Education

"In my class, if a girl got her periods, two other girls stood behind her as human shields, so that nobody would see her holding a sanitary pad in class. If someone saw her with a pad, she feared being judged,” recalls 19-year-old Keerthana Srinivasan. This attitude is all too common among young people shielded from learning about themselves and their bodies. "Pads are not missiles to be afraid of!," says Sharath Sathya, founder of Karpom Karpipom, an NGO working towards sex education in schools. Keerthana finished Class 12 in 2020 from a school in Chrompet sans any kind of…

Over the last three decades, India has seen an increase in internal migration, from 232.11 million in 1991 to 314.54 million in 2001 and to 455.78 million in 2011. The total number of migrant children, between the census of 1991 and 2011, grew from 44.35 million to 92.95 million. As per these figures, one in every five internal migrants is a kid. A majority of whom do not get access to basic education.  Dilip Kumar Anurag, 37 from Bilaspur, Chattisgarh, who came to Bengaluru about a year back, lives in a kucha shack with his wife and two of his…

In an earlier article, we investigated the pervasive pattern of unfilled seats reserved under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Here, we spend an evening at an RTE verification centre in suburban Mumbai, talking to parents and a member of the RTE verification committee about the admission process. On the afternoon of May 27th, I met 3 mothers waiting in worry to secure admission for their children to different private schools. They were at the Gilbert Hill MNP Urdu School for the verification of their documents. This was no routine admission step; their children were among the select few that…

It has been eight years now since we started down this path without setting any goals to reach anywhere. It was our son Nihar’s choice to learn at home by making things and working on projects rather than only through books. He proposed that to us, when he entered Class 4, as he felt that he wasn't finding enough time to do the things he wanted to do. As parents, we valued his need to be free from systems and structures and to be motivated by his innate sense of wonder and curiosity. Today, he is 18 and a co-founder…

While the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns were hard on everyone, it particularly affected children with special needs. For children with intellectual disabilities and learning difficulties, going to school was integral to maintaining their physical and mental well-being. While Chennai's special schools remained shut, the students suffered setbacks as a result.  Despite months of resumption of physical classes, students still struggle to acclimate to their surroundings. Persistent staffing and funding issues in special schools across Chennai have also added to their woes. Chennai's special schools during lockdown Intellectual disability comprises conditions characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive…

As summer vacations come to a close, parents are eagerly awaiting the start of a normal school year after the past two filled with disruptions. COVID-19 has meant a sea of changes to education in Mumbai, and this school year will be the chance for parents and teachers to adapt and recover. The experience, however, has not been equal across the board. Migrants and low-income families that faced job losses often did not have the tools to seamlessly adapt to online education, and in many cases, could not afford to keep paying the school fees. And while middle and high-income…

As Bengaluru's schools reopen fully for the new academic year, students are struggling to cope. The school shutdowns over the last two years have led to learning gaps, emotional problems and dropouts. Sushma Chandrappa, a domestic worker, says her daughter attended her private pre-school for only four months in the last two years. "Her LKG classes had started four months before the 2020 lockdown, and she attended only those," adds Sushma. Further, the pandemic reduced Sushma's wages and her husband, an auto driver, lost his income completely. They were unable to pay school fees or ensure smartphone access to their…

Jaspreet Sachdev is a mother to eight-year-old Jasman, who has autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). After two years of online learning, he is back to school after the Maharashtra government allowed offline classes to begin in February. Jasman loved going to school and was really fond of his teachers and peers. School kept him busy and happily occupied for a major part of the day. But when schools started in February, Jaspreet had multiple meetings with Jasman’s teachers about some behavioural issues such as impatience, aggression and inability to focus, all of which had worsened during the COVID…

With school admissions in Mumbai for the new academic year in full swing, parents from different socio-economic backgrounds are scrambling to secure seats for their children in the best schools. The opportunities for those from financially and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, however, are not equal. This is where the Right to Education (RTE) Act was supposed to come in - allowing more children a chance at equal education. Introduced in 2009, Section 12 (1)(C) of the Act mandates 25% reservations in private, unaided, non-minority schools for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and economically weaker sections. This includes students with disabilities, those from…

Eight-year-old Dhrona has keen interest in music. Unlike many of his peers, he does not attend a traditional school. His parents have chosen to nurture his talent by enrolling him in music theory classes and keyboard classes under the ABRSM board which comes under the Royal School of Music. He is one of many children in Chennai taking to homeschooling and unschooling for various reasons The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of schooling considerably. With consecutive lockdowns, school closures, a larger push to digitise various aspects of learning, new forms of education have started gaining popularity. Homeschooling allows for an…