 Sakshi A. Ganj, Delhi REC: From almost drop-outs to hopeful graduates doing well in class. The smiles say it all. |
Sakshi REC's help children stay in school and blossom who are otherwise on the verge of dropping out due to bad grades resulting not from incapability but from inadequate school and parental support.
A drop-out has no chance of extricating herself from the life of poverty she was born into. A Sakshi REC is this child's last chance and the only thing standing between her and a life of deprivation and danger.
Learn More: ?BEFORE: Drop-Outs and Deprivation ?AFTER Sakshi REC Intervention: Graduation and a Better Future  CASE STUDY: Rani, From Almost-a-Drop-Out to "The Girl who got a prize from famous writer Manoj Das"
 Sakshi REC's prevent the cart replacing the pencil in his hands. |
?BEFORE: Drop-outs and Deprivation
Every pupil has some doubts in class material that need clearing. But slum children have no help. Schoolteachers teach large classes and can't pay attention to individual pupils. And the child's parents are illiterate.
In fact, unaware of its benefits, parents don't support their children's education. They need boys to work and supplement the meagre family income and girls to help at home so the mothers can work.
With no support from teachers or parents, children get caught in a spiral of falling grades. They are labeled "slow" or "backward" and eventually drop out, doomed to a lifetime of poverty.
Sakshi REC's prevent pupils with bad grades at slum schools from dropping out by providing academic help they need but don't get from overstretched teachers & illiterate parents. |
?AFTER Sakshi REC Intervention:
Graduation and a Better Future
Sakshi REC's step in to prevent the at-risk child from dropping out and getting lost in the cracks. Sakshi social workers identify students with bad grades who are at risk of dropping out and enroll them in local Sakshi REC classes.
Sakshi REC's then holistically address every obstacle in the child's way to graduation and a better future:
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REC classes are held after school hours and strengthen the child's understanding of school subjects, especially the "weak" ones. Further, children are taught how to concentrate which endows them with the ability to work efficiently at school itself.
 Sakshi's "Joyful Learning" method i.e. teaching via interactive activities like song, role play, rekindles the desire to learn in these children who are used to "education" as rote learning devoid of understanding, utility or joy. |
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Children are taught in an encouraging and supportive environment to reinstate their faith in their abilities. Pupils are regularly tested to assess progress and teachers work one on one wth children in the areas they are struggling.
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To awaken the children's curiosity and instill a desire and habit to learn, they are taken on educational trips and taught using interactive engaging activities (Sakshi's Joyful Learning model).
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REC teachers work with parents through PTA meetings and workshops to get their support for their child's education.
They show them that education is the surest way out of poverty. They monitor whether the child is attending school and getting time to study at home.
In case a child is absent, social workers visit the child's home to ensure he or she is not being kept out of school. In case of illness, they arrange for medical care.
 A detailed record of each child's progress (above, click to read) is kept and teachers work 1-on-1 to fill the gaps. Teachers must help pupils regain confidence. They must also convince poor illiterate parents that children must study instead of help the family make ends meet today because education will relieve poverty permanently tomorrow. It is hard but Sakshi teachers persevere till they succeed. They are from slums too and know drops-outs will be doomed to a lifetime of deprivation and danger. |
Sakshi REC teachers and social workers face a hard task in changing attitudes.
They have to restore the child's faith in herself and rekindle her desire to learn. Equally or even more difficult is to change the mindset of the parents towards education and especially the education of girls, which is considered a "waste".
But Sakshi's teachers and social workers persevere till they succeed because they come from the same slums as these children and are fully aware that drop-outs are doomed to a life of poverty, deprivation and danger.
Graduates from our Non-Formal Education Centres (NFE's), i.e. former drop-outs who have been bridged and mainstreamed back into school, also attend REC's so we can make sure they have no problems adjusting to either coursework or school life in general.
According to our policy of "No Sakshi Child Left Behind", Sakshi continues to track all REC students (via the Library Program) and support these students till they clear Class X.
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 Remedial Education Program Case Study:
"From Almost-Drop-Out to The Girl who got a Prize from Famous Writer Manoj Das"
Name of the girl: Rani.
Class: 6th.
Age: 13 years.
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Family details:
Father's name: Mr. Jaggannath Mehto.
Mother's name: Mrs. Manto Devi.
Total family members: 6 (1 brother and 3 sisters)
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Education status:
Father's qualification: Illiterate.
