The Goodearth
Education Foundation (belonging to Eicher group of companies) sought
the assistance of Bodh in crystallizing strategies for improving the
quality of education in the state-run primary schools. As a result, a
pilot project to cover two clusters of Umren block of Alwar district
was evolved wherein all 40 government Primary schools in these
clusters were covered by GEF/Bodh for improving the quality of
education through empowerment of the teachers. At the same time the
program also seeks to improve the relationship between community and
schools, providing quality primary education to children in remote
areas and ensure universalization of quality primary education. This
program emerged from the observed high rate of dropout at the primary
education level and the loss of faith in the educational system. The
area is located on the Aravali mountain range with the majority of the
population being Gujjars and Meos.
Bodh provides
teacher training and its Resource teachers have been placed in
government schools or are in rotation between them to provide academic
and technical support and provide creative inputs. This effectively
amounts to 4900 children and 122 government teachers being included in
the program. An additional eleven alternative schools (Samudayik
Bodhshalas) were established. The program at present (2004) reaches to
408 children of whom 216 are in nine preschools. It employs 216
teachers and 9 mother teachers. Two Centres for Adolescent Girls with
57 girls also fall under this program.
