Students in rural Aurangabad get good classrooms, separate toilets for boys & girls
Pune/Aurangabad: 9th Sept: It is often observed that basic facilities including quality education remain restricted to cities. Even villages on the urban periphery suffer from inadequate and bad quality infrastructure. Ranjangaon, Pandharpur, Shivrai, Vadgaon Kolhati, Jogeshwari and Bajajnagar locality in the industrial town of Waluj near Aurangabad have faced dismal educational facilities, particularly in Zilla Parishad schools. The school infrastructure development initiative of Pune-based Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS) in these villages, under Bajaj Auto CSR is bringing a welcome change in the learning environment of these schools. Similar work has also been undertaken by JBGVS in several other villages in Gangapur and Paithan talukas of Aurangabad.
School infrastructure near Waluj
A survey conducted by JBGVS revealed that 7 Zilla Parishad schools (including 1 government aided private school) in villages near Waluj had several classrooms where roofs, flooring and walls were in bad condition. In some cases the number of classrooms was insufficient. Hence, JBGVS carried out elaborate meetings with school education committees, before commencement of actual repair work and monitoring thereafter. The work started in 2016-17 and will be completed this year.
A summary of the work is as follows: Ranjangaon: Window shutters, door repairs, painting, waterproofing and new kitchen; Pandharpur: 10 new classrooms, new sanitation complex and 300 benches; Bajajnagar: 2 new classrooms, sanitation complex, waterproofing, door/floor repairs and painting; Shivrai (government aided ashram school): Painting, 50 benches and 2 solar water heaters; Shivrai (Zilla Parishad school): Waterproofing, floor/walls/sanitation complex/door repairs, painting and new compound wall; Vadgaon Kolhati: Window replacement and new sanitation complex; Jogeshwari: Door repairs. Work has largely been completed in Shivrai, Vadgaon Kolhati and Ranjangaon. Work in Jogeshwari, Pandharpur and Bajajnagar will be completed shortly.
Benefits to students
With improved school infrastructure, students are finally getting a chance to study in a comfortable, safe and conducive environment. For instance, the ashram school in Shivrai, primarily catering to students from nomadic tribal communities, greatly benefitted from the solar heating system that was installed. In the chilled winters of Marathwada, using the cold tap water was indeed a challenge for the children. With such facilities, the school is witnessing increase in admissions and attendance.
Similarly, the student strength in Pandharpur Zilla Parishad school has increased to 1,000 as compared to 800 last year. This is despite the general trend of parents preferring private/English medium schools. With improved school infrastructure coupled with the already existing good quality teaching in this school, the parents’ perception has changed. Explaining the improved condition, Ms Sunita Tagare, Coordinator, JBGVS Samaj Seva Kendra, Aurangabad, who is overseeing the project, said, “The earlier classrooms suffered from water logging during rains. At times, several students had to sit in the veranda. But, with the 10 new good classrooms in place, the problem is solved.”
Other educational work in rural Aurangabad
Apart from the above work done under Bajaj Auto CSR, JBGVS has also undertaken other educational work in Aurangabad district during 2016-17. Elaborating the same, Mr Randhir Patil, Project Manager, JBGVS said, “We installed 163 e-learning units, constructed/repaired 13 school sanitation complexes (plus 2 in 2017-18), repaired 6 schools, provided other educational equipment to 22 schools and conducted 114 educational/training sessions.” Moreover, the Samaj Seva Kendra also conducted activities like teachers’ training, students’ competitions and Kishori Vikas programs.
