A few months back I was at the Lower Primary School, Chikkatimmasandra. There are 5 kids in the school, 3 of them are from the village and 2 have migrated from Odisha. The school has 2 classrooms with a broken roof and a playground full of grass.On that day, there was no teacher in the classroom yet the kids were sitting in the classroom doing their work. This was quite a sight.
The purpose of our visit was to introduce ourselves to the teacher and the kids. Since there was no teacher, we directly went in and introduced ourselves to the students. Initially, they were a little hesitant.
- Students of the school
This was natural as they were in a setup where a “local bus” was a rare sight, new people coming in would indeed be unusual. Thankfully, it melted away, once we started with the activities. After spending an hour with those smiling faces, we were able to help them open up. They sang with us and told us stories. It was a wonderful experience but our task was only half done as we could not meet the teacher. He was busy in at a cluster level meeting.
Next day we were at another school. Surprisingly the Chikkatimmasandra teacher was also there. We met him and introduced Mantra and our work in the cluster. When we asked him to tell us more about the Chikkatimmasandra school, he shared that it was not his placement school. He had been there on deputation from last few months. The conversation made me feel a little disheartened. This was just one part of the story. And another low was when we tried to meet School Development Management Committee (SDMC) President and Gram Panchayat(GP) members of the school. They were a little reluctant to meet us. After 3 weeks of continuous efforts, they agreed. When we asked them about the lower enrollment in the school, they said, ‘Sir, nothing is in our hands, only government can do something about it. No villager is interested in sending his kid to Govt. schools, so what can we do?’ This was a sad state. Something needed to be done here. Now, I was filled with the inspiration to work towards bringing change here.
Keeping all these hindrances in mind, we started working. The first challenge was to bring ownership to the teacher, SDMC President, and GP members. Our intervention started with rapport building. I started visiting the school twice a week. During these visits, I made a point to praise the teacher’s work in the Chikkatimmasandra school and listen to his challenges. We also helped him prepare Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs) and get a recognition for his work at the cluster level. This motivated him to call the SDMC president and parents to school to show the progress. These steps helped him to take the ownership of the school and proudly say, ‘This is my school’.
To build better relations with the SDMC president and the GP members, on my every visit, I made sure to meet or call them on phone to keep them updated about our work. This also made them believe that things can progress in the school.
During these 6 months, I have seen the teacher meeting the parents to tell them and requesting them to help their children in studies, cleaning playground with kids, meeting GP members for plumbing works and writing a letter to BEO and Gram Panchayat members for a new building.
Once bare, now the classroom is filled with Nali-Kali Teaching Learning Materials. The school also has a water filter. The teacher has become proactive and has started participating in the cluster level events. It is a sheer joy to see this change!
If you visit the school now, you will be surprised. The same kids will welcome you by greeting in English. The teacher will proudly share the wonderful journey of ‘his’ school. The Gram panchayat member won’t hesitate in offering his support in any way possible. If you happen to meet the School Development Management Committee (SDMC) president, she will share her vision for the school and ask you for help openly. Aren’t these great changes in the span of 6 months!
We hope to see more positive changes going forward.
-Written by Mr. Bharamappa Aiduddi, Transformation Lead, Mantra4Change
Mantra4Change 
Really, a great positive change from teacher and students. But it is disgusting, nowadays there is less enrollment in govt.schools.
You are taking great steps in making learning joyful.
If quality education is given for govt school children , we can see more enrolment. Thank you all doing such a great job.
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