Support a unique education model in rural India

Our past few months were packed and here's all that the students at BCT Residential High School were up to. Here are our updates!

Students write their first public exams

Academics was in the spotlight as students were busy with exams in April. As all classes appeared for their final examinations, 32 students also wrote their 10^th Board Exams. This was their ever first public examination, held by the AP State Board. What was special this year was that 6 specially-abled children from BCTs Sri PV Venkatesan Center for the Challenged also wrote the board exams.

We are happy to share that most of the students passed with flying colors, and all 6 specially-abled students cleared their board exams successfully! While a few decades ago, specially-abled children were considered a burden on their families, we are happy to see our young students not only acing at exams, but also working enthusiastically towards a better future.

Colorful gaiety of folk dance performances

Every year, the end of final exams marks the beginning of social animation. Students brush up their skills in folk dance forms of burrakatha, kolatam, dappu, chitikelu and tappetagullu. With Andhra Pradesh being a rich repository of folk dances, which are fast fading, this is a small initiative by BCT for rejuvenating the local folk arts. Once students learn them, they present these at villages. This year too, the new students learned the dance form of their choice from trainers. Older students brushed up their dance skills. Uniforms for the different dance forms were stitched.

After a week of training, students went to different villages to showcase folk dance. It was nice and encouraging for the children to see the villagers smile and recollect their past, on seeing the performances. BCT students also spread social messages using this cultural platform.

Inaugurating a new digital lab

In exciting developments, a new digital lab was inaugurated at the BCT Residential High School. Started in the beginning of June, this lab was made possible with the support of Amazon Delivering Smiles and Learning Links Foundation. This important step marks a milestone for enhancing rural digital literacy and STEM education.

Insightful time spent with visitors

Students of BCT Residential High School had some wonderful visitors as well. We were visited by Ms. Shyla Kurma, a prominent storyteller from Visakhapatnam, who interacted with students. Also visiting the campus was Ms. Neha, Disability Programs Head, Tech Mahindra Foundation, Delhi and Mr. Sai Prasad, Vizag Location Head, Tech Mahindra Foundation. Students from BCT TMF SMART centers also came here on exposure visits. These enabled students to exchange ideas and learn more about the world around them.

Having taken new strides towards better education delivery while staying rooted in our culture, BCT Residential School is all geared up to do much more for our rural children, who hold the key to our bright future.