covid The educational scenario is divided into two eras, i.e. pre-covid (usually working in face-to-face model and post-COVID era, which is more of digital education. But education suddenly shifted to digital mode. had its own constraints and constraints, whereas according to a. UNESCO Nearly 1.72 billion learners have been affected by the closure of the COVID monitoring website, educational institutions, 321 million Indian children disrupting continuing education. Of course, these children belonged to poor and underprivileged communities, who were already facing the wrath of no income, COVID-19 and other exigencies. Apart from hard work, at least 27 per cent students (NCERT survey) do not have access to a smartphone or laptop to attend online classes.
the situation was no different Delhi slumswhere Aaroh Foundation Implementing its major education projects like read and grow And the remedial education project ‘RISE’ (Remedial Innovations in Schooling) for more than a decade, has so far covered over 50,000 needy children. In slums like Sangam Vihar, Mundka, Ghevra or Rani Kheda, where there is a struggle for food and survival, education takes a back seat, especially for the girl child. Due to the family’s slowness towards education, the government initiative has not had an effect here. Despite discussions of progress made in infrastructure and functioning of Delhi’s education system, the educational progress of slum children has been an uphill battle. And hence, the need for Project RISE, which integrates children’s educational, physical and emotional well-being by improving their educational needs, provisional nutrition and co-curricular activities, was the need of the hour. The project is run in a hub and spoke model, with each cluster of 10 centers being run under a nodal centre. In each class 50 students (25 girls and 25 boys) are enrolled under a teacher. This includes provisions for community engagement through door-to-door awareness, focus-group discussions and other activities including rallies. The teachers of AROH maintain direct contact with the school authorities to obtain feedback about the children on the above aspects.
Team AROH was futuristic in their approach, as they integrated Blended Learning Module (BLM) pedagogy in RISE, which could accomplish both face-to-face and digital learning modes long before the advent of COVID. BLM is a uniquely designed audio-video course which is easily understood by the students and stays in their memories for a long time. RISE, a unique child-centred model, focuses on each child’s need and needs for educational improvement, health care and psychological and mental building through a bouquet of interventions. The teachers were well trained while in service and TLM, examination and evaluation (SOPS) were put in place a year before COVID happened. Through these BLMs, RISE can assist more than 2000 children to continue their education in the post COVID and subsequent two years of lockdown. Children whose families had moved back to their native villages can also stay connected and supported during the lockdown.
Delhi Slum Kids
A project coordinator of the AROH Foundation said, “Due to job loss and health crises, the parents of these children had no means for online classes. RISE refuses to invest any extra money in this preparation with its free online mode of teaching-learning methods.” RISE employees also acted as community welfare workers during the COVID lockdown, facilitating relief work.
While the Azim Premji University highlighted that around 82% of children lost their basic learning ability in the previous year during the COVID lockdown, we inquired about the same from RISE children. “Nothing is forgotten, Divya didi (her teacher) made us revise all the concepts multiple times through video calls, online home works and exams during the lockdown.” Chintu, a student of class one to fifth from one of the government schools in Delhi’s Mundka area.
Another girl Tapasya (from Sangam Vihar cluster) says, “This year as soon as we returned to our RISE centres, we again took a long exam. Most of us had scored good marks there. We also have to give the exam of OMR sheet. It was new and exciting for us.”
Dr. Neelam Gupta, Founder President and CEO, AROH Foundation described RISE as a futuristic project and said, “Particularly post COVID, RISE is proud to claim that learning did not stop for a day, because The NGO was visionary enough to understand. Digital transformation of education long ago. A key aspect of combating COVID-19 was to ensure that learning remains a virtually continuous process. This was an ideal time to embrace technology and its latest offerings to make education delivery more efficient to students and make it more productive through online learning and assessment. Our vision was right, BLM was the right investment, and the kids with such great results are living proof of that.
Moreover, RISE is not limited to core areas of education and learning, it doubles its services to neutralize various social issues in the target communities. Teachers are also given regular in-service training and capacity building. Parallel livelihood training like jewelry making, rakhi making and handicraft items from waste is done to ensure their livelihood and dignity even after RISE. Regular counseling of parents is done for better retention and learning outcomes. Individual and community based services are provided to mothers under Project ‘Shakti’ to deal with various issues related to women. Women’s groups are formed, trained and held back in communities as ‘angels of change’. It is a holistic approach to transform the educational landscape in the poorest communities.”
AROH is working on many of its interventions, but holistic development of children has always been important for this NGO. The agenda was to enroll children in government schools, reduce dropouts and increase learning outcomes. But with the advent of the Right to Education Act, the enrollment part of the Read and Move (PAB) was no longer required, and so the PAB was redesigned into the RISE (Remedial Innovations in Schooling) model. RISE was started in the year 2016 in the slums of Sangam Vihar and Mundka in Delhi. Till now RISE has served more than 5000 children.
Apart from Project RISE, AROH has impact in the most remote locations of India, from difficult areas of Meghalaya to Naxal-affected red corridors in Chhattisgarh to aspirational districts of Sitamarhi, Bihar, and has led to the socio-economic eradication of nearly 5 lakh Is. far away people. Various projects by AROH such as Jal Shakti, Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan, Samagra Rural Development Programme, a project addressing all the 17 SDG projects, Padho Aur Badho have been appreciated and honored by many national and international platforms including India’s United Nations Global Compact .