Mother's qualification: 5th class.
Siblings' educational status: All the sisters go to school.
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Economic status:
Mother: Works as a maid in Sarita Vihar.
Father: Rickshaw puller.
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Monthly Income of the family:
Total monthly income of the family is Rs. 4400 pm.
Break-up: The mother earns Rs. 1400 pm and the father Rs. 3000 pm.
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Rani was on the verge of dropping out of school due to poor grades and lack of parental support when she was noticed by Sakshi:
Rani was good in Hindi. She could read English books but she didn't understand what the stories meant. She faced difficulty in maths sums. She could not practice at home because there was no time. Her mother works so as the eldest child, she had to perform household chores. Her parents were illiterate and therefore didn't understand how important education is, especially for a girl, to empower her to live a decent life.
Having seen thousands of lives ruined this way, Sakshi social workers knew if Rani did not complete her education, she would never be able to extricate herself from the life of poverty she was born into. And as a girl, if she did not stand on her own feet, she was at higher risk than a boy of being exploited and maltreated.
Hence, Sakshi social workers immediately enrolled Rani in the local Sakshi Remedial Education Centre. It was her last chance. The Sakshi REC was all that stood between Rani and a life of deprivation and danger.
 The local Sakshi Remedial Education Centre provided Rani with every help to prevent her from dropping out and to help her bloom - including educational and life skills support, and helping her get her parent's support:
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Rani received additional coaching after school to help her with subjects she was weak in i.e. Maths and English.
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She participated in Exposure Visits to Apno Ghar, India Gate, Science Museums, and Children Park to spark her interest in learning and broaden her horizons.
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She participated in extra-curriculars like singing and dancing so she could learn that "learning is fun!"
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She attended Life Skills Coaching sessions to understand things like how to cope with the changes that come during adolescence, how to identify predators (something she is peculiarly vulnerable to, living as she does in a slum), the importance of values and one's culture etc.
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Her parents also attended our Parents' Workshop and Parent-Teacher meetings where they learnt how important it was for them to support Rani's studies at home so she can graduate and make something of herself.
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From Almost-a-Drop-Out to Topper:
Rani almost dropped out of school because of low grades, which would have doomed her to a life of poverty. A Sakshi Remedial Education Centre turned her into a topper at school. She won a prize from famous writer Manoj Das at the National Trust Book Fair for translating his story from Hindi into English! She also learnt many other things at Sakshi.
Here she is at Sakshi's International Women's Day Celebration receiving a prize for winning a Dance Contest! Rani is happy because she knows she will one day graduate and be able to stand on her own feet, and help her family lead a decent life
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Result: Today, Rani is not only not in danger of dropping out but is among the toppers in her class.
Her scorecard at school reflects her increased abilities. She is doing very well in Maths and English now. She went to the National Book Trust Book Fair, a trip organized by Sakshi. There, she translated a Hindi story by the writer Mr. Manoj Das into English and got a prize and an ovation from him!
Rani is a hardworking girl. It turns out all she needed was a little extra help in understanding class subjects she had not understood and the teachers in her school had no time to explain to her.
The exposure visits and interactive activities at the Sakshi REC brought out the innate curiosity and habit of learning she had within her. She enthusiastically participates in everything now. She completes her homework punctually, and asks the tutors her queries and problems. She loves going on Exposure Visits and comes back full of stories and facts.
Rani is doing well also because she can now study at home. After participating in the parents meeting and workshops, her parents understand the benefits of education which they did not earlier because they are not literate themselves. Now her parents make sure she has enough free time from chores to do her homework and study her lessons.
Very importantly, because of the outreach Sakshi arranges, Rani's parents also feel like they are part of their daughter's life and progress and are proud of their daughter's accomplishments.
Rani is very happy. She knows now that she will graduate and be able to make something of herself. She will one day break the cycle of generational poverty in her family both for herself and for her parents. Rani loves to dance and now she has a reason to dance every day.
Update: Rani and one of her younger sisters are now also part of our Girls Education Project. This means we will bear the cost of their studies till they graduate. Their family is very poor. Our financial and material support will ease the burden on the parents and they can now afford to educate all the children otherwise one or more of them, even Rani, might have had to drop out.
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Related Links
Sakshi Remedial Education Centres (REC's) Photo Gallery
The three pillars of the Sakshi Education Model
Sakshi Celebrates World Health Day with Girls' Health Camp for Remedial Education Centres
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