... Tamil Medium. ▫. EXAMS: Monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annually. The
question papers are obtained from Madurai Siruvar Kala Mandram, Madurai.
TRUWDES School Manjampatti village, Tamil Nadu Project Update 2010-11 Renewal 2011-12
Project Overview
Residential school serving few remote tribal hamlets in Western Ghats Located at Manchampatti village in Indira Gandhi National Reserve Forest, Tamil Nadu Villages lack link roads, electricity, running water, medical facilities, schools or shops Children from 4 hamlets - Manchampatti, Moongilpallam , Muduvakudi and Thalunchi Major occupation for the communities - farming, collection of forest produce Population comprises of tribals and dalits (migrant population from the mainland)
Background
TRUWDES (Trichirapalli Rural and Urban Welfare Development Educational Society)
Working in 5 villages since 1999 – supports old-age home, school School started as NFE in 1999 NGO has been running this as FE school since 2001
Had been operating on shoestring budget with significant problems
AshaSV has been supporting school since 2007
school has stabilized and shown improvement since
School Details Overview
65 Students 20 boys reside at the school hostel Primary Education in Tamil medium Classes I through VIII Comprised of one shed - all classes conducted in one common tinroofed shed Education methods Activity based learning methods for the younger children. For the elder children, the textbooks are being used.
School Details (contd. 1) Staff Two Teachers One Physical Education Teacher visits once a month Supported by a cook and a helper Government recognition Ongoing efforts to get govt. recognition for school from Dept. of Education TRUWDES has been able to obtain renewable one year recognition to issue TC’s for the children from I standard to VIII standard
School Details (contd. 3)
School provides
Primary Education in Tamil medium Mid-day meals for all the children, during nights and weekends for boys in hostel Uniforms Bed sheets, pillows for the 25 residential children. Textbooks, notebooks, pencils and other stationery Play materials Solar lantern for classrooms and kitchen School kept open on most Sundays,
This is possible since teachers stay on school premises
Parents have been supportive lately, encourage keeping school open on Sundays
School Details (contd. 4)
House visits
Teachers visit children’s houses regularly and talk to parents Share issues about child’s education with parents - need for parental attention to child’s nutrition, education. These visits help
minimize drop-outs and absenteeism. ensure parents encourage child’s education and remain involved. create awareness about the need for education.
School Details (contd. 5)
SUBJECTS
LEARNING METHODS:
: Tamil, English, Science, Social Studies, Mathematics
Classes 1 – 4 : mostly ABL (activity based learning) method Classes 5- 8 : ALM method of teaching is being followed.
SYLLABUS: State board, Tamil Medium EXAMS: Monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annually. The question papers are obtained from Madurai Siruvar Kala Mandram, Madurai.
2010-11 Academic Year : Updates
Teachers One teacher left at the end of 2010 academic year Hired another teacher to replace her both teachers have B.Ed & have attended teacher trainings Teacher trainings Each year, teachers attend govt provided training at Dindigul Teachers attended these trainings last year Students Some children still being sent to outside factories for labor about 15-20 boys 4 dropouts joined back this year in class 8th 10 students in class 8 this year
Issues / Challenges (2009-10)
School in urgent need of renovation
Single tin-roofed shed serves as school and hostel, mud walls and floor All classes held in the shed. Structure needs repair and some renovation to improve learning environment
Teacher retention
Several teachers have left over the years due to inaccessibility, lack of transportation, social life, poor communication Year-end Incentives introduced in 2009-10 year seem to have been effective
Issues / Challenges (2009-10)
Lack of clean drinking water This is a serious problem, as was evident from our recent site visit Children lack safe drinking water Rainwater streams are the only source of water Water is muddy or most of the year Water-borne ailments common among kids Urgent need for water-filtration at school May also help improve goodwill in community Have been looking into low-cost scalable water filtration solutions AZYH RO system
Issues / Challenges
Child trafficking for bonded labor
Children sent to textiles unit in Thiruppur and Udumalaipet towns, and production units in Gujarat Some times get taken away to cotton mills in Tiruppur on contract work to work on weaving etc -- about Rs1500 for 3 years of contract + Rs50000 if they stay the entire time [middle school or high school children – both boys and girls] Trying to dissuade parents from sending their children as bonded labor through teacher visits to children’s homes
2010-11 Academic Year : Updates
School infrastructure New one-room structure completed last December concrete walled, tin roofed better protection from weather using old structure for some of the classes
Water filter funded by AshaSV last year working out well Provides filtered water for children were hitherto relying on nearby steam for drinking water filtered water capacity sufficient for school cannot cater to community needs
2010-11 Academic Year : Updates
Teacher Vijayrani was bitten by snake and had to be hospitalized
“I wish to inform that Ms.Vijayarani, Teacher of Manjampatti school been biten by a snake when she is leading the children to play ground from school. The village people administered some herbs to her, and she was admitted in hospital and she has been treated for 3 days, Today noon she was discharged and she is travelling to school. We felt shocked over the incident this is the first time, we met a snake bite. Since the local people administered the herbal medicine, seriousness has been reduced to an extent.” -Alex
This incident highlights the challenges involved in running a school in remote places like Manjampatti hiring and retaining teachers and the reason for teacher attrition She resumed teaching at the school again a few weeks later.
