Pratham Education Foundation

Pratham Open School in Alibaug

By Shabdagandha Kulkarni

I visited Alibaug on October 21, 2012 to attend the ASER’s volunteer training.  During this trip I visited the Pratham Open School center which is for dropout students who wish to complete their secondary school training. These classes are conducted at the Mayur Bakery in Alibaug. Two batches are conducted out of this place. Both batches have total 52 students. Another class is held at Fanasapur-Chaul where 14 students are enrolled so far.

I visited the morning batch at the Mayur bakery. I was told that due to the festive season, 1 of the 29 students were present that day. The classroom was big and airy and I had the opportunity to interact with the students, program coordinators Manasi and Pramod and the teacher, Visakha. They told me that the total enrollment for all classes currently stood at 76 students!

I visited the morning batch at the Mayur bakery. I was told that due to the festive season, 1 of the 29 students were present that day. The classroom was big and airy and I had the opportunity to interact with the students, program coordinators Manasi and Pramod and the teacher, Visakha. They told me that the total enrollment for all classes currently stood at 76 students!

I had a long conversation with some of these students. The striking fact I noticed was that that most of them came from far away distances to attend the classes on a daily basis. Amar Zende, a dedicated learner distributes newspapers early in the morning and then attends the class. His monthly salary takes care of his expenses. He happily told me that he looks forward to attending the classes daily. Many other students told me that they were not confident about mathematics during their school years. But now thanks to Pratham’s teaching methodology, they are able to understand the subject conceptually. For instance, they understood how and why addition/subtraction sums are solved with carry over and borrowing. This was taught to them based on activities and hence made it easier for them to understand the concept.

Students looked enthusiastic and were eager to share their experiences. Most of them came from low income backgrounds. Alka Naik and Nilam Shinde attend classes from very remote villages. Alka lost her father at an early age. Being the eldest daughter, her desire is to clear the board examination so that her siblings will be inspired to complete their schooling. After attending the class, she goes to work as a landless laborer. Her village is around 18 kms away from the POS center  Alka spends 36 rupees daily in travelling back and forth to the classes. Nilam’s story is almost similar. Her village too is around 18 kms away from the POS center  Both the girls find it really difficult to travel, especially during the monsoons but that still doesn't deter them.

One noticeable aspect of this class was that that all the students were highly appreciative of their teachers. Teacher’s dedication inspires them to attend the class regularly. I too noticed that teacher’s method of teaching was student friendly. All the students have given pre and post tests for the foundation course. The students were confident. Many of them said that they found History and Marathi easy, whereas the toughest were English and Math. Students expressed their desire to attend English speaking class.

It was a very rewarding experience meeting these young people!