It was an eye-opening experience then, when home-maker Kirti Dave decided to step out into the unfamiliar terrain of Paldi Kankrej village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
Thirty-three-year old Kirti Dave hails from that class of society where education is taken for certain, not something one struggles for. Where youngsters use computers to learn nursery rhymes, where six-year olds have schoolbags with rollers as accessories, and where words like 'pedagogy' and in-house counselling are common parlance.
It was an eye-opening experience then, when home-maker Dave decided to step out into the unfamiliar terrain of Paldi Kankrej village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. She was one of AIREP's VolunTeachers who were out to change the lives of students of the local government school for the better, by providing them supplementary coaching.
"I spotted ads for the AIREP programme in DNA, and also on billboards and in a bookstore. I thought, why not give it a try?" she says with a smile.
A year and a half after she joined the movement, Dave is very happy with the results. "From a time when the children had to be reminded to maintain basic cleanliness and discipline, they've now reached a level where they no longer need to be prodded to study. What's more, the parents are happy too. For a village that largely relies on agriculture, it comes as good news that people are waking up to the importance of education," she says.
Dave is in charge of a batch of 50 class VI kids, whom she teaches English, mathematics, social sciences and general affairs. "With these kids, we had to start from scratch. There was a very clear void left by the teachers in their schools, which we had to fill. Initially, out of every 50 students, 10 picked up the concepts while 40 lagged behind. Now however, they pick up faster and their concepts are getting clearer," she states.
Dave, like her team members, is very happy that they've succeeded without having to resort to the cane. "Unlike their school teachers, we neither hit them nor yell. The children have taken cognisance of that."
Proof of the children's involvement is their motivation to come to class. "We recently had a cultural soiree for these kids, where they presented dances and plays. They were terribly enthusiastic about the whole programme, and did extremely well. We have a long way to go yet, but we're confident we've taken the right step first," she signs off.
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