Share
The school was incorporated in 2004, with a vision to provide quality education and human development to the rural-urban children of low-income class workers. The seeds of this institution were planted by Mrs. Madhuri Aggarwal, M.A., B.Ed, B.A.L, with two students on roll, watchfully nourished by herself and one teacher.
For over sixteen years, the organization has taught children within the age group 3+ to 10+ in a village situated on the outskirts of New Delhi. The school is located in Pochanpur, a village in Sector 23, Dwarka. It is housed in a 500 square yards campus. The school offers a holistic experience to the children to ensure they inculcate good values and quality education. This commitment is also fulfilled by going the extra mile in terms of responsibilities, partnerships, and active involvement in the lives of the student, parents, staff, and the community. The deep roots of the organization impacted over 1000 families and a community of more than 10,000 people.
The financial situation of the parents is very concerning for the majority of the children studying with the school. It is noted that often parents drop out the students and push them into child labor or other social atrocities to make ends meet. With COVID-19, this situation has become worse.
The financial situation of the parents is very concerning for the majority of the children studying with the school. It is noted that often parents drop out the students and push them into child labor or other social atrocities to make ends meet. With COVID-19, this situation has become worse.
The organization has struggled to pay rent and salaries to its staff and management as there has been no earnings and revenue. The organization has feared closure and fights for its survival after fifteen years of commitment to delivering impact in this sector. Not a single parent has been able to pay fees as most of their jobs have been impacted by COVID-19. More than 50% of the families and children have been noted to have returned to their hometowns or have been out of contact with the organization. Statistics reveal that children of migrant workers are subject to malnutrition, crime, domestic violence, child labor, beggary, sexual harassment, rapes, and trafficking. The school management has been vocal about this and has been looking for active support so that the existence and legacy impact of the school can have a future.
The COVID-19 study conducted by the management reflects that 55% of children have dropped out of studies despite the free digital alternative. Only 0.01% of the parents approached the school for children’s books in the new academic year 2020-2021. It is evident that the rural poor and migrant workers feel the school fees as a burden as they are struggling for existence as no fee payments were recorded in the organization for the academic year 2020-2021.
Therefore, an initial funding round organized by Winnerz Trust to support this program targeted six months of sustainability for the school. The objective was to help migrant parents with a complete fee- waiver and ensure that students continue to enroll and study in the academic year 2020-2021. On Day 1 of the announcement of the fee-waiver, the management noted some families approaching the school for the books. Yet, less than 1% of the school children have access to the books of the new academic year as poor parents consider putting their hands to work for livelihood support.
Some of these concerns raised by Ms. Madhuri Aggarwal have been covered by the press. To ensure and the students have access to education, the school has channelized the students into the “WhatsApp” group such that the education can be delivered in form of online video lessons.
To assess the impact of COVID-19 and the success of this digital pilot, a study was conducted by the management of the organization. It was noted that only 45% of children could pivot to the “WhatsApp” based study model. This indicates that a majority of the school children do not have access to internet resources to access digital education solutions.
The launch of the ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ program is aimed to improve the literacy rate by providing poor children access to education and bring them back from any social atrocities they are pushed into due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The parents have requested scholarships for the whole academic year else they will have to discontinue the child’s enrolment from school. The current funding has only made this possible until September 2020. The school is actively seeking scholarship aid for Rs. 900 a child per month and has only been able to cover a few handfuls of children this year in 2021. Also, one of the main focuses here is supporting girl children as families due to gender bias, support male children more.
The successful implementation of this effort requires forthcoming funding rounds for the following:
Contribution towards water bill, cleaning supplies, and disinfectant sprays
Sponsorships and volunteers for medical camps
Overtime structure for teachers and staff to ensure they contribute to the COVID-19 implementation with extra time allocation required in case of transportation audits, checking test papers and workbooks in school, increased workload in infrastructure maintenance and supply management
The management is actively looking for support and wants to ensure these facilities can be organized before the schools reopen. The above list is not exhaustive but indicative.
The COVID-19 study conducted by the management reflects that 55% of children have dropped out of studies despite the free digital alternative. Only 0.01% of the parents approached the school for children’s books in the new academic year 2020-2021. It is evident that the rural poor and migrant workers feel the school fees as a burden as they are struggling for existence as no fee payments were recorded in the organization for the academic year 2020-2021.
Therefore, an initial funding round organized by Winnerz Trust to support this program targeted six months of sustainability for the school. The objective was to help migrant parents with a complete fee- waiver and ensure that students continue to enroll and study in the academic year 2020-2021. On Day 1 of the announcement of the fee-waiver, the management noted some families approaching the school for the books. Yet, less than 1% of the school children have access to the books of the new academic year as poor parents consider putting their hands to work for livelihood support.
Some of these concerns raised by Ms. Madhuri Aggarwal have been covered by the press. To ensure and the students have access to education, the school has channelized the students into the “WhatsApp” group such that the education can be delivered in form of online video lessons.
The management recognizes that our students have poor internet connectivity, and therefore, offer recorded video of classes on the platform. A convenient timetable has been set-up to not only focus on book studies but also open learning and creative learning. This includes worksheets, home activities, co-curricular recommendations that keep the children engaged.
To assess the impact of COVID-19 and the success of this digital pilot, a study was conducted by the management of the organization. It was noted that only 45% of children could pivot to the “WhatsApp” based study model. This indicates that a majority of the school children do not have access to internet resources to access digital education solutions.
The teachers coming from traditional training, showed initial signs of resistance to adapt to the new working style. However, with motivation, training, and patience, the system was molded for improvement in terms of teaching methodology and reach. The ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ program is led by experienced management that recognizes these ground realities and challenges. The program commits to relentlessly work towards bringing the children back to education and literacy by supporting the families with a hope for a better tomorrow. This includes the teachers going door to door and letting parents know how to use Whatsapp for studies such that there is no child left without education in the whole village of Pochanpur.
The launch of the ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ program is aimed to improve the literacy rate by providing poor children access to education and bring them back from any social atrocities they are pushed into due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The parents have requested scholarships for the whole academic year else they will have to discontinue the child’s enrolment from school. The current funding has only made this possible until September 2020. The school is actively seeking scholarship aid for Rs. 900 a child per month and has only been able to cover a few handfuls of children this year in 2021. Also, one of the main focuses here is supporting girl children as families due to gender bias, support male children more.
The successful implementation of this effort requires forthcoming funding rounds for the following:
Mid-day meal sponsorship and partners
Temperature readers
Hand sanitizer dispensers, tissues, dustbins, dustbin bags, and supply of hand sanitizer
Additional furniture such as cupboards and racks to support no bag policy
Protective gears and supplies such as COVID-19 emergency kit, plastic aprons, gloves, and masks for teachers, management staff, and other personnel
Temperature readers
Hand sanitizer dispensers, tissues, dustbins, dustbin bags, and supply of hand sanitizer
Additional furniture such as cupboards and racks to support no bag policy
Protective gears and supplies such as COVID-19 emergency kit, plastic aprons, gloves, and masks for teachers, management staff, and other personnel
Contribution towards water bill, cleaning supplies, and disinfectant sprays
Sponsorships and volunteers for medical camps
Overtime structure for teachers and staff to ensure they contribute to the COVID-19 implementation with extra time allocation required in case of transportation audits, checking test papers and workbooks in school, increased workload in infrastructure maintenance and supply management
The management is actively looking for support and wants to ensure these facilities can be organized before the schools reopen. The above list is not exhaustive but indicative.
