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Night schools open up perspectives for the underprivileged in India’s metropolis – Analysis – Eurasia Review

Night schools open up perspectives for the underprivileged in India’s metropolis – Analysis – Eurasia Review

India has a long history of night schools, a unique concept introduced more than 100 years ago by social reformers in the western state of Maharashtra to ensure that working-class people received an education without having to give up their day jobs.

Soon, these night schools for laborers and agricultural workers took Mumbai and other places by storm: every day after dark, workers of various professions crowded into the crowded night schools. The workers hoped to change their social and economic status through night school.

More than 100 years later, although night schools have received much less attention in India, they remain an important educational avenue for the economically disadvantaged and underprivileged, especially poor women, to change their fate.

There are formal and non-formal night schools in India, of which the formal, government-sanctioned night schools, mainly in the state of Maharashtra, provide school dropouts with education in formal schools with the same curriculum as full-time schools and the same certificates for passing 10th and 12th grade examinations , while most privately funded evening schools are considered non-formal, with the curriculum developed by the schools themselves and adapted to and harmonized with the national curriculum. Such schools usually offer more practical courses.

Second chance for dropouts　　

Perhaps it is related to the tradition of evening schools and the fact that the state of Maharashtra, in which Mumbai is located, provides a favorable policy environment for the operation of formal evening schools and caters to the needs of poor school dropouts, Mumbai today has the largest number of Evening schools in India.

The network of evening schools in Mumbai, which includes around 150 evening schools, attracts dropouts from different age groups. Your lessons usually take place in full-time classrooms from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Since most night schools are government-funded, some night schools in Mumbai charge a nominal tuition fee from their students, ranging from Rs. 5 to Rs. 200 per month.

Nikita Ketkar, founder of Masooma nonprofit organization that works to improve the quality of education in night schools, said The Indian Express“A three-hour evening school session gives many students just enough time to learn.” Students are self-motivated and teachers at night schools tend to be more committed. They recognize that night school is the most important place for these students to change their fate because they have neither financial resources nor more time for classes.”

According to Ketkar, most male students enrolled in Mumbai’s night schools are waiters, fruit and vegetable sellers, day laborers, artisans in government agencies or freelance businessmen, while the female students are mostly married housewives.

In fact, many of the students attend night school to pass the Secondary School Certificate or SSC exams (as the Grade 10 exams are called in India) and obtain a Secondary School Certificate, which is the basic qualification for entry into a university or another school represents a job. A student who worked as a handyman in a government agency regretted that he missed out on many promotions and salary increases because he did not receive his Grade 10 certificate.

The Indian Express reported some stories of evening students in Mumbai. 16-year-old Monish Mirza, who had been doing odd jobs since arriving in Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh, soon realized that he would be “stuck” here for the rest of his life if he failed his school exams. Mirza decided to enroll in the Dyan Vikas night school. While his classmates went home after school to rest, he worked part-time every day as a carpenter’s assistant, making frames for hanging advertising banners. Mirza says his dreams aren’t particularly grand; He just wants to complete the 10th grade as quickly as possible so that he can complete vocational training or become an insurance salesman.

Studying for the future 　　

Nitin Bhalekar, 35, has been working as a laborer for an electricity company since leaving eighth grade. Although he has learned many skills from technicians, he has not been able to apply for technical jobs for more than a decade because he does not have a full education. Currently, Nitin and his wife both attend a night school in Mumbai. Nitin had always hoped to use his studies to secure a better position in the company, but it was a note from his son at school that made the couple decide to go to night school.

That day, his son took out a piece of paper from the English-speaking school that said in English: “The oral exam will be held in a few days.” Not sure what “oral” meant, Nitin picked up the piece of paper and asked around . Although he eventually understood the meaning, Nitin was clear that “if I don’t educate myself first, I won’t know anything about my children’s education.”

Like Nitin, many “parent students” attend night school not only to change their own destiny, but also for the future of the next generation.

