It is the quest of a youth from Haryana to improve the standards of government schools in and around Whitefield in Bengaluru that has helped in not only improving the standards of teaching at government schools but also brought down the number of school dropouts. If all goes well, the initiative which started at one government primary school in 2013 is set to be extended to other states apart from other areas in Bengaluru.
It all started when Naveen Kumar Dahia attempting to help children enrolled in private schools under right to education (RTE) but students were treated badly by the management of the private schools. “It was during my interaction with Dr Niranjanaradhya of National Law School of India University I came to know the need to improve the standards of government schools as majority of the downtrodden children go to these schools and there were only limited seats in private schools under the RTE. Then we conducted a survey, started visiting the government schools situated in Whitefield and began scouting for volunteers to teach the children at the government school,’’ recalls Naveen Kumar Dahia.

Motivation

Naveen Kumar Dahia, who hails from a rural area in Haryana, had to face lot of problems while attending interviews for a job since he could not speak English properly. “I have passed BE (electronics and communications) but I failed in around 30 interviews due to my inability to speak English properly. Initially, I got a job in Pune and later came to Bengaluru. I started this initiative because I do not want others to face the kind of problems I had faced. I decided to help students of Government schools to improve their spoken English,’’ said Naveen Kumar Dahia.

His determination and dedication to help the students of government schools made him to start Acharyas 4 Better Community with four volunteers four years ago and now the number of volunteers has increased to 150. “We have covered around 20 schools in Bengaluru (be it teaching, conducting sports day, painting competition, planting of saplings and organizing annual day celebrations, etc.) and are now planning to extend to 30 more schools this year. We have started conducting students’ assessment test of Kannada, English and Mathematics. The volunteers of Acharyas 4 Better Community have started taking classes in small batches based on the students’ performance in tests,’’ he said.

Dedication, Happiness and Progress

Vinod Raj, who hails from Kerala, works at a private firm near Whitefield. Vinod Raj’s concern towards students from downtrodden communities prompted him to join Acharyas 4 Better Community and spend his valuable time with government school children at Hoodi. “I came to know about Acharyas 4 Better Community through one of my friends. I was assigned to teach children at the Government Primary School, Hoodi. Initially, I found it tough since I was not well versed in Kannada. So, I learnt Kannada. There was a shortage for teachers at the school and 5th standard students did not know how to speak in English. There was a computer lab but no teacher. The room of the computer lab was being used to conduct yoga classes. I started taking computer classes for the benefit of the students in 2015. Their joy knew no bounds when they were able to type their names in English and found their names on the computer screen. Now, I am very happy to help these school children,’’ narrates Vinod Raj.

Prathibha Gupta from Whitefield spares her valuable time to help the students of a few government schools at Whitefield. Prathibha also came to know about this group (Acharyas 4 Better Community) through one of her friends and is very happy to be associated with this group. “I am a mural designer and teacher and teach art to ladies and kids. I was doing my bit of giving it back to the society but could not find ways and means to channelize it. A good friend suggested to me `Acharyas’ and I joined them. Acharyas is a group of like-minded people who want to give their best to those who may need it. We are a mixed group of corporate and non-working people who co-ordinate in terms of our efforts, time and skills to teach kids in government schools. I realized that the Govt school kids need a lot of guidance in English, Computers and Maths. As a group we assessed kids based on their existing knowledge and now teach them according to their requirement.
We also organize sports and art events to bring out the best in the students. Since I live in Whitefield, I go to nearby schools in Pattandur, Vijanagar and Hoodi,’’ says Prathibha.

Expressing a similar opinion, Shobha Suryanaranan said that she typically spends anywhere between four to 12 hours a week to help the students of government schools.  “I have worked in various capacities in the media. I was looking to work with non-profits around Whitefield and my friend told me about Acharya group.

Their aims and goals appealed to me. Interacting with and teaching the kids are quite a satisfying experience. If you have the time to spare, try and interact with these children. It is a great feeling when the kids learn something and show you their work. I see progress in the two months that I have interacted with them and that leaves me feeling good. The kids will only benefit from any knowledge that you can impart,’’ says Shobha with a smile.

Acharyas 4 Better Community gears up to extend its activities to Kuderu, Chittoor, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Delhi shortly.