·
Hindustan Zinc’s Shiksha Sambal Program since 2008 has
been providing classes in Maths, Science & English in Government Schools
- So far, over 50000 rural & tribal students have been benefitted
When Geeta was born in a farmer’s house in Bhilwara in
Rajasthan, unlike many of the rural families, the parents decided to provide
her the best of education. Geeta also had an elder brother, Dheeraj, who was
studying in nearby government school in 2nd standard. As the
children were growing, the small girl also started showing interest in
education. She would keep playing with his brother’s books and admire the
pictures. When she became eligible for pre-school, she started going to nearby
Anganwadi centre.
The parents were very happy since both the children were
getting education.
The problem started when Dheeraj reached class 10th
and wanted to pursue Science. The school had no teacher to teach the subject.
Not Just Science, even for Maths and English, teachers were not available.
Dheeraj was disheartened. He had two options, either to change his subjects or
search for some school outside the city. He was not ready to give up studies.
As Dheeraj’s father was not financially sound, he could not afford sending Dheeraj
to another city for schooling. Security and safety was another concern for the
family.
Like Dheeraj, there were many students who wanted to study
Science, Maths and English but they could not find a solution. Not just the
boys, many girls of the village wanted to pursue studies further and choose
these subjects.
Geeta, who was still young had the same fear. She was a
brilliant student and wanted to pursue Engineering or Medical Science. But
after knowing all this, her dreams were getting shattered. She started losing
interest in education.
The matter went to elders of the village and they met the Principal
of the school. But the Principal showed his inability and could only express
regret.
Then
the solution came from a Business House that was located near their village. One of their representatives met the school Principal. After hearing everything meeting with the students,
the Management of this Business House introduced them to a project for these
students. This project would provide trained teachers to the students who would
teach them English, Science and Maths subjects throughout the year and year
after year which will get the recognition as part of school syllabus. The
dreams of all these children were reinstated.
The Project was “Shiksha Sambal” and the Business House was
Hindustan Zinc.
“For a tree to be strong and upright, its
roots have to be firm”. Similarly, schools are a cornerstone in any student’s
lives to cultivate healthy thought process and groom intellectual abilities.
Schools in rural areas have their own
challenges in terms of providing education to students. The government has provided schools
in rural areas but the point is how well these schools are equipped to provide
quality education. Students appearing for Senior Secondary education suffer the
most. The teachers are not available for certain subjects and thus either they
have to leave those subjects and choose the subjects available in the school or
even change the stream of education to get
qualified and experienced teachers. It is evenly difficult to convince villagers to send
their children to schools, particularly the girls.
Government is very keen to provide the best possible
facilities in village schools. But they do need the support of people, here,
teachers, to run these schools successfully. This is when Corporates and
Government should come together for the holistic development of communities by
aiding the facilities and financial securities.
Through Shiksha Sambal, Hindustan Zinc provides a platform
that empowers rural students to pursue their dream of obtaining higher
education and joining prestigious institutions to play an important role in
development/ progress of the country in future.
After the identification of the need of schools in terms of
number of qualified teachers, CSR team deputed qualified teachers from external
sources in respective schools for the students appearing for Board Examination.
These teachers are educated youths in nearby villages who were unemployed and
struggling to get jobs, in spite of possessing a degree.
In 2016,
Hindustan Zinc partnered with Vidya Bhawan Society, Udaipur, for effective
implementation of this program.
Shiksha Sambal believes that conceptual clarity is the
foundation of all learning and is essential for doing well in examinations.
Such clarity will come through a well-rounded studying approach that includes comprehension,
careful observation, classification, conducting experiments, peer group
activities and an unending process of enquiry. Languages of children have an
important role in building conceptual clarity, learning other languages and cognitive
growth. Performance in Mathematics will improve with the understanding of basic
mathematical concepts. And the only way to really understand Science and score
in it is by conducting experiments on their own. In each case, the programme
pitches one point above the cognitive levels of children.
Regular
orientation and subject-specific workshops are also being organized under
Shiksha Sambal wherein it also focuses on conceptual mapping of each chapter of
the given subjects and makes plans for systematic interventions with teachers and
students. Preparing worksheets that could be used with children is an ongoing
process; these materials help in understanding the concepts and in attempting
examination questions successfully.
Another important component of Shiksha Sambal has been the Summer
Learning Camps (SLCs). This year, 7 Summer Camps
were organized in 5 districts of Rajasthan for more than 750 rural students who
are appearing for 10th standard Board Examination this year. The first residential summer camp was organized last
year in Udaipur that saw participation by around 70 rural students. Sighting
the success of last year’s camp, this year, more than 200 students actively
participated where about 50% of them were girls from villages around all 7
business locations including Pantnagar. Around 12-15 students from last year’s
camp also participated this year as ‘Captains’ to aid in managing the current
batch.
The company has also provided help in building infrastructure
like science laboratories, well stocked library, playground, computer laboratory
and also classrooms. There are
many activities, such as solving worksheets, doing science experiments and
using library books to deepen the conceptual understanding of the students.
In the recently released Board Exam results for 10th
standard, there have been remarkable improvements in several of the Shiksha
Sambal schools. Kanpur school (Zawar) which last year had a pass percentage of
only 11%, now has a pass percentage of 91% in 2016-17. Similar improvements can
be seen in other schools. Putholi (35% to 73%), Padla (32% to 54%), Medta (44%
to 64%), Zawar (16% to 36%), Pandoli (37% to 60%), Kashmor (57% to 100%) and
Soniyana (45% to 79%).
Shiksha Sambal is reaching out to more than 57 schools in 5
districts of Rajasthan - Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Rajsamand and Udaipur. By now,
more than 6000 students have been benefited wherein 150 teachers, 80 Field Instructors (FIs), 50 HZL
employee-volunteers and resource persons from Vidya Bhawan Society are engaged
in strengthening the quality of education.
