Students have given good results in scholarships and other competitive exams over the years and the word of quality of education here goes beyond district boundaries. Deep appreciation for the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) team on its journey in early March went to get it. ,
When there are large learning gaps in rural schooling, the team observed that students in this school could read and write well even before entering Class I. NCERT assistant professor Vishal Pajankar, who was part of the visiting team, said the school was a good example to others in the country.
A detailed research on its working, good practices and how they achieved such feat can be followed.
Pajkar said, “At a time when we are reporting student dropouts annually, this school has set an example of attracting students for all days of the year. The teachers have commended the all round development of the students. Tried it.”
According to NCERT, the aim of the study was to look at the role and functions of teachers in planning and implementation of various activities, teaching-learning processes and support of community members, parents and alumni. This study will now be done by the team for 20-30 days. Another team is scheduled to tour in April.
When teachers joined the Dattaraya Sakat School in 2001, they had poor infrastructure, low educational standards and the students of the village rarely reported for classes. Sakat then decided to bring in an academic environment and bring back the students.
“I realized that apart from academics, there are many other activities that students can be interested in such as gardening, sports, watching movies and fun games. I introduced them and we saw that the children of the village participated enthusiastically. Gradually, this word spread to other children and they started coming for these activities on weekends. Soon, the enrollment which was barely in the tens at that time has increased to 110 today.”
Sakat’s next step was to improve the quality of education. Children were introduced through audio-visual medium with the material developed by them. It had colours, music and graphics which made the concepts easy to understand.