SCHOOL FOR SUCCESS

Hi there!
Since i am not much free kinds nowadays so cant post an entry(wanted to write about how college is going and how i was thinking i am getting messed up but everything sorted out automatically) as of now. But here is a very interesting report on a school build by Anna Hazare, great social worker and presently part of the protest against the proposed deletion of file notings from RTI.


SCHOOL FOR SUCCESS
SUNANDA MEHTA

AHMEDNAGAR:WHEN the Shri Sanstha Nilobray Vidyalaya in Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmadnagar district turned 25 last year, the authorities’ wish-list was short. They just wanted the walls of the school to be plastered.

For funds, the school decided to approach its former students. The alumni took less than a week to pool together the necessary Rs 2.5 lakh. It was payback time and not one former student wanted to miss the opportunity. Because, were it not for Nilobray Vidyalaya, each of them would have had to bear the stigma of ‘failure’ all their lives.
LOCATED in the back of beyond in Maharashtra, Nilobray has a focus few other schools can aspire to match. It specialises in taking failures and repeaters from all over the state and ensuring that they clear their board examinations with flying colours. Not only does the school have a near-80 per cent passing average, but it has also produced national level sportspersons over the years.
“This year again, we are planning a celebration of sorts to commemorate our silver jubilee. Again we will ask our former students to be on the committee and take charge,’’ says Annasaheb Kale, the school’s principal, confident of his former students’ response.
The confidence is not unfounded. Ask Sandeep Tarde and Vaibhav Wagh, who joined Nilobray after failing repeatedly in their earlier schools. Today both boys, who passed out of the school four years ago, compete in rifle shooting and football at the national level.
Then there’s Nilesh Khambe, a Std X student who was asked to leave by his Pune school after he failed in Std VII. The boy scored 68 per cent in his last exam and is also a national-level kabaddi player.
“Every school in the state wants only brilliant students on their rolls. Where will the low-scoring students go? Most would end up as criminals. It is to prevent this from happening that we decided to dedicate this school to failures,’’ explains crusader Anna Hazare, the man behind the institution.
LITTLE wonder then that when Amol Shivaji Ravre applied for admission at the three years ago, his application received top priority at the school office. The boy had failed twice in the previous class and had never performed well in studies.
Today Ravre’s ninth standard report card shows a proud 60 per cent and as the 15-year old talks of his dreams of joining the army after passing out of school, there is a newfound conviction in his voice.
At any given time there are at least 800 such students at the Vidyalaya. “Most of these so-called failures are actually just misguided youngsters. Students who fail elsewhere do well here because we give them focused attention in an encouraging atmosphere,’’ says Hazare, who now wants to introduce vocational training.
To minimise distractions, students lead a structured life. The day begins early, at 5.30 am, and ends at 11 pm after being divided up among academics, sports, studies, yoga, general knowledge and practical training in crafts.
“We can watch television once a week, but because we are so busy all the time, we don’t really miss seeing it,’’ says Khambe who wants to pursue kabaddi even after passing out. Excellent food, a deep student-teacher bond and a conducive learning atmosphere are the other factors contributing to the success of the experiment, feels Kale.
Subhash Pathare, the school’s geography teacher cites examples of freshers addicted to tobacco and liquor who turned over a new leaf within three months of being in the school. “Thanks to Anna none of this is available in our village, which is half the battle won,’’ says Pathare.
Then there are those newcomers who, despite being in the sixth standard, do not even know how to write their names. “For such students we have a special class every morning, where we start with the barakhadi (alphabet) and go on till they can catch up with the rest of the class in terms of reading and writing,’’ adds Pathare.
BECAUSE of its success, the school now gets students from all over the state for its 800 seats. Occupied strictly on a first-come-first-served basis, the coeducational school has a hostel only for 250 boys. Day scholars don’t pay any fees, while the hostellers pay Rs 40 per day.
The teachers’ salaries are paid by the government, which also gives the school an annual grant.
With 60 of its 85 candidates for the tenth standard board examination passing with flying colours, the school has reason to be proud. “But what pleases me the most today is not just the fact that we made them into individuals who can contribute to society, but also that they are good human beings,’’ signs off Hazare.