Night schools
Girls studying at a night school
The concept of Night School emerged from the grassroot realities that there are still some hamlets and villages that have no access to primary education. Moreover it is very common to see small kids taking care of their younger siblings, looking after their field and cattle during daytime and therefore they are not able to go to school. Therefore the concept of night school came into existence to provide access to primary education to such children who for various reasons are unable to access the regular schools. Hence these schools target children of marginalized populations living in remote village and hamlets to ensure their primary education and later if possible mainstream them in Government schools.
Manthan works together with SWRC and other network partners for the night schools project. Manthan is currently running 15 night schools where 433 children are studying.
Night schools are run in the evening for around three hours. Children of all castes, those belonging to weaker sections of the society and girls are particularly motivated to enroll in these schools. Beside elementary education children also receive knowledge on current affairs, agriculture, animal husbandry, environment, health, political knowledge and relevant social issues such as untouchability, inequality, child marriage and dowry.
Solar lanterns are used for lighting at Night schools
Health check up of the children attending night schools is conducted on a regular basis and treatment is provided to the children suffering from aliments. Counseling is also provided to the parents of children who are not well.
These schools are run with community support and cooperation. For this purpose, a Village Education Committee is formed in the village that looks after the needs and functioning of the school. The space for school is provided by the community, teachers are selected and appointed by the Village Education Committee.
The education at night schools is linked to the children’s lives and surroundings
The teachers are selected from the same village in which the school is located. This ensures their timely and regular attendance and better identification of working children and making efforts to enroll them in the school. These teachers undergo a training of 25 days at SWRC, Tilonia after their selection. The curriculum for night school is designed by SWRC, Tilonia in consultation with the education team of Manthan and other network partners. For classes 1 & 2 a set of 20 units comprising of language and mathematics is taught and from class 3rd onwards Government books are followed. The curriculum in these classes is interactive and interesting. It is based on their their everyday lives and is linked to their immediate surroundings. Night schools are child-centered and promote interest of children though various activities like plays, stories and songs. Children are encouraged to attend vocational training like carpentering, tailoring, chalk making, solar etc provided in these schools. Puppet shows, Baal mela (children fairs), mobile library exposure tours etc. are also organized for generating awareness on issues such as rural-to-urban migration and child marriages (especially for girls). Evaluation is carried out thrice in an year and examinations are unit-based.
