There is a huge response for ‘Mana Ooru-Mana Badi,’ the flagship programme of the State government.
Contributions poured in at a programme last week held in Sangareddy by Finance and Health Minister T. Harish Rao.
By improving as many as 12 types of facilities in 35% schools – primary, upper primary and high schools - in first phase by the coming academic year, the government aims to introduce English medium.
NGO initiative
Vandemataram Foundation, an NGO working in the field of education, started its activity in the year 2005 and has sets its focus on improving educational environment in government schools. They found out that there was not much of interest among parents to admit their wards in schools. The schools too did not have the required number of teachers and hence were facing problems. To improve the conditions in schools, the foundation under ‘Mana Badi - Mana Badhyata’ started study centres in the evening. This was started in 300 schools in Warangal district with the help of Sudha Murthy of Infosys Foundation.
Academic standards have improved in students, and teachers too have started showing interest - besides, parents started demanding English medium education. The foundation has trained 300 volunteers in English teaching for pre-primary and primary levels. Value Labs supported the activity. This has dramatically improved admissions in government schools. Some schools have faced such a situation that they were forced to put up ‘No Admission’ boards. It was also able to publish two pre-primary text book in the district without the support of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
A primary school located at Ontimamidipally in Inavol mandal was literally defunct due to lack of students in 2014. Villagers contributed ₹10,000 for each student and focused on reopening the school, resulting in admissions going up to 450. The school corpus fund has now reached ₹15 lakh.
“We have started the activity with 300 schools and the latest figures show that English medium is being run in 450 primary schools in the erstwhile Warangal district. Some headmasters, voluntarily competing with each other, took initiative and appointed volunteers who can teach in English. That means in 150 schools, the activity was started in primary schools by headmasters,” T. Ravindra, founder, Vandemataram Foundation, informed The Hindu, adding that parents of wards are being involved in the school management committees and entrusted with important activities like event in-charge, academic in-charge and infrastructure in-charge so that they can run other than academic activities of the school and teachers can focus on their teaching.
