By now I am sure you have heard of Ekal Vidyalaya.
Although the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation was
registered as charitable trust in 1999, the concept has been in practice and
refined over decades.
*Foundation Laid by Vivekananda*
In 1986, inspired by the efforts of the early Vivekananda workers, a group
of young educationists began work with the primitive tribes in the dense forests
of Jharkhand. Notable amongst them were Dr. Rakesh Popli (a USA-returned nuclear
scientist) and his wife Rama Popli (a child education expert). They refined
the concept of the 'one-teacher school' amongst the tribes of Gumla (125 km
away from Ranchi (Jharkhand), Chhatisgarh. Two years later, Shri Madan Lalji
Agarwal established similar schools in 60 villages near Dhanbad.
*Impact of the Jharkhand experiment*
By 1995-1996 there were 1200 schools being run in Jharkhand. Jharkhand's experiment
with the one-teacher, en eminent industrialist one-school non formal education
concept was extraordinary. Overall literacy rates in Jharkand doubled; the
literacy rate soared from approximately 30 to 60 percent, with youth literacy
surpassing those numbers. Furthermore, during the same time frame, health
workers noticed a sharp decline in diseases caused by non-hygienic practices,
witchcraft, and alcoholism. Inspired by the success of the Jharkand experiment,
organizations around the country adopted the concept. Many organizations including
Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra and Friends of Tribal Society (FTS) have been the frontrunners
in propagating this cause and have brought education to the doorsteps of many
forgotten children.
*Spreading of the Movement*
In last decade, organizations from all over the country have joined the Ekal
Vidyalaya movement. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India serves as the umbrella
organization for various NGOs that run one-teacher schools in their respective
areas.
In the year 2000-2001, EVFI became established
in New Delhi. From December of 2001, a CEO was appointed to look after the
trust's activities. In January of 2001, the EVFI international fund raising
arm was begun. One month later, the FCRA granted this arm the right to receive
foreign contributions.
The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India and
America are working earnestly, hand-in-hand, to help raise the funds necessary
to build 100,000 non-formal schools across the tribal belt by the year 2011.
The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate
illiteracy from rural and tribal India by 2011. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is
a movement of over 23,189 teachers, 5,000 (Approximately) voluntary workers,
20 field organizations (scattered in 20 Indian states), and 8 support agencies
as on 30 June 2007. With this tremendous human force, the Ekal Vidyalaya movement
strives to create a network of non-formal schools that will educate and empower
children in rural and tribal India.
The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a charitable
trust that initiates, supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly
known as Ekal Vidyalayas) all over the country. With the participation of
numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now become
the greatest non-governmental education movement in the country.
Ekal Vidyalaya's VISION is....
To banish illiteracy from the face of tribal
India by providing free, non-formal education through a People-Movement.
*Literate India*
While it is making giant advances in software, space, and nuclear power, India
is paradoxically still struggling with questions of basic literacy for a large
segment of its population. Upon independence, India's literacy rate was a
staggering 11 percent. Since then, we have made tremendous advances in educating
our people. Still, more than five decades after independence, 65.4% India
is still illiterate. Even worse off is the position of tribal India, which
has a literacy rate below 30 percent.
The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate
illiteracy from rural and tribal India by 2011. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is
a movement of over 23,189 teachers, 5,000 (Approximately) voluntary workers,
20 field organizations (scattered in 20 Indian states), and 8 support agencies
as on 30 June 2007. With this tremendous human force, the Ekal Vidyalaya movement
strives to create a network of non-formal schools that will educate and empower
children in rural and tribal India.
The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a charitable
trust that initiates, supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly
known as Ekal Vidyalayas) all over the country. With the participation of
numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now become
the greatest non-governmental education movement in the country.
*The Paradox*
While Indians have succeeded in flexing their intellectual prowess and in
establishing entrepreneurship throughout the world, over a third of India's
population is illiterate. Tribal villagers who live in remote areas away from
major cities are the worst affected. Often unreachable by road and untouched
by electricity, the tribal population is often neglected by agencies of development.
