Reducing school drop outs in rural India

The school strengthening program has carried out the following activities in the last three months:

• Scholastic assessments were conducted at the beginning and middle of the school year, among the primary class students. These reveal that the children all reading and writing and doing math at class appropriate levels.
• All students have been provided with drawing note books, color pencils and other stationary materials, in the primary, middle and higher secondary schools.
• Tamil English Tamil Dictionaries have been provided to all children from 5^th class onwards, in all the schools.  New students entering 5^th, 6^th and above who do not have them were provided dictionaries.
• School atlas has been provided to children from 6^th class onwards in all schools.
• Drawing competition was held among the students in each of the schools, and the best students were selected and recognized in school, and provided small prizes.  
• During after school tuition program in the last three months, the children had fun doing arts and crafts exercises and developed creative materials for display or things they need for the school
• Peer learning Educational program:  A peer learning program has been implemented for students in our adopted schools.  The initiative aims to impart school lesson by students in higher classes to those in lower classes. The principle is that if a class 8 student who is a good student is trained on teaching techniques, can help to impart lessons to students in four classes below (that is 4^th class).  The class 8 student benefits as they have to prepare for this and the process of teaching will improve their own learning increase their self confidence and empower them.  The class 4 students will benefit as they learn more effectively by a peer teaching them and the class teacher in resource poor settings is able to spend time on other children.  Students from some adopted schools were selected and brought to IIT Madras for intensive residential training over 4 days.  They learned the essential principles of teaching and how to impart lesions to fellow students.   They were trained by experienced teachers and educators who helped the students to have confidence to perform.  These trained students have been teaching the fourth class students in the school.