Bengaluru school shows the way to kids with little means

At a time when the pandemic has pushed children from vulnerable communities out of the formal education system, this school has come up with unique ways to retain students.

Sri Padmashree High School in Binnypet caters to students from deprived sections, many of them first-generation learners.

The pandemic-imposed financial crisis and technological barriers for online classes would have forced several of these children out of school, if not for timely intervention.

Many students did not have a mobile phone or tab. Not only did the school provide them tabs, but it also reached out to students’ neighbours. "We called up the neighbours and asked them to lend their phones for online classes,” principal Rajeshwari, who started the school in 2005, says. If the house is not conducive for learning, children could access online classes from the school.

Finance was another challenge. Shakti Priya, a parent whose daughters study here, said, “In other schools, children weren’t allowed for online classes unless they paid the fee. Our kids continued school as we were excused from fees for the most part of the pandemic. Even now, we have the option of paying fees in EMIs.”

The school made “wellness calls” to students, at least twice a week to check on them, a practice that continues during the third wave. The school also tied up with a stationery shop for notebooks where students can buy books and the school pays for it later.

The school raised funds for 40 children in the neighbourhood who had dropped out of schools during Covid and ensured they returned to classes.

Factoring in mental health during the pandemic, the school lightened up academics with activities that did not require buying anything. “While other parents struggled to engage kids, our children never faced boredom during the lockdown,” said Jamuna, a parent.

Where does the money come from? Money pooled by parents and staff is used, says Rajeshwari, a first-generation learner herself.

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