2010 Site Visit
2010-11 Academic Year : Updates
Media coverage There has been some media interest in the school lately MAKKAL TV a well known popular TV channel covered the school, its activities, talked to teachers and the people in the village during March 2011. Yet to be broadcast, delayed due to the state assembly general elections in May 2011 Alex is accompanying some more media folks to the village this week Exposure may help with improvements for school/village from govt. Relocation Issue Not much change during the last year Manjampatti relocation seems unlikely Tribals from nearby hamlets may be moved to Manjampatti, if at all.
2010-11 Academic Year : Updates
Government recognition for school School still needs to apply for temporary recognition each year process is usually quite slow last year, dindugal police anti-naxal unit was provided lodging at school provided favorable reports about school which helped speed up temporary govt. recognition Getting permanent recognition is not trivial inaccessibility is a problem recognition needs govt officials to visit visit, officials reluctant 21 different certificates are needed structure stability (concrete roof), fire, sanitary etc school infrastructure will need significant improvements to be eligible to apply Access to any kind of government scheme funds has been hard to come by due to lack of recognition and inaccessibility
2010-11 Academic Year : Updates
Community Better awareness among community to get kids away from smuggling and send them to school Alex provides help to the community occasionally interfacing with Govt. departments helping them file complaints about issues etc People in community more accommodating towards school Issues some in community still try to dissuade teachers from teaching at school problem not as bad as few years back getting girls married early is still a common practice among Muduvar tribals
Goals
Short term
Continuity – Class 8 and beyond Focus on getting class 8 students prepared for district exam Students will need to appear for exam in nearby town First batch of students from school to take board exam Possibly sponsor them for class 9 in nearby town schools or to pursue courses similar to ITI for 8th-pass students Improve Teaching Methods Continue annual teacher trainings Assess learning levels through ASER tests Initiated conversations with Amukta Mahapathra regarding improving teaching methods
Goals
Long term
Sustainability Only possible with government involvement Work towards getting government recognition for school Eventually have the government take over the school RTE impact still unknown Community involvement Alex can play a more active role community related issues Helping them with interfacing with govt departments Possibly filing RTIs etc This may need to be as funded initiative for Alex to be able to focus on it. Will help with improving community awareness about education and involvement in school issues. Maybe this can translate into Asha-fellows project
Summary 2007-2011
Manjampatti Village : Prior to TRUWDES involvement
Majority illiterate Lack of education or even the awareness about the need for education Were being exploited by middlemen, unable to get fair price for produce etc Villagers were being drawn towards smuggling activities Children were being sent to other states for bonded labor in factories Girl children were being married off early
Summary 2007-2011
Manjampatti Village : Current situation
Village has functional school that provides mid-day meals and clean drinking water, school has had steady attendance, most students have been in school for the last few years, teachers tend to stay longer Improving awareness among tribals, villagers about
the need for education, They are more receptive to the idea of sending children to school not getting involved in smuggling and other illegal activities
Fewer children being sent into bonded labor
Summary 2007-2011
Since TRUWDES school started: tangible progress towards bringing education to this remote area most children in the village now attend school and some progress towards improving general awareness in the villages and engaging the community first generation learners who may go on to complete class X a distinct possibility if we persist with the school More work needed towards Improving community involvement Securing government recognition
Budget : 2011– 12 (revised) S No Items of proposed
expenditure
and
activities Expenditure per month
Units/ personnel
Expendit ure per annum
A 01
Personnel Honorarium to teachers
Rs.-4500/- p.m
2 persons
108000
02 03 04
Honorarium to cook Honorarium to Helper Incentives for the teachers, helper and cook
Rs.2500/-p.m Rs.1500/-p.m Rs.19800
1 person 1 person 4 persons
30000 18000 19800 175800
Sub Total
B 04 05 06 07 08 C 01
Children needs Nutrition. Health care expenditures for Rs.690/- p.m children @ Rs.21/-per day x 30 days ( per child) Note books, books, stationeries 400 Contingencies expenditure 1000 First aid medicines 600 Fuel 75 Sub total Non-recurring items Sports Equipment Sub total Total costs of the project
