Tripura Community Project: Because Development Begins With Literacy
EdIndia Foundation, in partnership with IndiGrid Trust, launched an ambitious community project in Tripura on August 1. The goal is to reach 400 members of the marginalized communities of the state as well as 100 teachers in 10 villages.
Community participation in education has always been a way to ensure a more cost-effective use of resources and check the responsiveness to local needs. Such participation is expected to improve equitable access, retention, quality and performance of schools. EdIndia foundation advocates community participation in schools and aspires to take on the challenge to make school and community work in synergy. The project will also bring in innovative and tech-driven practices.
Through various competitions like drawing, quiz, handcraft-making, collage-making and read along as well as educational games, our experts are trying to foster a sense of accountability in the community towards development and literacy. The community intervention project also aims to bridge the gap and facilitate in building good relations between school and community. Community level meetings are also planned to build rapport between the community people, parents, guardians and youths and try and understand their problems and challenges.
Educational Games: The aim of conducting educational games with children of the community is to build rapport with the kids and help them understand that learning can be fun. Five such events have been conducted so far in 5 intervention schools. Children between the age groups 4 and 15 participated in the games. These kinds of games increase overall motivation and create a friendly environment among the children. It also boosts the confidence among children and helps to eradicate stage fright. They learned to introduce themselves, count numbers, pronounce alphabets, form words, rhyme etc.
Competitions: Competitions were conducted to engage children in creative exercises and help them express their innovative ideas. For example, the theme of one such competition was “My Village” and “A Walk to my School” to enable the kids to draw inspiration from their own surroundings. The collage competition was organized with the motive to help children build their fine motor skills and encourage them to let their imaginations run free.
Community participation in education has always been a way to ensure a more cost-effective use of resources and check the responsiveness to local needs. Such participation is expected to improve equitable access, retention, quality and performance of schools. EdIndia foundation advocates community participation in schools and aspires to take on the challenge to make school and community work in synergy. The project will also bring in innovative and tech-driven practices.
Feedback: The teachers and members of the community are responding increasingly well to the efforts of the project experts.
“Loud reading is not just about literacy, it is far more than that. It changes the way our brains work, how we relate to and communicate with others. This competition helped students learn how to use language to make sense of the world. It has also helped improve their vocabulary. Students have understood that it will help them to improve their focus and concentration. Their analytical thinking skills will gradually be enhanced by such competitions. Thanks to the team of EdIndia Foundation for organizing such activities,” Anamika Karnakar, a teacher at Purba Noabadi High School, Durganagar, Tripura, said
Jamuna Debbarma, a teacher of Philosophy at the Lefunga Engish Meduim Higher Secondary School, ADC Village, Tripura, wrote, “It was very well organized and students actively participated with a lot of fun and enthusiasm. The format of the quiz, with a mix of questions and pictures was really interesting. The event being organized created a sense of confidence among the students that helped them participate even more actively. Thanks to the team of EdIndia Foundation for organizing such activities.”
