Community-Driven Government School: A Bala Vikasa Model

Meha Mathur Nov 08, 2023

The Zilla Parishad High School in Ontimamidipally, Warangal District, was shut down by the government in 2011 as there were just 29 students left. This was because parents wanted their students to study in English medium Schools.

Following the closure, parents started sending their wards to private schools, often in adjoining villages, shelling out as much as Rs 20,000 per child on education, besides about 7,000 on transport.

Located about 140 km from the state capital, Hyderabad, the village has 350 households and a population of 3,500. The closure of the school affected the village population, as it meant a big burden on their pocket. It also impacted girls’ education as parents were worried about their safety in sending them to another village.

When Bala Vikasa, an organisation founded by Bala Theresa Gingras and her husband Andre Gingras in 1991, took up development work in the village, starting with construction of a tank to supply drinking water to villagers, the issue of quality education also cropped up and parents, especially the poor shared the struggle they were going through to educate their children.

Bala Vikasa is an organisation that has been instrumental in development work in several villages of Telangana for many decades now by Bala Theresa Gingras and her husband Andre Gingras, Canadian career diplomat who retired as Vice President of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), have been involved in development work in the region for over 45 years and launched Bala Vikasa after years of joint work with other NGOs. The organisation focuses on providing clean water supply with community involvement, water recharging, organic agriculture, women empowerment, menstrual hygiene and education. Their work has impacted seven states. The organisation runs Community Driven Development Programs (CDDP), operates People Development Training Centre (PDTC) and Centre for Social and Responsible Business (CSRB), all these three wings aimed at empowerment and training in different segments.

At the core of their work is the conviction that there should be no freebies. People are more vested in initiatives in which their contribution is involved.

One example is the provision of clean drinking water in several villages, for which each villager has a card – akin to your ATM Card – for drawing 20 litres of water for (just Rs 3). The card has to be recharged periodically.

“We believe that true rural development is possible only with the active involvement of the entire village community. The success of our high-impact school improvement projects has been a result of our unique 360° Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach based on our development principles that support our motto of ‘helping communities help themselves,” says Shoury Reddy Singareddy, Executive Director, Bala Vikasa.

Identifying the needs

Bala Vikasa team got the villagers involved, formed a small committee and conducted a survey to find out the ground situation. The survey revealed that 264 students going out to 16 other schools and a total amount of 60-70 lakh was being spent by them on schooling.

Following the survey, Bala Vikasa made a resolution along with the gram panchayat that they will start a school at the campus where the older school had been shut, so that no one has to send their ward out of the village.

Shoury Reddy Singareddy of Bala Vikasa shares that some crucial decisions were made at this juncture. It would be an English medium School; it would have a combination of government and private teachers and as is the philosophy of Bala Vikasa, it would be opened and run with financial involvement of parents and would not be free.

Building blocks

Starting a school with parents’ involvement entailed an expense of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,500 per year. As many as 140 students enrolled and Team Bala Vikasa asked their parents to pay Rs 1,000 initially, undertaking small renovation.

After making the necessary infrastructural facilities, the school was also set to reopen and function as a private school in 2015. Bala Vikasa invited the then Education Minister of Telangana, Kadiyam Sri Hari for the inauguration of the school. On seeing the facilities at the school, the minister granted permission to run the school as a government English Medium school till Class VII and sanctioned seven government teachers. That day, 276 students enrolled, with parents being willing to pay Rs 3,000. The present strength of the school, which has classes till Class X is 480 students.

The money is spent on the salary of private teachers, ayahs, books and infrastructure. Last year, out of Rs 27 lakh income for the school,

out of which Rs 17.5 lakh was spent on teachers and ayahs. The remaining was spent on infrastructure, like addition of rooms.

A major infrastructure highlight of the school is a computer lab that has been set up with the assistance of Amazon and that is equipped with 25 computers. This is in tandem with Bala Vikasa’s objective of helping students build a bright future for themselves.

“One of our goals is to provide quality education in the school which is driven by the community. Families who are economically challenged also wish to send their wards to private schools where there is some degree of quality. And in Telangana, where IT is a big thing, everyone wants to make a career in that field. And without English you cannot realise that dream,” says Shoury Reddy.

The decision to bring in private teachers also stemmed from this zeal to provide quality education to students (and support the students after school hours). The school has 9 government teachers and 11 private teachers today. To add to that, a committee comprising parents of students studying in the school is proactively engaged in running the school, collaborating with teachers. Predominantly farmers, they spend an hour to hour-and-a-half hour each day, as they are convinced that it’s in their children’s interest.

Creating an impact

A few parents whom we spoke to shared that being in the committee, they are able to guide their children better. When asked what were their dreams for their children, they came up with a range of career options – from doctor to teacher. But all of them said in unison that they wish their kids to converse in English. Overall, they feel, that the village has changed because of regular meetings and the awareness created.

The school goes out of way to develop students’ potential. The school timings stretch from 8 am to 6 pm so that students needing

extra help can get the attention they require. They can also utilise the time for reading, writing essays and practising maths. There is a dedicated newspaper reading session each day.

Realising the need for right career guidance in helping students make right choices, Bala Vikasa organised career guidance about a year ago, in other schools too. Besides IT, there is immense scope in medical sciences as Telangana is becoming medical hub, especially Hyderabad, which is coming up as health tourism hub. Shoury Reddy says courses like para medical, nursing and pharmacy will be in high demand and all efforts are being made to make students aware of these changes.

Financial literacy and entrepreneurial education are other focus areas in the school. Hygiene, including menstrual hygiene is another focus area and there is concerted effort by the team to educate students about effective hygiene, including disposal and debunking myths about periods.

The school has created such an impact in the village – with zero dropouts and 100 per cent results – that students from neighbouring village have also started taking admission here. Not only that, students from private schools have also shifted here. As Shoury Reddy informs, “There is not a single seat vacant, irrespective of a recommendation from a high authority.”

Today, the Ontimamidipally school has become a model school and an inspiration for other Telangana public schools too. Many other villages are keen to replicate this model.