A) Saidpura Parent-Teachers Meeting
Achieving educational equality needs to bridge gaps which exist at various levels. We at ‘Sanjhi Sikhiya’ are trying to achieve it through various interventions designed to improve the overall learning experience of the students and teachers. One such intervention is making parents an important stakeholder in their child’s education through regular PTMs.
One such PTM was conducted on 17th November in Govt. Primary School, Saidpura. 19 mothers/grandmothers attended this meeting. Discussions went from what differences they see in private and govt schools and how the same could be reduced.
A major point of discussion of this meeting was how parents can be more involved in their child’s education. An activity which the team of ‘Sanjhi Sikhiya’ designed was circulated with the parents; focus of this activity is to make parents know their child better and opening up of a channel where the child will get an opportunity to express itself.
B) Meeting with Community Members
November 27, 2018: The objective was to understand how the people in the village see their role in the development of the village. While having one to one conversation with the people, everyone seemed very enthusiastic about the change or development and have clearly identified a few areas that need to be acted upon. But when it came to taking ownership of change that is to act for the change they wanted to see, they refused to do so. Their thought was that they alone cannot do anything or no one will come with me in this. Apart from them feeling not so capable of bringing they also pointed out that it is not their responsibility in the first place. It is the job of either government or the panchayat.
These discussions are an important way to understand what people think about development, their role in the development vis-a-vis the government's role. Once these insights are used effectively, a shift in the mindset of people is possible.