Neelbagh Rural Residential School

                                                                 ASHRAYA NEELBAGH SCHOOL

Quarterly Report for the month of October 2017 to December 2017

Seasons greetings and best wishes for the New Year to all 

  Providing Education, Nutrition, Healthcare & Vocational Training are the goals of Neelbagh School.

In Karnataka today, large no of children are deprived of an education as the schools located  in the rural areas are  inadequate and do not function effectively. A large no of children either do not enroll or they drop out of school early due to shortcomings - inaccessibility, lack of proper buildings, classrooms, toilets, drinking water, teaching and non teaching staff etc. 

The status of school education in Karnataka is dismal- there are regular reports of Govt. free schools closing down for lack of students, nutritional deficiencies and malnourishment among the rural and tribal children, lack of attendance , poor results etc .

 Ashraya’s Neelbagh School is an excellent example of how a  Kannada medium, rural school  located in Rayalpad, Srinivaspura Taluk, Kolar district, Karnataka State, offering education opportunities, nutrition and vocational trainings  to children from underprivileged families from North Karnataka and neighboring villages in and around  Rayalpad-Kolar has benefitted about 350 students since its inception in 1996. A majority of these have completed their college education.

In 1996  Ashraya took over the Neelbagh School  which was being   run by pioneer and educationist David Horsburgh. The school was housed in the premises built by David H.

 Ashraya  further developed and expanded the school by constructing a new school building, the construction of which was started in 1999. The school has eco friendly infrastructure, well equipped science and computer lab, sports and recreational facilities and a well set up vocational training program which includes carpentry, tailoring, embroidery, bee keeping  and craft . The school follows Kannada medium of instruction , SSLC State Board and have  classes are from Lower Kindergarten  to Class X. The school utilizes solar energy for lighting, heating and computers.

 The average total  no of students  of the school has been around 415 over the years with equal nos of boys and girls.

The total staff strength is 30 – which includes both teaching and non teaching.

October to December 2017 quarter

The students of Neelbagh School returned from the Dasera holidays on the 9th of October 2017. This year they celebrated Diwali- the festival of lights in the school. Sweets was distributed to all the children and a fancy dress competition was conducted.

In November 2017 Karnataka State Formation Day was celebrated with a cultural program and flag hoisting.

On November 14^th Children’s  Day was celebrated – this date was designated as Children’s day by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as it is his birthday as well.

The monthly sports and cultural competitions were also conducted. 

Taluk level interschool competitions were held and Neelbagh students bagged the 1^st place in three events out of five the events -Quiz, Drawing and Spot preparation of Science model

In December 2017 GE Healthcare organised a mega medical screening and awareness program in school. Awareness on function and care of the heart, cancer myths and truths, prevention, feminine health issues, personal hygiene etc were shared. Class 1-5 children were examined for eye problems, skin problems and general health. Nutrition and growth was recorded for each child. This data will be shared with the school and another camp for the rest of the children will be organized at a later date.

A group of 30 volunteers from BOSCH Primavera  spent the day with the students of Neelbagh- taught them a few games, gave tips of choice ofcareer, aptitude and abilities to the high school students and also had a fun time dancing and singing with the students.

Library:

David M Horsburgh’s book collection  at the Neelbagh School Library  was donated to the Azim Premji Foundation. The Foundation will use this collection to further D. Horsburgh’s  pioneering work; it will also be an important resource for all teachers and scholars in education .

The Azim Premji Foundation will house and freely share all these resources with the learning community in public education through the University Library.    

The 2017 has been busy and exciting. Neelbagh students have benefited from volunteers visits, competitions, awards and all the regular sports , cultural and academic activities.

Though the calendar  year ends in December, the school year ends in April 2018. 

On behalf of the children/students of Ashraya, staff and management  wish you all a very happy new year – peace, love and happiness.