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Learning in India's Silicon Valley
23 April, 2002
Learning in India's Silicon Valley
By Habib Beary
BBC correspondent in Bangalore
A unique grassroots literacy programme in Bangalore in southern India
is bringing hope to thousands of the city's poorest children.
It draws children from many of the slums dotting Bangalore, often
described as India's technology hub, and aims at enrolling every
underprivileged child in the city by 2003.
As many as 1,500 volunteer teachers have fanned out across 300 slums
in the city to further the agenda of universal primary education.
An education department survey says Bangalore, despite its hi-tech
image, has over 100,000 children out of school.
'It's so nice to learn'
The programme was launched by the Akshara Foundation two years ago in
a partnership between some of the city's leading software companies
and the government.
"We would like to see that every child in Bangalore is in school and
learning by next year," said Rohini Nilekani, the force behind
Akshara, which means letters.
One among the fortunate children is 12-year-old Akeefa Samreen, who
studies at one of the schools located at a sprawling Muslim-dominated
slum in the eastern part of the city.
"It's so nice to be here. We learn but at the same time there is so
much of joy and laughter.
"But for such a programme, I don't think my parents would have sent
me to school," he adds.
Women driven
Women volunteers form a majority of the teaching staff who have high
school grades.
"Akshara is a success story of enrolment, but equally heartening has
been the social empowerment we have seen among our young women
volunteers," says Ms Nilekani.
"We try to make learning interesting and fun. I am so happy to be of
some help to these children," says teacher Roohinaaz.
"There is a spark in every child's eyes no matter how poor they are.
What is required is help and motivation," adds Roohinaaz, who along
with other volunteers is learning computer skills.
Later, they will pass on the skills to their students.
The programmes initiated by Akshara include preparing three to five-
year-olds for formal schooling and a course aimed at school drop outs
between the ages of six and 12.
Parents pay a token fee of five rupees per month or whatever they can
afford.
In contrast, Bangalore's private schools charge between 300 to 1000
rupees a month.
Giving something back
Some of the city's leading software companies, which have helped turn
the city into the infotech hub of India, are backing Akshara.
"The success of this programme is mainly because of contributions
from the software industry," says Chief Operating Officer of Akshara
Lieutenant Colonel Murthy Rajan, a retired Indian Army officer.
"Everybody wants to give back something to society."
"Without such private initiatives, we cannot achieve the goal of
universal education in the country," adds Abraham Ebenezer, Principal
of Bishop Cotton Boys School, one of Bangalore's leading educational
institutions.
Internet links:
Department of Education, India
http://www.education.nic.in/
Cyber Bangalore
http://www.cyberbangalore.com/
source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1946000/19460
64.stm
