The Hindu Business Line : Quality education still a dream for night school children

Reaching the school after a hard day’s work has been even more difficult for the visually challenged children like 19-year-old Mr Ram Chaudhary of Maratha Mandir Night High School at Worli in Mumbai.

Mr Chaudhary, who hails from a small village in Aurangabad, earns Rs 200 a month by working in the National Association of Blind (NAB) to support his family of six. “I work from 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at NAB and then head to the night school. My target is to complete matriculation,” he laments.

If the movie Slumdog Millionaire had moved many a heart, then there are more heart-rending stories being played out daily in real life at the 150-odd night schools in Mumbai, says Ms Nikita Ketkar, Founder, Masoom, a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation committed to ensure quality education for the under-privileged students in night schools. More than 20,000 youths aged between 15 and 25 years study in over 200 night schools in Maharashtra.

HOLISITIC DEVELOPMENT

Masoom is supported by Global Fund for Children (GFC), the international grant-making organisation for night schools. Dr Vineeta Gupta, Program Officer, South Asia, GFC, said “We are keen to partner with Masoom to support a holistic development of the night schools by incorporating sports, English conversation, vocational guidance and counselling into its curriculum.”

“GFC will help the creative and well researched approach of Ms Ketkar, who has spent one year through a fellowship in assessing the educational needs of night-school students,” she added. Grant-making capacity of GFC has grown from $3,100 in 1997 to $3.2 million in 2008 to 2009. The fund has distributed more than $13.9 million in grants to more than 364 groups in 72 countries world-wide.

3-PRONGED APPROACH

Masoom has evolved a three-pronged approach to deal with the problems of night schools by improving inputs and educational infrastructure, upgrading teaching skill through teacher training and try to bring in changes at the State-level policies.

The Government should consider launching a scheme similar to Mid-Day Meal for night schools, said Mr Ketkar. To test its strategy, Masoom had adopted two night schools in Mumbai with the support of EdelGive Foundation and UnLtd India. The pilot program has made a difference in a short period of six months. Masoom now plans to adopt four more schools in the academic year 2009 to 2010, and by 2020 plans to adopt night schools across Maharashtra.

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