The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, therefore, has focused its primary education
programs on tribals and other underprivileged communities in rural India.
*Beyond Literacy*
Ekal Vidyalaya goes beyond mere literacy. Apart from its goal of achieving
the national standards of Minimum Level of Learning (MLL) for its students,
Ekal Vidyalaya also seeks to empower the village community for its own self-development.
Ekal Vidyalaya solicits complete involvement of the local community and aims
at making the school self-reliant in a period of five to seven years.
The donors, supporters and workers of Ekal
Vidyalaya are motivated by a commitment to educate our illiterate brothers
and sisters. Their unflinching dedication to serve their motherland is the
key to our success.
Why An Ekal School?
*On the Children's Terms*
For many rural and tribal children, a formal education is unattractive because:
(a) they must travel great distances to attend school; (b) school hours interfere
with the children's family responsibilities; (c) the children do not have
the funds for uniforms and books; (d) neither the teachers nor the curriculum
give due consideration to their needs and life experience. Though the government
has implemented many schemes to educate rural and tribal children, their literacy
rate remains staggeringly low.
In contrast, Ekal Vidyalaya has designed a
non-formal education program customized to meet the needs of rural and tribal
children. First, the children are taught in their native language (and then
in either the state or national language). Second, Ekal Vidyalaya classes
are scheduled to meet the needs of the village children and are often adapted
depending on the season and harvest schedule. Third, the school curriculum
is tailored to teach the children basic literacy and life skills to help them
develop self-confidence and succeed in rural occupations or pursue a higher
education if they choose.
One of the strengths of Ekal Vidyalaya's non-formal
education program is that it can be run on the children's terms. The Ekal
Vidyalaya takes into consideration their schedule, their experience, their
needs, their dreams. These children are the future. . . that is why it is
important to take education to their doorstep and ignite their minds.
*Friendly Teacher, Local Curriculum*
Conventional subjects such as history, geography, science, and literature
have little value in the lives of many rural and tribal children. They struggle
to make ends meet in an agrarian economy. Often, they speak a local dialect
far removed from the state or national language. To kindle an interest in
education and to give due deference to their local customs and traditions,
Ekal Vidyalaya commences with instruction in the local dialect. In addition,
the Ekal Vidyalaya teacher is a friendly face familiar with the village children,
traditions and customs. The teacher generally plays the role of an elder brother
or sister. He or she plays, sings, educates, and empowers his or her children
through non-formal education. The influx of new ideas filtered through familiar
channels helps make learning dynamic and fun.
*Emphasis on Quality*
For Ekal Vidyalaya, education is more than book learning. Education is the
assimilation of life-building, man-making, character-building ideas. To instill
those principles requires skills and dedication. Ekal Vidyalaya takes great
care in selecting and training its teachers to provide the best quality education
possible.
Ekal Vidyalaya recruits teachers from local
villages based on nominations from the village committee. Teachers must have
the leadership inclination and be generally as knowledgeable as at least an
eighth grader and a service mentality. Ekal Vidyalaya interviews each candidate
to evaluate his or her interest and dedication to the community. Once selected,
Ekal Vidyalaya indoctrinates the teachers with Ekal's unique holistic approach
to education. Teachers undergo vigorous training to qualify them to run Ekal
Vidyalaya schools. (See Teacher's Preparation). Also, supervisors and trainers
regularly visit the schools to help enhance the quality of teaching. Lastly,
supervised annual exams provide further reassurance that the school meets
quality standards.
Local Chapter of Ekal Vidhyalaya has spent
numerous hours to put together a GRAND Multi media dance, music, drama concert
by an INTERNATIONAL group, directed by Broadway Musician Andrew Sterman. The
group will be celebrating Mahatma Gandhi's commitments to humanity. This group
will be performing for the PRESIDENT of the United State this October.
This program is this Saturday - July 14th
at 5 PM sharp.