| | | | | Case Studies | |
In our case studies section, we learn about a pair of Eureka teachers who have overcome great odds and become Eureka teachers.Their motivation is infectious and have inspired local children to jon the program. We also learn abour Ramachandran, a budding artist whom Eureka is helping.
| Volunteer Teacher: Kalpana from Alathur village (KV Kuppam) is an unpaid volunteer in Pratham’s BEP center. She is a graduate. She conducts classes both in the morning, between 6:00-7:30am and in the evening between 5:00-7:30pm. All the parents in the village speak very highly of her motivation and commitment. They spoke about how well the children improved since attending her classes. When asked how children wake up and attend classes so early in the day, parents said children actually wake up at 5:30am, even before the parents, to attend Kalpana’s class! |
Teacher Kalpana in her class
| Kalpana not only takes classes using the materials given to her, she creates her own materials. At the time of the visit, she was teaching children division. She handles about 43 children every day. The classes happen in her house. Younger children sit inside the house and older children in the verandah. Kalpana bought a black board with her own money and lets each child solve problems and use the board.
Kalpana lost her father 3 months back. All the parents and children have been extremely supportive. Kalpana herself suffers from a medical problem and spends nearly Rs. 1000 every month on medical expenses. We are thinking of arranging some support for her. Despite such obstacles, she has managed to restart her classes and conducts them regularly. She is a true role model to others.
| | Artiste Ramachandran gets help from Eureka: R.Ramachandran of class 11, resides in Randhom Colony Village of Vembakkam Block. He is very interested in drawing and has won various prizes at school level competitions. His drawing was published in Thinathandhi newspaper in students column “ Bramandam”.
Ramachandran lost his father and his mother is mentally ill and went missing. He lives with his aunt who is working as a daily wager. His ambition is become an artist and he is involved in designing banners etc .We are planning to enroll him in a drawing course. He has been receiving CSS Eureka scholarship since 5 years
| Ramachandran's artistic creation
| | First in her village!: Rajeswari is an ET (Eureka Teacher) in R.K Pet Block. She lost her father when she was in school and managed to complete her 10th Std with 80% marks. Her teachers helped her complete her 12th Std. She took up weaving job but did her Diploma in Teaching. She’s now doing her B.Sc (Maths) and has been an ET for the last 10 months. She is the first graduate in her village. Her dream is to continue as a teacher and help a student in her village become a Doctor | | | | |
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| | | | The Buzz from India
| | Bal Mahoutsav in Bihar showcases children's talents and draws a big crowd, ASER survey results reveal a disturbing statistic, Eureka children win prizes, recognition for AID India volunteer Mani and gender equality training for Eureka field staff. | | Bal Mahoutsav in Bihar: The Bihar AID INDIA team organized “Bal Mahoutsav”, the annual state level children’s festival with support from Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The event was organized in Arwal District. Nearly 5000 people attended the event in which 700 children, 100 volunteers, 25 dignitaries and several AID staff took part. The event started with the traditional lighting of the lamp. The library children organized stalls where they showcased their skills in science experiments, origami, painting, drawing, handicrafts and magic. Stalls where children made bulbs glow using potatoes and lemon and made motors run on old batteries were quite a hit with visitors. There were cultural shows including group songs and dances, skits based on folk tales, comedy and literary dramas of great writers like Premchand. This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to demonstrate their talents. The event had finals of several games like Cricket, Volleyball, Football, Carroms and Chess were held. There was a huge crowd of 300 people for the Volleyball match that took place between 7pm-10pm. Carroms and Chess saw the crowds cheering their respective blocks. The event ended with the prize distribution including awards for Best Library, Best Volunteer, Best Reader and others.
| ASER Survey Results Released: The Tamil Nadu ASER report - a survey of the state of education across the state - was released at a public function. Several NGOs attended the function, which was presided over by renowned educationists Dr. Vasanthi Devi and Dr. S.S Rajagopalan. The survey was conducted across 830 villages in 29 districts and covered 26019 students. It has findings on enrolment in Government and private schools, performance in reading and math skills, pupil-teacher ratio, teacher-classroom ratio, drinking water facility, mid-day meals, usable toilets and infrastructure as per Right To Education (RTE) norms. At the function, AID INDIA organized a training session for NGOs to understand the survey and its results.
