Education

When I went to college to study Computer Science at BITS, Pilani, located in a remote village of Rajasthan, I never expected the remoteness of the place to exceed the extent of not having a cinema hall. How could we sustain an existence of 4 years without the staple Indian diet of bollywood movies? Thankfully BITS fostered a strong sense of multi-cultural living, in addition to of-course studying computer science. So enough and more emphasis was laid on participating in variety of activities like college fests, theatre, photography, dance, music etc. through the form of various clubs. Inherit the Wind…

The French revolution talked about 'Education for all, Work for all'. The free software movement is taking this further with 'Computer education for all'.This was amply demonstrated by students and teachers at the opening ceremony of Ambedkar Community Computer Center at Sudarshan Layout (behind the IBM office at Bannerghata road). The centre, a volunteer effort from AID (Association for India's Development, Bangalore chapter) and Stree Jagruthi Samithi, was launched to provide free computer training to children in the area. Cutting the ribbon (pic: Sejal Parikh) There are many reasons why this event is path breaking, but the centre's efforts in…

When newspapers reported about a lower primary school being demolished for road widening in May 2007, it became one more in the list of offices that shift to sheds after demolition. The government lower primary school in Kasavanahalli near Kaikondarahalli on Sarjapur Road still operates out of a shed even after one whole year of relocation. The remnants of the demolished school building. "We were never ready for this demolition. But it happened very suddenly and we just helplessly saw the benches being removed and the building coming down. The education officers were there, we could not say anything" says…

Bhanu, a class 7 student, at the Matadahalli government school in north Bangalore is very excited to speak in English. "It was difficult to say one full sentence in English before but after the spoken English classes, I am able to talk very easily. I am thinking of becoming a teacher now," she says. Bhanu is one of the 30 students benefitting from the after school programme conducted by Dream School Foundation, an NGO, as part of the School adoption programme. This school is one of the 900 schools adopted in the state of Karnataka. Students at the after-school programme…

The Mahila Seva Samaja School in Basavangudi opened its brand new state-of-the-art badminton courts to the public on 15 February. The famous badminton player Prakash Padukone inaugurated the facility.Pic: Mahila Seva Samaja. Previously the school housed one single badminton court in its old auditorium, which was demolished to build two new courts in the sports and cultural complex of the school Members of the Mahila Seva Samaja, the school children and other ladies in the vicinity of the school have been utilising the facility as members since its inception in 1959. Of the two new courts, one is reserved for…

For many of the urban poor, education is a luxury. Even as many private schools become unaffordable in Bangalore, quality of government schools are not very impressive. Children from the lower economic background, who attend schools (mostly government schools) are unable to learn much due to poor infrastructure and teaching methodologies. Many of them are scared of subjects like English, Science and Mathematics. One initiative which hopes to tackle this problem is the ‘Evening School Centre’ run by the volunteer group, AID (Association for India's Development, Bangalore Chapter). These are centres found in slums and neighbourhoods populated by the lower…