Education Program
1) Educational Classes
1.1) BALWADIS (Kindergartens)
To give early education to the slum children, the Mahila Mandals under the aegis of NAVCHETNA (Women’s organisation) runs these Balwadis in the slum itself with a teacher identified from the area or nearby. Many of the parents of these children are illiterate and engaged in unorganised labour. In the morning, either one or both go to work leaving the children to fend for themselves. The Balwadis play a role of keeping the children in safe hand and at the same time provide them education. These Balwadis usually are run in the morning hours daily.
Total number of such Balwadis are:
Total Children enrolled in these Balwadis are:
In completing these balwadis the children have a better chance of being admitted in the nearby Muncipal Corporation primary school. Thanks to their pre-school education, these slum children have a head-start in the Municipal Schools where otherwise they do not get much attention.
These children are of migrant parents and therefore speak different languages. The balwadis run by mahila mandals run these classes in four languages Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and Urdu. Finding teachers for these different language children is a big challenge.
1.2) TUITION CLASSES
Once enrolled in schools, the students are accompanied in their studies with tutorial assistance for about two hours daily.
Housing is a big problem for slum dwellers. In most of the slums huts/houses are of single room. They lack space and an atmosphere conducive for study. The tuition classes held in a nearby place with teacher to help and monitor their study is a big help for these children and their parents. This does not mean there are no challenges in running these classes. Finding a competent and committed teacher, understanding and motivated parents and motivating these children to learn are all part of running these tuition classes.
Role of NAVSARJAN in educational intervention
Navsarjan has the responsibility of providing for the academic needs of its educational programmes: selection and training of teachers, supervision and evaluation of classroom teaching. It organizes in-service training twice a year for ten days prior to the commencement of the academic year and ten days during the mid-term holidays, for the updating of teaching skills.
Besides monthly tests, mid-term (Bi-annual) tests are held to check the academic performance of the students. This practice of regular assessment, evaluation and corrective measures have improved the overall learning climate and performance of students and teachers.