EDUCATION
In April 2014, I visited the Bagda primary school of Mundra block in the Kutch district of Gujarat. After reaching the school, I went to the classes, along with the Head teacher and Deepak, who is the School Improvement Coordinator there. The School Improvement Coordinator (SIC) is a part of the K- Leap Project of CARE India, which initiated the English Language development programme in 30 schools of this district. The SIC provides onsite support to teachers, liaison with education officials and work with the community to bridge gaps between schools and community to create an enabling environment for children to participate and learn.
When we entered the fifth grade classroom, we saw that both girls and boys were writing stories in their note books. The classroom walls were adorned with story charts that were written in English and pasted at a level conducive for easy readability by the children. While talking with these students, I was overwhelmed seeing that a number of children wanted to read the charts out loud to me. They were very enthusiastic and I inferred that they wanted to exhibit their English reading capabilities in front of me. I asked them to read one by one. It was interesting to note that they all were able to not only read but also pronounce the words correctly. After spending almost 30 minutes in the classroom, I observed that the children’s confidence and enthusiasm for learning and reading English was high due to their teacher’s passion for the subject. The teacher told me that the English language module and learning materials given by CARE was very helpful and acknowledged Deepak’s, the SIC, support in improving his teaching skills. He went on to say that he was lucky to have received CARE’s help as it has been instrumental in heightening his competence level in teaching the subject.
These testimonies by teachers and children make me feel proud of being a part of CARE India’s K- Leap Project. It was an amazing experience to see the impact that this programme has had on the children. Mr. Samir Samnani Project Coordinator, K-LEAP CARE India
