Educating
for life
If the
first few weeks of the new year are anything to go by, we
definitely have a very hectic year ahead of us. There were
far too many things happening simultaneously in too many
different places. Don’t get me wrong here – I am not complaining
…we did manage to have an incredible time.
Winter
is a pleasant time in Kolkata and we had many visitors from
different parts of India and abroad. Most of them braved
the back-breaking journey to see our rural education programme
in Burdwan. Though it is a three and a half hour drive from
Kolkata, the road from nearest railway station to our project
area is in an appalling condition: the potholes are more
visible than the road itself – and the journey, to the say
the least, is far from a nice countryside drive. But once
they descend into the lush green surroundings and the rural
school, all the discomfort vanishes and the awful journey
seems well worth it. Bigha – a tiny little village in West
Bengal, with its artistically crafted mud huts, set amidst
lush green fields and lotus topped ponds, presents an idyllic
picture to the casual visitor…but to those who have to live
there it is quite another story.
Bigha
lies in the district of Burdwan – a place often described
as the "rice bowl" of Bengal. Crumbling village economy
and appalling state of public services– be it health, sanitation,
housing, education or transportation – make the life of
villagers difficult. This is where we set up our Lab School
in 1995, one of the 10 centres funded by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development under their "Experimental and
Innovative Programmes" scheme.
What
attracts the visitors is the variety of programmes that
go on around the school. Add to that the scenic beauty and
the picturesque surrounding of the school with a series
of mango trees on the ground of the school, an adjacent
pond with crystal clear water (maintained by the teachers)
make a very pleasant and serene atmosphere around the school.
– it makes quite a pretty combination.
So,
what is it that actually happens here? Here we go …
There
are pre-primary and primary centres, Relevant Education
programmes (to make children ready for trade), Remedial
Coaching centres (to prevent dropout of first generation
learners), Transit Courses (for life-skill education for
the ager-group of age group of dropout), Annual Sports,
environmental work done by the "Green Club", etc. Phew!
Quite a list, isn’t it?
These
programmes cover around 230 children. In all these programmes,
the visitors are fascinated by the fact that in our Lab
School we give an education which has its roots in village
life and yet is in touch with modern scientific thoughts
and technology – an education which is more life-centric
and less socially alienating. We have been able to involve
children in activities that are socially relevant and useful,
thus bridging the gap between the world of work and the
world of knowledge.
In
January there were Annual Sports of Nabadisha programme
and Burdwan School. In Nabadisha sports, there was participation
of 900 children and involvement of high-level police officials
and presence of celebrities. The Commissioner of Police
received salute from the march past by children. In contrast,
the sports programme of Burdwan was held in an inconspicuous
rural area where 550 children participated in different
events. Though the Burdwan sports is not marked by presence
of celebrities, its best part is the involvement of Government
teachers (of schools participating in the sports) and community
people (who contribute entirely for food). Local political
leaders are invited to the programme.