Reducing school drop outs in rural India

Malini, a resident of Palur village, studies class IV in the government primary school in the village. This little girl with a shrill voice shows keen interest in dancing and all other extra-curricular activities. Her parents are daily wage labourers. Due to poor economic background Malini along with her sister was admitted in to this home.

Malini was observed to be a slow learner in class. Despite being a good listener and an obedient child during class hours, she could not fare very well in studies since she had a problem with retention and recalling. She was sent to attend the special classes and tuitions handled by our Project-appointed para-teachers. The para-teachers engaged her in regular exercises, activities and games to help improve her memory. The para-teachers also gave her individual attention and Malini cooperated well with them during special classes. We regularly motivated her through personal interaction. Gradually, she started to respond positively and improvements were seen in her academic outcomes over the year. We continue to motivate her through regular interaction. A major improvement in her studies when compared to the last academic year was observed. She not only passed in all the subjects but scored 60% and above in all the subjects. She started to read in Tamil and English with some fluency. Therefore, she was integrated into the main stream classes. Her class teacher who is the also the school’s Head Mistress is very happy with her transformation and performance at school. We will continue to interact with her and record her improvements.