As Pratap Singh’s voice booms through the phone, it is easy to imagine him as the stereotypical school headmaster walking around with a stick in hand and children scattering like chicken at the first glimpse of the ‘big bad wolf’. And that may well have been the case till sometime ago. But for the past three years, the headmaster of the Rajkiya Balika Uchh Prathamik Vidyalay, a government girls’ school in the Churu district of Rajasthan, would like to believe things have changed.
“If I think of myself as a government servant and that this is a government school and that I can’t do anything differently, then that would be negative thinking,” says the 53-year-old. Instead, he has been trying to engage with students and teachers in a manner that is accessible and friendly. “I have to see things from their perspective,” Singh says. He has introduced up to 20 different kinds of ‘activities’ that have made teaching and studying more enjoyable in the school.
They framed the content for this process with the help of IIM-A’s Sharma, his colleague Neharika Vohra, and Bodh Shiksha Samiti in Jaipur, an organisation that specialises in training teachers. The training was divided into four parts: Personal, instructional (with respect to students), organisational (with respect to fellow teachers) and social (with respect to the larger community).
(This story appears in the 21 March, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
I spend each year 3 to 4 weeks and have undertaken a task to help better our village school and form a foundation in USA. The reforms we have been able to do in our village are new toilets, new garden, started providing breakfast milk, cookie, fruit every day to kids. Added two teachers and a grounds keeper to help keep school clean. We are adding a new building that would have library, lab, assembly hall and another class room. Also provide normal needs like uniforms, school supplies and also fund some field trips. With the help of foundation will like to implement similar things in other schools. Education is the only answer to world peach and progress for any society. What I observed was primary schools in Indian villages now have mostly all kids from poor family going and very little attention is given by well to do on the conditions of the schools. Government is doing some projects like free lunch but its a tough task and more help is needed. From the class that was graduated we took the initiative and asked all students to further education. Were able to convinced 4 girls to continue education. We admitted them to a girls hostel with lots of disappointment found that after two months all 4 girls came back and quit. When i investigated more as to why the reason the girls gave was it was too hard for them as they were not prepared properly. Primary school education quality needs to improve and commend Mr Parimal for their efforts. On my next visit to India will try to meet the foundation adminstators and see how i can be of help.
on Jun 19, 2014