SES HYDERABAD Halfyearly update n n n Brief

SES HYDERABAD – Half-yearly update n n n Brief Introduction Before Achievements Challenges ahead Questions

Introduction n SES Hyderabad: Nearing eleven years since the start of its operations in the slums of Hyderabad in 1994, SES (Subrahmanya Education Society) has been focused on providing best possible education to the kids in slum areas. Mission: Our mission is to make deep inroads into every ignored and neglected area in and around Hyderabad to locate children and bring them into a learning setting so that they can be children. Our team works closely with the local community, accessing local resources, and constantly reviewing their work with feedback from children, parents and our teachers. Prior funding: Funded by the family themselves

Before Excerpts from initial site visit report: n n n n Less than 100 kids from the slum area of Adikmet (bordering the walls of Osmania University). 7 teachers and 1 head mistress School being run in 4 rented class rooms Very little infrastructure Classes for 2 grades being run in the same room Small fee of Rs 25/month being collected – parents often cannot afford this High drop-outs – both girls and boys (specially after Grade 6) Bare minimum salaries to teachers most of whom think of it as volunteer work.

Asha-SV makes a difference Asha-sv approves to support SES for Rs 6, 26, 400 ($13, 000) for 2006 -2007 including Rs. 1, 20, 000 for furniture and school supplies n n n School to moves into a new building separating all classes till grade 7 (not a perfect fit but the best available option in the near vicinity). Classrooms get new furniture from grade 1 – 7. Kindergarten furniture not fitting the rooms – kids sitting on the floor right now. Options being explored to make these classes better. 3 new teachers added; teacher salary raised to Rs. 1500/month. One new qualified teacher added Rs. 2500/month; head mistress salary raise to Rs 3, 500/month. Education is now provided free of cost. Enrollment drive conducted – # of applications far exceeded the capacity. Kids from other slum areas also want to join the school but had to be turned down.

Current Strength Class LKG UKG 1 st Strength 37 43 34 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th 17 27 19 16 15 11

Teachers Teacher's Name Qualification Title Experience Mrs. P. Lakshmi Kanta MA B Ed Head Mistress 24 yrs Mr. C. Gundu Rao Bsc. B Ed Teacher 11 yrs (Math/Science) Miss. C. Nirmala BSc. B Ed Teacher Mrs. Uma BSc (BZC) Teacher Mrs. Indira BA Teacher Mrs. Vasantha BA Teacher Mrs. R. Vijaya. Sree BA Teacher Mrs. C. Durga Undergrad Teacher Miss. Nazia Bhanu Undergrad Teacher M A Sayeed Undergrad Teacher Mr. Rajeev Polytechnic Teacher 8 yrs

Key achievements n n n n n A total strength of 220 students. There are 10 qualified teachers and 1 Head Mistress. One time FCRA clearance received 2 weeks ago. Special coaching classes are held for under-performing students. New location of the school has been chosen to be close proximity to the needy children. New furniture was made available in time for the school reopening in June ’ 06. Efforts were made to reduce drop-out (yr-to-yr) and this paid off. No dropouts so far - all previous students rejoined for ’ 06 -’ 07. 3 girl students who completed grade 7 are being given special tutoring for classes 8 th/9 th to enable them to take SSC exam this year. Introduced Extra Curricular activities like drawing, painting, essay writing, debating etc. , from 1 st Sep. The extra curricular class is scheduled on every Saturday from 2 pm - 4 pm.

Challenges n n n Many students had to be turned down because they cannot be accommodated in the current classrooms. Qualified teachers demanding more salary. Urban setting puts pressure on recurring expenses. Teachers need to be provided with incentives to motivate them to complete formal education and become qualified. Need to revisit the dropout issue and think of ways to educate parents to keep their children in school at least till grade 7. Get the community involved. Need to work on expanding the school to Grade 10 (all aspects – space, teachers, drop-out rate reduction, Govt recognition, community involvement). Space is a big challenge right now. Kindergarten rooms to be shifted after construction of new room in the existing premises.

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