From schools that teach rag pickers to read, to career counselling for tribal youths. From teaching village girls programming to literacy programmes that move away from rote learning. Read about the latest in not just rural education but learning.
Education
Science popularization helps tribal students spread wings
An academy in Pune district of Maharashtra has boosted the confidence of tribal students, and helped them dream beyond their textbooks and hamlets by giving them practical exposure to science
Musahars overcome fear, but face a long road ahead
Tired of being denied basic human rights and held to be untouchables, Musahars in some villages of Varanasi district are speaking up with help from community activists, but a decent livelihood is still far away
Odisha’s seasonal hostels help curb child migration and child labor
Poor villagers in Odisha’s migration-prone districts, who toil at brick kilns in the southern states for most part of the year, have found some succor in seasonal hostels that educate and nourish their children in a safe haven
The grey and grim hues of rural India
In travelling to the less fortunate parts of the countryside, it is difficult to come to terms with the stark poverty, squalid living conditions and bleak prospects of the young living in the neglected parts of our country
Musahars in Bihar struggle to educate their children
Derided as eater of rats, a large number of Mushahars in Bihar villages see education of their children as the only way out of the oppression they face daily but the going is still tough
Meo girls step into modern world through schooling
Breaking long-held taboos and gender biases, girls of conservative Meo Muslim community in Alwar have convinced their parents to put them into school, and the results are showing
Technology helps Assam’s rural children learn better
School children in rural Assam, who lack exposure that their urban counterparts take for granted, have started using technology to their benefit, understanding their lessons better and learning new concepts
Books in tribal languages help rejuvenate school learning in central India
An initiative that produces books in tribal dialects in an underdeveloped area of Madhya Pradesh is helping tribal children to not only become better learners in school but is also reconnecting them with their indigenous culture and traditions
Many fellows but not too many ships to anchor
To make fellowships that connect with rural realities really worthwhile, it is necessary to provide pointed guidance through mentors who are ready to engage, a vital aspect that many of the programs are not addressing adequately