Results from the survey are disconcerting and confirm AID India’s experiences across the state: The findings for TN show that while enrolment in schools for 6-14 yr olds is at 99%, reading & math levels in primary school continue to be low. Close to 48% children in Std 3-5 still cannot read a simple text at 1st Standard level. While children in standards 3-5 are expected to do multiplication, division, fraction and word problems in math, 80% children in 3rd standard cannot subtract! Enrolment into private schools is increasing each year. Number of five-year-olds going to private schools has tripled over the last 5 years. But reading and math levels in private schools is also quite low. Balaji adds “While on the one hand ASER results for TN show that only about 20% children can even recognize 2 digit numbers in 1st standard, it was heartening to see that all 1st standard children in Eureka Schools doing 2-digit addition with carry over and that too mentally! Many UKG children are able to do addition as well. Most children studying in our schools are from low income families, many of them from dalit and most backward communities. It is extremely reassuring to see that Eureka Schools are making a huge difference to the lives of these children.”
| Eureka Children Win Prizes: About 65 children from standards 2-5 from Eureka Koovathur School attended the ‘Kalpakkam Karutholi Iyakkam Exhibition’ organized by the Central Government showcasing the work of several departments (Horticulture, Roadways, Waterways, Railways, Science and Education). There was a session on Tuberculosis by a Doctor from the Health Department and another creating awareness on pollution. At the end of these sessions there was a quiz program. Eureka children competed with much older children from other schools, who also attended the event, and won 16 out of the 20 prizes. They were also given certificates. The Doctor found out more about the Eureka school children and praised them. During the event, some of the Eureka teachers and students were interviewed live on 98.3 FM radio. This interview was also telecast on Podhigai Channel the same day.
| | Field Staff Training in Gender Equality: Gowri shares, “The first in a series of training programs for our women field staff was held last week in Chennai. 80 women from 6 districts attended the event for 2 days. On the 1st day, we screened a documentary on gender issues. It was followed by a discussion to help participants express themselves without inhibitions. The next morning started with a games session on the beach. This was easily the most exciting session with games like tug-of-war, passing-the-ball and dog-in-the-bone! Educationist and former Chairperson Tamilnadu State Commission for Women, Dr. Vasanthi Devi, spoke about the need for school education content to include issues on equality of men and women. In this context she also explained how it was a woman’s responsibility to delegate household responsibilities to her husband and son and thus cultivate a habit for sharing chores. Eminent women’s rights activist, Dr. Mythily Sivaraman spoke about the importance of education for a girl child. Activist and Professor, IIT-Madras, Dr. Kalpana Karunakaran conducted a very interesting session on the role of women in history and dispelled several myths about gender stereotypes.
| AID-India Volunteer Mani Wins Awards for Documentaries: AID India volunteer, Mani has been selected to the Video Volunteer Fellowship program of the Ilam Samuga Sevagargal (young social workers), again this year. He has received the Best Coverage of Urban Poor Award from Hindi film actor Abhay Deol, for his 12 episode documentary video. He says, “Even though I cannot speak English and do not speak English in these videos, some of my videos are being screened on News X Channel, on the Speak Out India program, telecast on Saturdays at 5pm. I want to thank Gomathi and Padmini who helped me apply for this fellowship. I also want to thank all my friends in AID INDIA for helping me. I have realized that many problems in our society can be brought to people's notice and even resolved through these video documentaries. An American journalist is visiting me to see how I film my documentaries.” Congratulations Mani!
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