From Child Labour to College: Support Her Future

Zole is a small village 12km form Sangamner, Maharashtra, India. The government school in Zole was built in 1949 but until recently it had become very poorly cared for. The school did not have proper toilet facilities for boys or girls. The walls of the school had never been painted. There was no kitchen or eating area and no library or computer facilities.
Despite the bad condition of the school nobody was motivated to improve the school facilities. Teachers were often absent and the school management committees were not interested in making the needed changes. The school was not a joyful place to be and as a result suffered a high dropout rate of students.

The project team took responsibility for improving the school in 2012. The first thing they did was to hold meetings with all the school stakeholders such as teachers, students and parents. The team convinced the stakeholders of the importance of a child completing their education and how this could be helped by bringing up the schools standards. They conducted training and workshops with all the stakeholders to show what role they could play in improving the schools quality.

The team conducted local fundraising through the stakeholders at the school and raised over £20,000. With this money a drinking fountain, sanitation facilities, kitchen, computer laboratory, library and study area were built. Teaching standards improved as teachers became better skilled and motivated and the school management committee became skilled and engaged in running the school professionally.

Enrolment in the school has now increased and the school is attracting wealthy students from the village who previously went to the private school. This year the school achieved A grade status and has won praise from the local teachers union and government education committees. None of this would have been possible without the project and its wonderful supporters.