Have you noticed the dilapidated condition of “that government school” in your vicinity? Ever visited the no frills attached classrooms & premises of a government school in your locality? It is a no brainer to distinguish between a privately run school versus those run by the government.
However, don’t judge the teaching by the outwardly appearance. We all know for a fact that the government has been able to do only so much for the school teachers & assume that the teaching will also be sub-par.
Again, look beyond the walls & try to see if you can spot the teachers. Chances are you will find a highly educated bespectacled engineer from the IITs or a lawyer from the best law schools interacting with the student! Even better you may spot a reputed author or a highly educated celebrity or politician reading out to the kids. Don’t be surprised as this has been made possible by the Government of India’s Vidyanjali Program which allows knowledgeable citizens from all walks of life to lend a helping hand in teaching at the government-run schools. The program seeks community participation in shaping the future generation of our country in co-scholastic activities.
Do check out the latest app by the Government of India for garnering community participation of volunteers to teach & mentor students of Government schools.
The app allows citizens from all domains to register & share their areas of expertise or interest to teach the students. Simultaneously it allows the schools to put up their requirements for training. It is thus the nexus for bringing in the mentors to schools.
The app also provides a virtual platform for those who wish to contribute to the cause virtually, for eg. NRIs can mentor the students from abroad too. It can be easily downloaded from the government website to register your interests. There is no bar for qualification & all are urged to apply for open positions. Volunteers can also share their own volunteering interests and get contacted by the schools if relevant.
The HRD ministry is actively requesting volunteers from colleges, offices, retired individuals, homemakers for schooling the kids on various fronts such as reading, public speaking, personality development, creative writing, acting or stage skills etc. The government has so far registered nearly 22000 schools for the program & has more in the pipeline.
Vidyanjali is a unique platform for all to contribute to community education. Child psychology experts or housewives can help bright students do better in their studies as well as assist slow learners who suffer from dyslexia or autistic students who cannot afford to register in special schools & have thus been forced to get educated in government schools.
Many eminent personalities such as Twinkle Khanna, author Ruskin Bond, footballer Baichung Bhutia, Rajyavardhan Rathore & Babul Supriyo have donated their sweat, & volunteered time to visit the schools for community service. We too can join in virtually or physically & do our bit for volunteering for education.
Many individuals from developed countries visit India for “education volunteering” also called as “Education Tourism” or “Voluntourism” wherein they spend two or more weeks away from home teaching these young kids basics of English or Mathematics & more. Some help in counselling or mentoring the kids to develop passion towards art-forms.
It is always inspiring to see how satisfied the volunteers feel after donating their sweat for these charitable causes. With so many avenues to pitch in, we too can explore & take up these opportunities to increase our own community participation.
Someone once said that a meaningful life is not being rich, being popular, being highly educated or perfect… it is about being able to share what we have & touch the lives of others!