Pinky Jaiswal, a 30-year-old housewife from Mumbai who is in the eighth grade of a night school, has wanted a banking job since she was a child, but her lack of secondary school qualifications almost made her give up on that dream. Jaiswal comes from a poor family in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. When she was a student in her hometown, Jaiswal was forced to drop out of school because she did not do well in one of her final exams, and her father, who was poor and sick, used this as an excuse to declare that he would not do so spend more money on their education. Jaiswal was married and still dreamed of transitioning from housewife to bank clerk. “I don’t want to be a maid cleaning other people’s houses anymore, I want a good job with a good salary.” “I want to study so I can be independent – my daughter will never have to live like me again,” she said .

According to a preliminary study by Masoom At evening schools in several cities in Maharashtra, the pass rate of SSC exams for evening students has increased from less than 30% to 60% to 80% in the last 10 years, with a dozen of them having pass rates of up to 100%.

Several cases show that some students have successfully transitioned to a new life after graduating from night schools and some of them have entered universities to continue and complete their higher education, with some even pursuing doctoral degrees. There are also a number of night school graduates who have taken the initiative to participate in running night school trust funds or join non-governmental organizations related to the night school business.

“Evening school gave me a second chance to stand on my own two feet and lead a dignified life,” says a divorcee who completed an evening school in Lower Parel, Mumbai.

Harvard University of Rural India 　

Unlike Mumbai’s night schools, Barefoot College, founded in 1972 in the village of Tilonia in Rajasthan, belongs to a different category: non-formal night schools. After an interview with Barefoot College last year, American columnist Nicholas Kristof described it as “the Harvard University of rural India – without wingtips or heels”.

For more than 50 years, Barefoot College has successfully trained uneducated villagers to become barefoot entrepreneurs, nutritionists, engineers and doctors through non-formal education that teaches skills from medicine to solar technology.

Kristof particularly tells the story of Chota Devi, an illiterate woman of Dalit origin. Dalits are untouchables who are at the bottom of the Indian caste system. In rural India, discrimination against low castes by high castes is pervasive. After six months of training at Barefoot College, Chota went from being illiterate to becoming a solar technician skilled in making solar lanterns and installing solar lighting systems. With this job, Chota now earns $80 a month. She can proudly say that every time she returns to her home village, the villagers respectfully call her “Ma’am,” something almost unimaginable for Dalits.

Chota’s story reflects Barefoot College’s philosophy that, given the right circumstances, anyone can learn what they want to learn. Bunker Roy, the founder of Barefoot College, says the college encourages students to try things and realize they can do anything. Barefoot College graduates emphasize that their learning “comes from doing, experimenting and making mistakes.”

Barefoot College has now established nearly 30 solar-powered digital night schools in 10 states across India, using facilities such as solar projectors and offline servers to provide digital, non-formal education solutions to remote, off-grid poor communities.

So far, about 1,000 children who were previously out of school have been reintegrated into the formal education system, and about 57 percent of these students are girls.

In addition to children, Barefoot College places special emphasis on strengthening the ability of older rural women to improve the quality of life in rural villages by improving their skills. Keisha Devi was a day laborer before joining Barefoot College in 2009. She studied dentistry under the tutelage of an Italian doctor at Barefoot College and received training in basic homeopathy and biochemical drug management.

Devi said, “Earlier, there was no dentist in our village. Now I teach children to brush their teeth and also perform simple dental procedures such as plaque cleaning, fillings and extractions… I have successfully treated thousands of patients here.”

Magan Kanwal was one of the first female solar engineers trained at Barefoot College. She graduated 20 years ago and hasn’t left since. As the head of the Solar Engineering Training Center, Kanwar regularly gives lectures to women from electrified villages around the world. Watching Kanwar explain complex circuits with ease, it’s hard to imagine that she hasn’t even completed primary school. But through watching, learning and practicing, Kanwar is able to install, operate and repair complex solar systems with ease and has traveled to various countries to train barefoot solar engineers.

In a documentary, Kanwar describes how she thought she would never be able to master solar lighting technology due to her lack of training, but finally succeeded after much time and hard work.

“If I can do it, I believe others can too,” emphasizes Kanwar, adding that one of the most successful aspects of Barefoot College is that it enables women to get an education and ultimately become independent. And it proves how important education is for women.