Anandalaya Public School.
Anandalaya Public School organized by the People’s Institute for Development and Training (PIDT) is an unique institution that seeks to become a model school bridging the digital divide between rural and urban India. Having gained CBSE (Central Board for Secondary Education) recognition in 2007 up to the 10th std, it seeks to bring together the best of the two worlds, of rural and urban and give the poorest children, in most cases, provide first generation learners access to quality education.
Since it’s establishment in 1995, the school has made significant progress. The students have been performing miraculously well in English medium competitive examinations securing very high grades. Eleven batches of students have completed their Class X board examinations and the results have been very good. Many of them are now working in a positive manner, contributing back to the area. If not for Anandalaya, the children would have remained illiterate and forced/lured into child labor or even trafficked.
The need or necessity for quality education to children need not be elaborated and the Universalization of Education Act 2009 is making a difference but the education for the poor and for the rich , for the urban and the rural remain a world apart. Laid out on 7 acres of land in Madhupur Block of Deoghar District of Jharkhand in Eastern India, Anandalaya Public School has an inclusive environment where children of various religions , races and color study together. Crafts education, performing arts and vegetable farming form an integral part of their curriculum. The parents of the children are farmers and migrant labour who work hard to send their child to school.
The Anandalaya Public School works towards nurturing responsible citizens by encouraging the children to understand the ills of society and stand up towards making a change in their own lives and in the lives of others. It also seeks to give them tools to overcome communication by having S.M.A.R.T classes and working with digital technologies. It seeks to combine knowledge, love and skill of work, with the capacity of scientific thought and logic, civic responsibility and exposure to technology.
The onset of the pandemic COVID-19 has increased the relevance of online classes and we are working with “Digital Citizens” Service Club raise funds and explore ways to reach out to the students most of whom don’t have S.M.A.R.T. phones. This has exacerbated the digital divide. It is a real challenge since the children in urban areas and the rich in rural areas have the tools and continue to study while at home but the students of Anandalaya cannot and would have to give the same examinations post the lockdown due to COVID – 19. They also remain deprived of Google search engines and such data which has become a part of educational pedagogies in school education.
The school has been working through a self reliant model, but the school fees are difficult to cover all costs. Well trained teachers are required to bring in quality in the education process through extracurricular activities of the children, which is difficult within the affordable fee structure.
We are exploring a number of fundraising initiatives. We appeal to you to contribute what you can so we can bridge the digital divide and show the world how children from backward regions can walk shoulder to shoulder with children from other developed regions in the country.