’s find out!
Lashkari’s Beginnings with Doorstep School
Lashkari, a graduate in child psychology, was doing her Masters in Social Work at the time. As part of her project, she was looking in on a municipality school in Cuffe Parade where she noticed children dropping out barely after 3rd or 4th standard.
She decided to pay a visit to their families in slums, to convince the kids and their parents about the importance of schooling. However, when she visited their homes, she was in for a shock, learning that kids as young as five or six were working as child labourers. “We need their earnings to feed the family,” most of the parents had told her. Education was the last priority in their penniless households.
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“If the children cannot go to school, why don’t we bring the school at their doorstep?” thought Lashkari. Her idea was instantly admired by fellow social workers and within a while, Cuffe Parade slum saw the first Door Step School. Her teacher Rajani Paranjape supported her utmost in founding the school.
Beyond the syllabus
The school has even opened special study centres for additional guidance to students, who are mostly first-generation learners in their families. These study centres operate in the evening hours, where students can revise and practise their lessons which are often not taught properly at their government schools.
The First-Step Forward programme confirm that all the children know the basic alphabets and numerical digits by heart by class 1.
Alongside extra classes for reading, vernacular languages and extra-curricular learning, she has also advocated the introduction of a mental health programme for the students, most of whom grow up witnessing domestic violence, alcohol abuse and other traumatic incidents at their homes, which often affect their mental health severely.
On the other side of obstacles
There were indeed several challenges along the way. The concept of doorstep school, though generous, invited a lot of unnecessary attention. During classes in open street corners or footpaths, passers-by would gather around in curiosity, which distracted the students more often than not. The safety of the little children was another concern other than busy roads and areas.
But, Door Step School persisted all hurdles and has now emerged bigger than ever. With 50+ branches spread across Mumbai, the school boasts of alumni who have gone on to pursue commendable careers in engineering, accountancy, medicine, academics and what not! Many have even rejoined Lashkari’s core team and now teaches the present students of Door Step School.
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Reshma, a former student in Door Step School, is now pursuing her Masters in Social Work, inspired by her teacher Bina Lashkari. She also teaches nearly fifty students in the school at present. “I studied at Door Step School almost a decade ago, and Bina Ma’am later helped me get admission at Kolaba Municipal School. That’s how my education happened. I owe everything to Door Step School, so now I want to give back the same to my alma mater,” she shares.
The creativity of the students finds a special prevalence in Bina’s school, where students manage their very own journal – Humara Akhbar. From articles, poems, essays to drawings – every submission is published in this periodical and circulated among the classes.
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Lashkari believes that the family environment plays a crucial role in a child’s growth and learning. Most of these impoverished families fail to provide a peaceful, loving atmosphere to their kids. Their mothers and fathers go to work early in the morning before they even wake up from sleep. Often, parents try to compensate for their absence by giving 10-20 rupees daily to the kids, which they misuse to eat unhygienic food, or worse, get into drug addiction.
Thus, Lashkari makes sure that the teachers from her schools visit the families regularly and counsel them on child upbringing and behaviour. The students are also taught to distinguish the good from the bad so that their prospect at a bright future is not tarnished in any way.
Just imagine if this model can be applied nation-wide, wherever children don’t have access to schools, schools on wheels reaching there. Children will also be more excited to learn as it’s a new and different form of learning.
Definitely not in the time of the pandemic. But later, can we turn the old large scraped vehicles into classrooms?
If you like this idea, share it with others too…! Where there is a will,/ (wheel) there is a way, where there is a desire, there is a high-way.!
