The Jeevanshala Programme is a novel programme being run in the villages of the Samalkha Block of District Panipat in Haryana, an experimental programme geared to make education available to children of economically and socially poor sections of society, children who have been deprived of getting an education as their socio-economic conditions compel them to work in brick-kilns, on tea stalls and on farmlands of the rich farmers. Some of these children are rag - pickers forced into this occupation by their circumstances. This is a programme run by dedicated volunteers of Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti.
The efforts of these dedicated volunteers have contributed in bringing the light of education into the lives of many of these children. Having passed their Class V examination from the local, village-based education centres (the 'Jeevanshalas'), these students studied for the next level of school education at the main, residential Jeevanshala Centre established at the Block Headquarter at Samalkha.Now more than Hundred students have passed matric and around 20 students are in BA Final level.
No school bags, no home-work to harass the child. Children in the 'Jeevanshala' learn through understanding, not by rote. The atmosphere is one of mutual trust and cooperation. Also absent are the jealousies generated by the spirit of competition — mutual understanding and emotional attachment are the hall marks of the scheme of things here.
The education these students receive in the 'jeevanshalas' inculcates in them values that go into the making of a substantive human being. This is made possible by the equation that the teachers try to establish with them, an equation rooted in mutual trust and emotional attachment. The air of freedom and equality that is a result of this new -found relationship enables the children to face the challenges of education with a new confidence.
This mode of education is based on providing full freedom to the children to indulge their creative urges that are , quite often, curbed by the prevailing system of our education. In the 'Jeevanshala1 they are encouraged to find answers to their queries on their own. Extra-curricular activities like staging of dramas, clay-modelling, painting, singing, visits to the fields and local historical places provide them opportunities to quench their thirst for knowledge. These activities help in tapping and further developing the latent creative abilities of the children.
This alternative mode of education creates and develops a sense of self-sufficiency and of self-imposed discipline in the students who imbibe these values through collectively performed activities. Tasks related to cleanliness and sanitation, cooking and the arrangement of drinking water are done collectively by the students and teachers in the Central Jeevanshala at Samalkha. Even as they work together, the students realise the significance of planning, of division of work, and of maintaining discipline — discipline that comes from within and is not enforced by an external agency.
The 'Jeevanshalas' value the child's desire for a life of dignity and security. The students of the 'Jeevanshala1 feel that they have a place for themselves in this world; they feel secure within the environs of the 'Jeevanshala1. And the education they get makes them sensitive to the challenges the society faces today. As these children grow in mental stature, they become alive to the crises around them, be it the serious fallouts of blind consumerism or the challenges of natural calamities or the crisis in the cultural scenario of the country.
The Jeevanshala Programme was started on the basis of the government's financial support for a limited period of time. Attempts have been made to involve the local community too in the programme. Now, the programe is moving towards sustaining itself with the active participation and financial support of the local community.
There have been problems galore — too numerous to be stated here. In the face of all difficulties, the organisation running the programme has been actively making attempts to mobilise voluntary donations that will help it garner resources, especially those related to teaching aids and materials essential for the teaching-learning process. The programme has been able to carve a niche for itself in the hearts of the people of the area. But it is, nevertheless, a challenging task to be able to keep this programme going, for the odds are heavy and daunting. It devolves upon all sections of society to lend a helping hand in a task of such social significance.
The significance of this novel experiment in the field of child-education cannot be measured in statistical terms: figures and statistics are not the only real measure of changes affected in the socio-cultural realm. It is not within the power of a single person or organisation to carry forward this challenging task. All sections of society need to contribute in making this programme a success. This would be a contribution worth the effort, for it would take forward the process of educating children in a way that they can become the harbingers of a progressive society : the children of the 'jeevanshalas1 already show signs of an inclination for thinking and pondering over issues of social significance.
Let us make our child feel secure. Let us provide him the human dignity that is his right. Let us do this through EDUCATION.
The programme needs your support moral and Financial. Can we contribute 5 Dollar a month from those who are abroad for this noble cause or Rs 100 per month from those who are in India
Please note the Bank account no. of
BGVS-Haryana
Indian Bank = Saving A/c No. 543814445
Indian Bank = Saving A/c No. 543814445
R.S.Dahiya
Loca/ Contact
Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Panipat
Shaheed Virendra Smarak Bhawan, Bhagat Singh Colony,
Phone:0180-2572450
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