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The
literacy mission is based on 2
objectives i.e.
1.
All Children (6-14 years) must attend full time formal schools.
2. Any
child out of school is a child labourer.
From
an urban educated middle class viewpoint it is easy to say "
All children must attend school".
However
in a real life situation, for rural areas with illiteracy, endemic
poverty, population pressures, lack of economic opportunity, the
above phrase holds no value as the underlying question in the
minds of parents of children in the school going age are
How
will it benefit me (the parents)? (Benefit in simple grass root
terminology is how much money can the child earn in a job for the
family after he
finishes his education)
This
simple question is made complex by a variety of different factors
in operation at the rural level, specially in backward areas like
Mewat
1.
When educated youth are not getting jobs why should I waste my
money in educating my son. It would be better to get him to learn
a skill so that he is productive from an early age?
2.
When the quality of education imparted is so poor and when there
are not enough teachers in the school and the school is ill equipped
then why should I waste my money on education?
3.
If my son does not learn to help me in the fields today how will
he learn how to take care of himself? When my son helps me today I
get money in the pocket today and not after his education(???)
4.
What incentive is the government giving me for getting my children
to study? (the government today provides primary children with
midday meals in the vain hope that this greed will increase
enrollment in the schools) - What Parents and Children do is
Enroll in the school and come when the midday meal is being
distributed or stay till the time the midday meal has not been
distributed.
5.
With no parental support i.e. with nobody educated in the family
there is no support to the child. He is already at loss to cope
with the language and on top of that the various subjects he
reads. There is no concept of mentoring or tuitions as we see in
the urban areas. On top of this the demands of the teachers who
are ill trained and are not motivated enough to encourage the
child who already suffers from various complexes and fears.
6.
An additional dimension is the education of the girl child where
there is separate domain of problems i.e.
a.Girls are to be married of and for producing children, why
do they need to study.
b.As the girls father or husband will take care of her,
why should she study.
c.If the girl studies she might not find a good educated
husband so why get her to study
d.As most of the schools in the middle and secondary levels
are not easily accessible and with poor transportation who will
protect my daughter if I send her far.
HOWEVER
child growth remains same both in the urban and rural areas i.e.
the rate at which inputs need to be given to any child remains
same. In the urban setup (mostly) the child starts early as he
already has educated parents. This is followed by play school and
by the time he is ready to go to the formal school the socialization
for formal schooling is complete. On top of that there is a total parental
support backed by finances and no family pressure.
The
children in rural areas (specially backward ones) neither have
educated parents, nor play schools and neither have parental
backing nor finances for education. On top of it when the child
goes to school he is under tremendous pressure in the school as it
is difficult to cope with studies and pressure at home as household chores needs
to be done (no domestic help available) like looking after the
field, talking care of the animals in the house as well look after
the younger sibling. In this environment we expect them to compete
with city children and when we come across village children and if
they make a mistake we loudly complain " There is no scope for
these children, they will never learn".
With
GH.com NON NEGOTIABLES in
education what we are trying to do is as follows
1.
To hand hold the child before he enters the formal government
school through the Bridge School, Something like a play school
where the child learns the concept of formal schooling, becomes
comfortable with formal education and language and enjoys
education. This is also a means to counsel parents on schooling
and education. The bridge school has also become an important
route to teach basic hygiene and nutrition. Questions like
why is it important to wash hands, why should you wash your eyes in
the morning and rinse your mouth after meals etc. Additional areas
in health and hygiene include what do you do in case of diarrhea,
what do you do in case of stomach upsets, fevers etc.
2.
Put education on the priority map of the people in the village
(and subsequently in the area). This includes enumerating the
benefits of education. To be later dovetailed into this literacy
campaign is a Resource center with a library cum reading room.
This will allow the students access to reference books as well as
be a single window for job openings in the cities nearby.
3.
To show that greed and incentives are not required for school
enrolment. What is required is explaining the benefits of
education, motivating people to educate their children and MOST
IMPORTANT to increase the quality of formal education.
4.
Create a peer pressure in the village with regard to education. Also
to create a competition in the area, on which child will be the
first to become a doctor and an engineer. Encouragement to be
given in terms of Reference material and scholarships for bright
and poor students.
5.
Encourage girls to study. To motivate and push parents to send
their daughters to the bridge school. To get them to understand
that girl education is more important than a boys as a " girl
educated means a family
educated. "
We hope when we have
sufficient girl students we can push the government to start a
medium and senior school for girls.
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