Three Students from Dharavi Host BMC Education Event
On 25 March 2026, the BMC Education Department, in collaboration with Sterlite EdIndia Foundation, organised an event to highlight the progress in FLN in their schools. Three students from Kala Killa Municipal School in Dharavi took turns hosting the event and addressing a hall full of 300 people, including senior government officials and education leaders.
At Kala Killa Municipal School, students regularly participate in activities that build confidence and expression. But this moment was different.
It was bigger.
The three students, Gaurav Sharma, Lubna Firoj Shah, and Laxmi Kamble, all from Class 8, stood on stage and hosted the programme. For them, this was not just another school activity. It was their first time being part of a platform so big, surrounded by senior officials, education leaders, and people they had only heard about before.
For Gaurav, this moment had been quietly building for a long time. He had attended similar events earlier, always sitting in the audience, watching others host and imagining what it might feel like to be there.
“Sometimes I used to think… maybe I’ll also get a chance one day.”
That day, he did.
But what stayed with him was not just the opportunity; it was the process behind it. Preparing for the event meant understanding the script, remembering names, knowing who would be present, and being ready for every part of the programme.
“Hosting looks easy when you watch it… But when you do it, you realise how much preparation it takes.”
And then came the moment that mattered the most to him.
“It wasn’t a big thing that I was speaking on stage… the big thing was who was listening.”
In front of him were senior officials, people he had only heard about before. For the first time, he wasn’t just watching them. He was speaking to them.
Lubna’s experience was different, but equally powerful.
There was a time when she had stepped away from school. Coming back was not easy. However, with the support of her school and the encouragement of her family, she returned and slowly began to regain her confidence. Today, she stood on a stage like this, speaking in front of people she had never imagined addressing.
“I only recognised two or three people in the audience… the rest were all new faces. But I still spoke on stage.”
Reflecting on the experience, she shared, “What I am taking back with me from that experience is not just the confidence, but the learnings.
“I learned how to speak in front of senior people, how to carry myself, and how to communicate clearly. One day, I want to reach a place where people come to me and ask how to make things better and how to take my country forward.”
Lubna’s mother was with her, and her eyes gleamed with pride and gratitude. She shared that “Lubna had once stepped away from school due to financial constraints, but today, seeing her stand confidently on such a large stage meant everything to me”. She thanked the school and teachers for bringing her daughter back to education, supporting her, and giving her this opportunity to grow and shine.
Laxmi felt like she was experiencing something entirely new when she stepped onto the stage. It was the first time she stood on a stage and addressed an audience. She realised how significant the opportunity to speak and be on stage was all at once for her.
“There were so many people… it was my first time speaking on stage in front of such senior officials.”
All three students talked about their teachers and principal over and over again. They were only there because of the confidence these people had in them. The amount of confidence and support they received from their teachers and the ongoing encouragement they received from their families made it possible for these children to be standing in that spot.
The preparation for the three students had been a group effort, with the three of them working together to practice for the speech, to correct one another, and to ensure that all of their actions and words were appropriate before they stepped onto the stage. By the time they arrived on stage together as a group, they were ready to do it.
And when it was over, one thing mattered most to them: they had done it without making mistakes.
That, for them, was a big achievement.
The event mostly centred around the FLN Dashboard, a platform for enabling administrators to manage student success in foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN). The FLN Dashboard allows for tracking of student performance against benchmarks, enabling administrators to make informed, data-driven decisions regarding resource allocation as well as accurately plan targeted interventions. Sterlite EdIndia Foundation and the BMC Education Department are collaborating on data analytics and system strengthening to develop a framework that improves the education system’s overall responsiveness to the learning needs of students.
But the impact of such work is not always visible in numbers.
Sometimes, it looks like this.
Three students from a municipal school stepped onto a stage, speaking confidently and shaping their own future in front of those who guide the education system.
For Gaurav, this experience has already changed something.
“Next time, maybe I can host at an even bigger level.”
And for Lubna and Laxmi, even if they didn’t say it in the same words, the shift was visible.
They had seen a bigger world.
They now know they can help shape the world they had only imagined.
Learn more about EdIndia program, an exceptional teacher education and training initiative designed for both pre-service and in-service educators.
