ASEEM
(Apna Skool Education Expansion Mission)
One important problem is that migrant labourers are forced, by definition, to move where work is available. This means that migration patterns constantly change, and this implies that the families, and hence the children, sometimes do not return to brick kilns with which Apna Skools engage. All these factors contribute to a potential loss in continuity of education for the children of migrant labourers, and this proposal aims to implement an innovative approach towards addressing this fundamental, seemingly intractable, problem.
Apna Skool Education Expansion Mission (ASEEM)
The solution for the continuity problem of educating migrant labourers’ children is inspired by the concept of Kendriya Vidyalayas mentioned above, but with attention paid to tractability. It is unrealistic, at least in the short term, to envisage an entirely new organisation that can develop such a network of schools for this section of the population, in large part because their current condition owes a lot to institutional apathy to even recognise it as a problem. Besides, an alternative already exists, at least in paper. Government schools exist, in principle, in every corner of India, and the Right to Education Act mandates that they cater to all Indians. It is the operation of these schools that needs rectification. In fact, as mentioned earlier, the problem migrant labourers’ children face when the families return to their villages is not one of unavailability of educational resources. Rather, it is the poor state of these schools along with outdated notions of class progression and pedagogy that prevents accommodating seasonal entrants to the schools.
The solution is to leverage the deep pedagogical experience as well as strong commitment of the employees of Apna Skools. We will train and send workers from Apna Skools to the very geographical regions to which the labourers return. These workers will play the crucial roles that made Apna Skools a success in the first place. The responsibilities of these Apna Skools Sathis (ASS) will include:
Interfacing with local school administrators to ensure migrant labourers’ children are formally admitted into school system regardless of the time of the year in which they seek such admission. Realising this objective requires that the designated Apna Skool employee be operationally familiar with laws such as the Right to Education act as a means of convincing local administrators to engage appropriately. This also includes guaranteeing that provisions, such as providing children mid-day meals, are implemented.
Act as a liaison between parents and school administrators, both to resolve issues such as those listed above, and also to ensure the parents continue to view their children’s education as a necessity.
Engage with local teachers from a pedagogical standpoint. Since it is unrealistic to expect often poorly trained or motivated local teachers to implement teaching methodologies for effective learning (especially important for non-standard situations in which children join school mid-year), constant engagement with the teachers and sharing with them the Apna Skools pedagogical techniques will be an important goal for the ASS.
Arrange for space and run remedial classes after school hours.
As with the philosophy of Apna Skools themselves, engage with migrant labourers, their children and local school officials as well as other related local administrators, in an ongoing, encompassing basis to address intersectional issues and roadblocks.
This ambitious new program is resource intensive, since the locations from which labourers migrate to Kanpur are varied, numerous, and geographically widespread. The map below shows the four districts that account for the large fraction of landless farmers and others destitute in their respective villages, that seasonally migrate to Kanpur as brick-kiln workers. We have conducted studies and run preliminary efforts towards accomplishing the five aforementioned goals by sending members of the Apna Skools team to limited villages in Hamirpur, UP as well as Gaya and Nawada, Bihar. These preliminary attempts have provided valuable information with which to embark on the proposed pilot program. The primary insight we have gained is that each district comprises several villages to which the labourers return. Since assigning one Apna Skools coordinator to each village is cost-prohibitive and resource-inefficient, the proposed pilot program will operate in one district that has several villages in proximity. This will allow the same coordinator to travel between all villages in that area without undue expense in time and resources. The district we have identified for this pilot program Nawada, Bihar, both for the aforementioned reasons as well as prospects of a successful deployment, as inferred from our recent preliminary trial-runs.
The villages we will initially cover are:
Hanuman Garhi, Chiraiya, Hajipur, Piraiya, Gambhipur and Khatangi
Each village comprises approximately 50 workers that migrate to Kanpur seasonally, and their children, for whom this program is tailored. number approximately 200. Hence, out of the 800 children in Apna Skools in Kanpur, we aim to address educational continuity of 200 children. It is fully anticipated that this number would grow with time, as operations from this pilot program lead to more expansive efforts. It is also possible that, eventually, the number of children impacted by ASEEM, this innovative program proposal, may exceed those we encounter in Apna Skools in Kanpur, since there may be other children whose families migrate elsewhere. As such, the over-arching long-term goal is to extend and expand the philosophy and implementation of Apna Skools across migrant labour populations of India.
Accomplishing this challenging yet exciting effort on a pilot basis will require funding for Personnel salaries and expenses, Supplies – educational as well as incidental, Transport, and Nutrition support.