The School Programme

The School Programme addresses municipal schools attended by children from the communities where Shaishav intervenes. These schools lack quality education and the drop out rate is high. The aim of the programme is to complement the existing education system by providing child centred, joyful, participatory and relevant learning to retain the children in school and thus prevent them from joining the labour force. Moreover, the programme seeks to involve the teachers, parents and the community in the improvement of the educational environment.

Intensive Education Programme

In five selected schools, Shaishav is running an Intensive Education Programme for children in 1^st to 4^th Standard. In these crucial years many children in the municipal schools do not even learn to read and write and their understanding of basic concepts remains weak. The focus of the Intensive Education is on basic reading and writing skills and improvement of concepts clarity.

Quality Education Programme

The Shaishav team alternates visiting 20 different municipal schools every week with our mobile van. This programme is presently reaching out to more than 10,000 children between 1^st and 7^th Standard. The van has audio-visual equipment, posters, exhibitions and teaching-learning materials on different subjects. A mobile library contains more than 2,000 books for children and more than 250 educational, creative and strategic puzzles and games. The Shaishav team uses these resources together with structured exercises, songs, stories and drama. We give a lot of importance to life skills and value education as well. The children are encouraged to work together in groups with project-related topics to promote independent and interactive learning. Our focus in these schools is not to cover the entire syllabus, but with the help of the teachers to identify topics which the children find difficult to understand. The intention is to do demonstrative teaching that can improve the quality of education and make the school environment more attractive.

In collaboration with the schools, Shaishav organises Balmelas (Educational Theme Fairs). The Balmelas are also conducted in municipal schools which are not covered during our regular visits and in some private schools. Each Balmela has a theme, for example science, geography, creativity or child rights. In different classrooms different theme related activities are conducted and the children rotate between the classrooms. The prime focus in Balmela is on experiential learning with concept clarity and active participation of the children. Teaching Learning Materials are developed in advance according to the theme. Shaishav has made path-finding experiments in Balmela that are now mainstreamed and adopted by all schools in Gujarat. Shaishav also organises Summer Vacation Camps at the schools to ensure that the children stay in touch with educational activities and remain in school after the break.

Participation and Community Link

At each school where Shaishav intervenes, we have formed Balsamiti (Children’s Committees) which take an active part in planning and initiating activities. The Shaishav team has regular dialogues, meetings and training sessions with the teachers to increase their motivation and develop skills and methodology. A core group of teachers from the different schools has been formed, and they undertake an active role in shaping of programme activities. According to the governmental District Primary Education Programme (DPEP), all municipal schools are requested to establish School Education Committees, Parents-Teachers Associations and Mothers-Teachers Associations to improve the educational environment. However, at present these forums function only on paper and hardly any meetings take place. Parents need to be made aware of their responsibility to attend these forums and the schools must be encouraged to make them functional. In collaboration with the local municipal school board, Shaishav intends to sensitise and conduct trainings with parents and teachers regarding their roles and responsibilities in these forums.

 BACK