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Journalism of Courage
THIS bright yellow bus is no ordinary bus. This breezy bus has the more serious role of playing tutor to more than 11,000 primary students in villages of Rajkot and Surendranagar. It8217;s the School on Wheels8212;an idea conceived by an elderly couple ten years ago to provide quality education to students in villages.
Aimed at ensuring literacy especially among girls in rural Gujarat, the project has gained momentum in the last decade. Initiated in 17 villages in Rajkot and spreading to 36 in the two districts, it now gives special scholarships as well. About Rs 4-5 lakh are spent every year on the project and another Rs 1-1.5 lakh on scholarships.
8216;8216;My parents refused to send me to school after class V. It is unbelievable but the authorities actually sent Rs 150 to my parents every month so that they would let me study,8217;8217; says Arvind.
The ones who had to bribe his parents are Gulabbhai Jani and his wife, Ushaben, who initiated the project. The couple quit their jobs as professors at a college in Rajkot in the mid-60s and opened a school for poor children. Recognising the need to provide better education to students in villages 8216;8216;where resources hardly ever reach8217;8217;, the couple while on a trip to the US in 1993, asked their friends for help. 8216;8216;We had an idea and a dream but not a single penny. Help came in form of funds by Care and Share Foundation, which is run by NRIs in the US,8217;8217; says Gulabbhai.
SCHOOL on Wheels, which the couple have named after Sister Nivedita, 8216;8216;for all the work she has done to promote education8217;8217;, makes rounds to 36 primary schools8212;government aided and private8212;in the two districts. Two schools are covered daily and the students, through various projects, taught lessons from their syllabi. The bus comes complete with a library.
Students are given learning and writing assignements that they have to complete for the next session. After having a mobile library for years, recently each school has been provided with books worth Rs 15,000 to set up their own.
A special training session for teachers is organised at Rajkot twice a year. Yearly drives are conducted too ensure that all children in the village are enrolled. According to Ushaben, their biggest achievement and challenge was to get teachers involved.
Participation of students and teachers is clearly noticeable. Even as the bus entered the school premises in Bhimora, near Chotila in Surendranagar, the excitement of the students was overwhelming. In no time, they gathered for the session, eager to display what they had ready to Narsinhbhai Chauhan, the co-ordinator.
Eager students lined up to show what they had prepared and get their problems solved. At another village, Nava, the action was repeated.
8216;8216;School on Wheels incorporated new learning techniques, which has helped generate interest in the students. Cultivating interest has in turn helped improve their attention and also, their grades,8217;8217; says Karsanbhai Chaganbhai, the principal at Bhimora.
