School Sanjog: Reaching the most vulnerable tribal students with education
`School on Wheels’ reaches out to children from the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) with fun-based learning.
As schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students from marginalized and tribal communities of Odisha were unable to access online classes and faced the risk of being left behind. Many of them, first generation leaners, were unable to get help from their families and lost track of the curriculum that was being covered by online classes.
Prolonged school closures created a learning deprivation that led to many children losing their reading and writing skills. To bridge this learning gap, the UNICEF-support School Sanjog initiative of a `school on wheels’ reaches out to children from the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) with fun-based learning.
Reaching around 40,000 children across 8 districts, volunteers reach tribal villages and organize open-air classes.
Implemented in collaboration with the Government of Odisha’s Education Department, School Sanjog deploys a visually appealing `school in a van’ or `school on a bike’, equipped with child friendly learning material such as audio-visual tools, books, science kits, sports kits, and hygiene education kits.
Following pandemic protocols, trained volunteers from partner NGO Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti engage children in fun-filled learning activities in an open space. Fun games like Ludo, Snakes & Ladder make mathematics amusing. Vocabulary learned through animated films becomes memorable and songs make it easier to memorize tables.
Students of Junga Primary School in Harichandanpur, Keonjhar district find School Sanjog activities educational and enjoyable.
“It is like school, but more fun. I got to learn something new every time,” says Pratibha Nayak, a student of Class IV who aspires to be a police officer.
“I like animation stories. I learn new words from these stories and it is easy to understand,” says Subhasmita Nayak a Class III student at Junga Primary School in Harichandanpur, Keonjhar district in Odisha. “I am eagerly waiting for my school to reopen again and meet my friends,” she said.
Designed to provide a memorable learning experience by engaging students to attain the foundational literacy and numeracy competencies and open up new ways to learning, the School Sanjog programme also seeks to create awareness on health, education, personal hygiene and overall wellbeing of children. At each session, children are taught the correct way of washing their hands through demonstration.
“Children eagerly wait for the School Sanjog team to come to the village. They dress up in their school uniforms and get their books ready. We can see children are getting interested in studying again,” said Kasturi, a village grandmother whose grandson has been attending these classes.
Using an integrated approach towards continued learning and to check school dropouts, School Sanjog volunteers also engage with community elders and speak to them about ensuring all children go to school and are not married off early or pushed into labour.
“It is important to ensure the emotional well being of children and facilitate their return to schools when they reopen without major education gaps. We are especially working with the most deprived tribal communities as we want these children to get an equal chance at reintegrating with the formal school system,” said Chaitanya Junga, a young volunteer from Harichandanpur Block in Keonjhar district.
