The Britain-India Marathon Race Challenge

Salaam Baalak Trust  Mobile School

Introduction:

Mobile School is a learning resource matching directly to populations with low access to school education. It is functioning from December 2011. Since February 2008, Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) took initiative to approach communities to meet the existing challenges in elementary education. The Mobile bus is well equipped with the basic infrastructure of a classroom along with a variety of latest teaching and learning aids like VCDs, books and learning kits etc.

Objective:

The objective of this project is to provide educational facilities to drop-out school children. Non school going children and those living in slum communities construction sites, railway stations etc. It also covers the children who have been admitted in formal schools in last couple of years as the follow up of those children is felt necessary for their regularity in schools.

The Mobile school commutes three locations per day and classes held for two hours at each learning centre. The center wise details are as  follows:

Location – 1  Mansarovar Park

Total registration - 60           New enrolment - 22

Boys - 39                               Girls – 21

Location – 2 Vivek Vihar

Total registration - 68                       New enrolment - 6

Boys - 16,                                          Girls – 52

Location – 3 Shastri park

Total registration - 44                       New enrolment - 4

Boys - 19,                                          Girls – 25

 Other Activities:

• Total number of children in all the 3 locations are 172
• Average daily attendance is 130- 135
• All School going children who appeared in the final exam are promoted to the next class.
• In the current academic session 2014 – 15, a total number of 85 children has been admitted in regular schools from the mobile school registered children. The newly admitted children include 49 boys and 36 girls. Rest of the children will be admitted in school as soon as schools will reopen after summer vacation.
• Last year in September we started a new location Shastri Park which was completely raw as there was no school going children. For the first time this academic year mobile school admitted 51 children (Boys 30, Girls – 21) from the spot.
• Parent’s meeting is conducted in all the 3 location separately to motivate parents to send children at mobile school and regular schools. Also, topics of discussion was health and hygiene and send children neat and clean to schools as school teachers always complain on it.
• As a follow of school going children, teacher of mobile school visited the schools where children are going and talked to school teacher and principal on children attendance and progress.
• Volunteers from Kid Media conducted a workshop with children on hand wash and hygiene issue of children. Children from Vivek Vihar spot attended the workshop on the issue of self cleanliness.
• A volunteer Anusheela from Gurgaon visited the Shastri Park  twice and had talked to children, parents and community people. After that, she came with a team and made a 10 minute shooting on mobile school functioning and the community from where children belong. After about a month, she distributed 8 solar school bags to the children that can be charged in daylight and used at night for reading. It is quite useful to the children living in such communities.
• To enhance the teaching skill of teachers, SBT organized a one day workshop on teacher’s training. The training was provided by the experts from Jodo Gyan. The teachers of mobile school also attended the training workshop.

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