Education ensures a comprehensive, and inclusive, way forward for not just an individual, society or nation- but the whole of humanity. In the backdrop of imparting logical and creative abilities, it drafts, and redrafts, the social contract towards a just and humane order. India, that is Bharat, from the very beginning, has endeavoured to secure Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity to her citizens. Evidently, quality education is the fundamental prerequisite for each of these constitutional goals. It is in this spirit of national duty we, at icareindia, conceptualised Ankuram with the theme of 'Padhta Bachpan, Badhta Bharat' in Lucknow about two years back. We have been working for the transformation of over 100 government elementary schools since then, with commendable results, and have even started our operations in Kanpur Nagar and Gorakhpur city. All this, without any financial support of the government!
The programme follows a perennial, rather than an event, template. The intent is to bring value based quality education to children, who would have otherwise been bereft of the same. This is achieved by bringing onboard the skills and enthusiasm of our young interns and volunteers, with an active participation of the local community, Panchayati Raj institutions and parents.With a planned approach, aided by the district administration and corporate as per their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligations, Ankuram is poised to develop model schools for more than 10,000 children studying in more than 100 government primary schools. On account of the noticeable gains made in its short period of operation, the programme has enthused parents, teachers and local communities alike. It is to be expected that their appreciation will translate into enhanced participation, which will only make the programme even more robust and sustainable.
Ankuram essentially aspires to achieve holistic development of children studying in government primary schools by adopting a multi-pronged approach. It focuses upon Infrastructure improvement,Quality education, Health and hygiene, Capacity building of teachers and mobilising youth for promoting awareness and educational consciousness in local communities. Youngsters, joining the programme as interns and volunteers, find creative ways of making teaching and learning interesting in the school premises. Such initiatives have been welcomed by teachers as well as students, because of the novelty and fun-quotient associated with them.
icareindia provides support to schools selected under the programme at three levels.
Firstly, to create a conducive academic environment in schools, with active participation of youth, local community and children, continuous efforts are made to create clean and green schools. This is done by raising awareness through various activities.
Secondly, in collaboration with the district administration, the basic infrastructural needs of the school such as repair works, drinking water, toilets, etc. are met.Under this, the cooperation of Panchayati Raj institutions becomes indispensable. On account of our efforts, and the recommendations of Mr. Rajshekhar, the then District Magistrate of Lucknow, Sarpanchs took initiatives on their own. The provision of basic facilities in school premises has not only changed the attitude of children, but their parents as well.
Thirdly, performancebased incentives in the form of advanced facilities such as furniture, libraries, computers, sports equipment, etc. are provided based on theoverall performance of school. This ensures optimal utilisation of CSR funds, and a healthy sense of competition among schools.
To make sure students/children understand the importance of education and basic school/classroom etiquettes such as attendance, punctuality, hygiene and being dressed in school uniform are imbibed in them.
● To help them develop appropriate communication skills and behavioural attributes for effective interaction with other students and teachers.
●Sensitising the teachers about the value based objectives of the mission.
To develop clean and green campus through joint efforts of students, teachers, volunteers & the local community.
●Celebration of Swachchata Divas inside the school campus, every month.
●Provision of basic amenities with the aid and support of district administration and Panchayati Raj institutions.
●Advanced facilities such as sport items, benches, library facility, computer etc. on case to case basis with the help of corporate partners.
●Involving the parents and guardians to develop a sense of ownership and awareness about the primary education ecosystem.
●To motivate parents to send their wards regularly, on time and ensuring their wards' engagement in home work after school hours.
Child psychology basically encompasses the study of various different psychological elements that effect individuals throughout their young growing phase. Child psychology tries to describe and explain all aspects of child development, including changes in children’s cognitive, social and physical development, and to understand and support children experiencing delays in their development.
To raise awareness about nutrition and its impact on learning outcomes, especially among those from poor financial background.
●Biannual medical camps for early detection of medical and health exigencies. Medical check-up camps are conducted by involving CHC doctors & paramedical staff are organised for the children. It helps in early detection of minor as well as major health issues especially in children suffering from malnutrition. There are numerous cases of poor eye sight, teeth & growth related problems.
●Provision of adequate sanitation & clean drinking water facilities.Hygiene
●To ensure students come in school dress neat and clean regularly.
Swachchta (Cleanliness) rallies are organised in villages jointly by students, volunteers, teachers and the local community. It is a step towards keeping the village clean and to develop awareness and sensitivity among stakeholders.
●Organising programs on occasions such Sparrow Day(20th March), Earth Day(22nd April), Water Day (22nd March) and Environment Day(5th June) to sensitise young students about various dimensions of environment protection. Special emphasis is laid on saving birds particularly sparrow and towards act of cruelty against animal.
To ensure all the classes are running as per schedule and teaching practises are optimised as per the latest scientific trends to maximise academic outcomes
●To endeavour to achieve maximum attendance of students all round the year and see to it that they have stationary and other learning material at their disposal.
●Learning through co-curricular activities such as poems, photos, posters, stories and sports is encouraged which makes a big impact.
●Emphasis is accorded on improving their communication skills in Hindi and English while working on their expertise in subject knowledge of Mathematics and General Science.
icareindia is doing an outstanding job of bringing together students, youth and local communities on the same platform without any financial assistance from the government.
icareindia has been instrumental in getting my students interested in getting educated. They are coming to school regularly, in bigger numbers than before. icareindia is a responsible organisation.
I am happy to have been associated with icareindia. Today, this organisation has given me a new identity which I am proud of.
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I had the golden opportunity to be a part of this mission and help those schools scale heights I can proudly say that I have learnt a lot and have grown as a person.
Today, I can safely say that people’s perception of government is undergoing a change. Those who were averse to the idea of sending their children to government schools, are not only doing so but telling others about it as well