-
25 children
189750
50 11 months 11 12 -
20000 11000 6600 900 228250 4000 4000
-
408150
Budget : 2010– 11 (revised) S No
Items of expenditure and activities proposed
A 01 02
Personnel
Expenditure month (Rs)
per Units/ personnel
Expenditure per Excluded annum
03
Honorarium to teachers Honorarium to cook Honorarium to helper
4500 2200 1200
2 1 1
108000 30000 18000
04
Year-end incentive (Teacher)
600
2
14400
05 06
Year-end incentive (Cook) Year-end incentive (Helper) Sub Total
250 200 9000
1 2 4
3000 2400 168600
B 04
Children needs Nutrition. Health care expenditure for children @ 600 Rs.20/-per day x 30 days ( per child)
25 children
165000
05
Uniforms @Rs.325/-per child (2 sets)
650
50 children
32500
06
Note books, books, stationeries First aid medicines
400 600
50 11
20000 6600
Sub total
-
-
Non recurring items Contingencies S. Type chairs @ Rs.2000/-per ( 3 chairs)
665
3 units
10000 1995
Honda Generator Water well digging, water connection, pump PVC fittings, one horse power motor, labor charges etc Water purifier RO System Almarah or cupboard Sub total
20000 25000
1 1
20000 25000
14000 12000
1 2
14000 20000 65995
Total costs of the project
-
-
483695
07
C
08 09 10 11 12 13
22200
Comment
Reduction
12250 Reduced from 450 to 325 per/set
224100
1000
Conditional
4000
39450
Conditional Reduced by 4K
Total Reduction
Funding
2009-10 budget: 2010-11 budget: 2010-11 budget:
Rs. 472600 Rs. 483695 (reduced) Rs. 408150
Evaluation
Student retention: Take steps to keep the children from dropping out and to ensure that enrolled students complete the academic year. Teacher retention: Ensure teacher retention, given the high attrition due to the remoteness of the village. Quality of Education : Continue performance monitoring for tracking using 2010 as baseline. Improve learning environment through basic infrastructure improvements: Renovate the school shed to improve learning environment Provide clean drinking water for school children Ensure continuity: Strive to get permanent Government recognition for the school. Long term planning: Plan for continuity of education for students who graduate from class VIII
Evaluation
End of Term Evaluation (by Steward and NGO) The school for tribal children at Manjampatti has made measurable progress towards most of the milestones set for 2010-11 academic year. Here is the brief evaluation for each of the milestones: Student retention: Student attendance has been around 70% at the school during the academic year. Four students who had dropped out earlier rejoined class VIII. This year’s focus is to avoid dropouts and have class VIII students appear for district level exams.
Teacher retention: Both the teachers from last year were employed at the school through the end of 2010-11 academic year. This is a significant improvement over prior years when retaining teachers even for a full academic year was a challenge. The year-end teacher incentives introduced last year seem to have been effective in retaining the teachers. One of the teachers left at the end of the academic year and another was hired in her place.
Evaluation
Performance monitoring: ASER tests were administered to students at the beginning of last academic year. The test results were satisfactory. The test will be conducted in the next few months and results will be available by next half-yearly update. School Renovation: The school building structure is dilapidated and the land does not belong to TRUWDES. TRUWDES acquired land adjacent to the school structure and has constructed a 1-room tinroofed concrete structure. The construction was completed in Jan 2011. Pictures will be uploaded to the project page. Report progress towards securing permanent Government recognition. The school is not eligible for permanent government recognition since the school structure and student strength are not adequate. TRUWDES has applied for and was granted temporary recognition for 2011-12.
Evaluation
Ensure continuity of the school through the academic year, closely monitor relocation situation and adapt plans for school accordingly. The school was functional through the entire academic year 2010-11. The issue about relocation of Manjampatti village has been resolved. The government has indicated that Manjampatti will not relocate since it is a revenue village. The govt wants other villages, Muduvakudi and Moogilpalam, to relocate to Manjampatti. Provide plan to award scholarships to support education of students passing out of class VIII at outside schools. The first batch of class VIII students will pass out only in 2011-12 academic year. Deploy water filtration system, provide photos. Water filtration system was installed at the school. Provides sufficient water to serve the school needs. Children at the school now have access to clean drinking water. Rain water running down a nearby steam was the source of drinking water for the children for all these years.
ASER Test Sample
ASER Test Results
Pictures
Pictures
