SARASWATI SHISHU MANDIR

Located in the district of Sitamarhi, Dumri is one of the better villages of Bihar. And it being my own village, I’m more than proud of it.

I went to Dumri this August for our housewarming. The old house, on which the foundation of the new one is also laid, is said to be more than hundred years old.

Since we had been given this assignment way back in July, I used this opportunity to work on it.

Saraswati Shishu Mandir School in the only private school in Dumri, owned by RSS or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Apart from this, there is a government school in the village too.

Even though the number of students enrolled in the government school are more than 750, not more than 50 turn up on a daily basis. Also, since the education provided here is free, neither the parents, nor the children take it seriously and turn up only when they wish too. It is because of situations like these that even though the enrollment rate is high, the literacy rate continues to be a big question mark.

On the other hand, Saraswati Shishu Mandir has about 150 students enrolled, and the attendance over here is above 140 everyday. The reason behind this is mainly that it is a paid school. Although the fee here is a nominal Rs.100, not many parents are able to afford it. Also, the concept of mid-day meals, like in government schools is not there. In fact, the way it functions is quite like schools in urban areas-morning assembly and classes till 3p.m. and a lunch break in between. The food is not provided by the school. Students get packed lunch from homes. Uniforms are also a must. Because of all these reasons, not all are able to afford this school.

The lowest class here in pravesh, which is an equivalent of nursery over here. Prep is bodh. Then comes pratham, dwitiya,tritiya, chauth and pancham- classes first, second, third, fourth and fifth as we know it. The school terminates at class five, after which those who are interested either go to Sitamarhi, or drop out of studies.

Although there is no acceptance of the fact that boys are encouraged more to go to school, there is a noticeable difference between the number of girls and boys enrolled. This difference, as would be expected, is decreasing with every batch that leaves the school.

The school here is run by seven teachers-2women and 5men, including one principal. Although not very highly qualified, all of them are minimum graduates. Graduation is the eligibility criteria for teaching here, though same have gone up to the level of M.A. and PhD.

As I entered the school around 9am, I was warmly welcomed by all the teachers, the students hopping around nervously seeing the camera in my hand. I attended their vandana, or the Morning Prayer which started at 9.30am, shortly after all the students had arrived and spread their mats and arranged the deities for the prayer. This was followed by singing praises about their school, remembering their aim and what they wanted to seek by coming to this school, and finally ended with students entering into their respective classes.

I interviewed one student from each class, and trying to be fair, I let others hang around in the background. Although shy, the answers I got from most of them were pleasantly surprising. They referred to their fathers as businessman, want to become doctors, engineers and the likes of it, and claimed to study because they wanted to, and not because they were forced into it. They said they’d rather come to school and spend 6hours with friends than go to the fields and work in the heat. Whatever the reason maybe, the fact that they wanted to study makes me feel immensely proud of my village.

The liking for the teachers was apparent throughout, although when asked about if they beat them up, students just smiled. The teachers also played the favorite student game with them. Very clearly, the more academically inclined ones were given all the work, while the others seem to enjoy the no-responsibility world. But this, in no way, seemed to hamper the functioning of the school.

The subjects that are taught here are as follows:

Hindi: Hindi

Gannit: Maths

Angrezi: English

Sanskrit: Sanskrit

Vigyaan: Science

Samanya Adhyayan: General Knowledge

Indriya Vikas/Kala: Moral Science/Art

I got a chance to get hold of the report card that is given to parents after very 6months, and that is also quite an interesting specimen. The parents are also required to fill in every six months, describing their child’s overall development. Another interesting aspect about the school that I couldn't’t help but notice was that teachers were referred to as bhaiya/didi (brother/sister). The same was true for teachers when they spoke about/to students.

The literacy rate in the village has seen growth in the past 4-5 years mainly. Even though RSS is doing a lot for improving the education level over here, there are still some issues that need attention.

About 6-7 children hungout around my house everyday while I was there. They were mainly children of people who worked for us and none of them went to school. None of them wanted to. Even of you sponsored them, they are not interested in studying. Their argument is-“why should I leave this life where I have to do nothing?”. I have the answer, but unfortunately they don’t want to understand.