Bengaluru: Students of Hoodi Government High School had no one to teach them about the exciting world of computers as their computer lab lay unused and dusty without a teacher because of inadequate funds. Thanks to relentless efforts of Acharyas for a Better Community (ABC), they are now computer literate.
While Mr Ranjan Jain, the director of a reputed appliance company, has pitched in to pay the salary of the teacher, the community has contributed with books, projectors and furniture.
In the summer of last year, Pattandur Agrahara Primary School in Whitefield was falling apart due to utter neglect and lack of renovation. It had about 38 students huddled together in an old building that looked like crumbling at the slightest shake. Not only did the volunteers get the school renovated, they also got volunteer teachers to bring the standard of education up. The school now has a strength of 95.
The Government PU College at Varthur is another story of what a community can do if they come together and join hands. “We had gone there for a spot fix and the plight of the school was hard to see.” says Mr Vikas Chandra, who is a volunteer with ABC. “The roof was leaking, the lights were out, the fans didn’t work, the bathrooms were broken and leaky and it felt like the roof would fall apart any moment. There were more than 800 students at that time.”
Saddened by the deplorable condition, they decided to raise funds through crowd funding. They raised '38,000. Not only did they breathe new life into the school’s infrastructure, they also installed CCTV cameras and started preparatory classes for the students who are interested in pursuing engineering courses after their PU. About 70 students come to these classes and are more than happy to avail of such an opportunity, he says. “We don’t have to tell them or force them. We orgnaise these extra classes on Sundays and they come happily. Our volunteers visit the college for regular classes as well,” he says.
ABC was started in 2015 by Naveen Kumar and Harshavardhana, two friends who were passionate about bringing equality in education in economically backward areas. However as they delved deeper, they realised that getting a child admitted to a private school wasn’t enough. “We were working on education in slums at the time and we even got a few children admitted to private schools, but they were treated unfairly. It was impossible to bridge the gap between their lifestyles and the other children at these schools, take care of their transport, assignments etc. We decided that a community effort would work much better,” explains Kumar. They have reached out to 35 government schools in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Chittoor so far.
With around 160 volunteers, the organisation takes additional classes in mathematics, English, computer application and science and also organises extracurricular activities, like theatre workshops, cultural activities and painting competitions. The aim is to provide an experience similar to that of any other private school, says Naveen. “We want to give the children in the government schools the similar exposure as that of a private school through extra hours of classes and extracurricular activities.” The volunteers take turns to teach students in various localities twice a week and sometimes even for five days, he adds.
A self-funded initiative, its first education reform drive started at a government school in Kundanahalli Colony and it has been unstoppable ever since. The community has organised over 40 events at government schools. They plan to introduce a mobile library for the children as well next month, as soon as the kids are back from their vacation. “We have collected more than 500 books and are still sorting through. We want it done before the school begins.”
The community is also planning to introduce specially designed workbooks on various subjects for children who lack basic education. “Some of them join school directly at first standard and there is no sense of pre-school education. These workbooks are to fill in the blanks that will make understanding the subject easier,” Kumar says. The volunteers also prepare students who are interested in pursuing medical courses.
