A Report on the two days' tour of Kolkata
July 2001
We
reached Kolkata on the morning of the 25th of July 2001 and were taken
straight to the hotel where we were to stay. Till the next morning, we
kept meeting officers from other states, along with the coordinators.
On that morning we all assembled at one place, where the representatives
from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Orissa, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh introduced each other. The representative
from CINI ASHA was also present.
We went to the office of CINI ASHA, where we saw the alternative schools
run by them. Some children remain in these schools for the entire day
to study, while others attend their evening classes and leave. The classes
being held in each of the rooms are not known as class I or II, but according
to colours. Figures related to the syllabus and teaching aids made by
the children were available in each of the classes. We were divided into
two groups and sent to different slums. First, we went to the 'Dhobiya
Ghat' slum located in Tagra, where 100 children were studying at a community
centre. Although, when we went around the area we noticed many more children
playing on the streets. When we asked about these children, we were told
that some of them had come back after attending their classes, while others
would be going to the school later. They informed us that all the children's
names were not registered at the center since the entire expenditure of
the school is borne by CINI ASHA.
Four teachers are appointed for 100 children in a school and are paid
Rs. 1,000/- per month. This ensures that there is one teacher for every
25 students. Children belonging to extremely poor families are also given
the opportunity to work at home. They take up jobs like mending shoes
(for which they get 75 paise for a certain number of shoes). CINI ASHA
also bears the entire expenditure on education of these children. These
children are provided with tutions after school hour as well. With a view
to prevent dropouts, children are kept busy from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
After school hours, they are supposed to do their homework at the center
itself.
After a discussion with the teachers and the students, it emerged that
the students were being taught in either Bangla or English.
CINI ASHA provides a homely atmosphere, including boarding facilities
to the children at the railway station (Sealdah), where some street children
are also kept. The premises for keeping these children has been procured
with a lot of help from the community. The facility includes the boarding
for children with provision of cupboards in a calia type, independent
structures. The children of sex workers are also provided with education
facilities, dance and music coaching etc., through night classes.
The responsibility of bringing the children to school and taking care
of their educational needs, up to high school levels, lies with CINI ASHA.
They also ensure that these children complete their homework and take
interest in other activities. The adolescent girls and boys who pass out
of school are then trained further so that they may teach the younger
students.
At present CINI ASHA is running 71 coaching centers, 54 primary centers
and 5 centers for other dropouts. There are four centers for night coaching,
two with day boarding facilities and one center where children of sex
workers are kept from 8. 00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. and provided education.
After reviewing the day's engagements in the CINI ASHA office, we were
back in the hotel. The next morning we went to Loreto Convent School.
In this school 750 children from the streets belonging to poor families
reside and study. The boarding and lodging arrangements for these children
are made by the NGO. The teachers of the school and various other people
assist in activities such as preparing lunch for all the children and
take care of other such tasks. Here also, the medium of education is Bengali
and English
Sister Cyril, the Principal of the school informed that they had added
another 50 villages to their area of operation, where teachers from the
center lived and worked. The teachers from Loreto Day School visit these
centres twice a week.
There is a need to identify many more slums in Kolkata. More than fifty
per cent of Kolkata's population is living in slums. Every family comprised
of a minimum of 10 children, having no regular provision of food, which
is the reason why they turn to the schools for help, themselves.
If a survey is conducted in Lucknow, and children are brought to the centers and the departments makes all the arrangements, the programme can be a success here as well. There is a need to make similar efforts in Lucknow and other cities as well.
Sd. Pankaj Gupta
City Education Officer.