What if there's no proper school around for a child to attend? Fret not, the school will apparently go to the child, if the child is somewhere in Tamil Nadu. Sounds unbelievable? Single Teacher Schools (STS) is a project run by the Swami Vivekananda Rural Development Society. It aims to provide supplementary education to children needing support. Such assistance is needed in Tamil Nadu as not all schools meet the required educational standards. Children fall behind in their studies or even drop out of school. STS comes to the aid of such children.

As part of the STS initiative, volunteers identify villages in rural Tamil Nadu where children need support. They then train a graduate as a teacher and help her (they are typically women) set up a temporary school in a common space to teach the children. Classes are usually held in community halls, temple grounds or sometimes, at the teacher's house.

Learning with Enthusiasm - Students in a Single Techer School

KONE CENTENNIAL FOUNDATION (KCF) together with KONE India support the Single Teacher Schools Programme in 20 villages in Sriperumbudur in the state of Tamil Nadu. In this programme, students are provided after-school coaching to enable them to cope with the demands of the regular school syllabus. Additionally, students who have dropped out are made ready to rejoin a specific grade level based on their age. Each STS programme is run by a single teacher who holds classes from 5 - 8 PM every evening. The target group consists of local children and youth between the ages of 3 and 16. They are taught according to a well-structured syllabus on par with mainstream education and focused on English, Maths, Science, and Tamil (the local language). Students are also taught yoga. The stress is not only on formal education but also on values such as integrity, comparison, patriotism, heritage, and culture.

Reading with Enthusiasm - Students in a Single Techer School

In Single Teacher Schools in Sriperumbudur, nearly 610 children were provided with free basic primary education during 2020, and 20 village women were provided with employment as STS teachers through this project. The organization also has many well-trained health workers who teach the children and their parents the basics of hygiene and health care.

In addition to encouraging advancement in regular academics, KCF and KONE India encourage the development of the children’s talents and conduct drawing and sports competitions for them every year.

Now, as a response to the COVID 19 pandemic, KCF has stepped in to help the families of student beneficiaries meet their food needs. The Coronavirus pandemic has caused devastation across the globe. Besides the toll on human life, economies have taken a huge hit. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown it triggered are clearly visible in the rural villages of Sriperumbudur.

The Government of India imposed a national lockdown in March, and it is still in force. This decision forced millions of day labourers to stop working, which, in turn, caused many to risk starvation for lack of basic food. Sriperumbudur is located between Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram. Together they constitute one of the biggest districts in the Chennai region and one of the ten districts worst affected by COVID-19. With more and more people testing positive in COVID-19 tests day by day, people must strictly follow social distancing, and the government wants everyone to stay at home. As a consequence, many daily wage-earners have become poorer with no way to get food for their families.

KCF stepped up to provide badly needed food support through the Single Teacher Schools to the families of the 610 STS students, all of whom depend for their livelihood on the wages of day labourers. By providing enough nutritious food to last more than 15 days, KCF helped these families during the period of intense lockdown, filling their hungry tummies.

About the author:

I am Rufus Davidson, Senior Executive - CSR, KONE Elevator India. I have been with KEI CSR for 4 years. The passion for Social works drives me to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of these young people.

Together We Make The Difference