School On Wheels

While working in the community, we often come across temporary settlements of migrant people on pavements, sites of road construction, or open areas outside the city. These are extremely marginalized communities having hand-to-mouth existence. They sell different petty items, perform odd jobs, or beg on the streets. As they continuously keep moving/relocating, the children often remain out-of-school (either non-enrolled or drop-out). The living conditions in the community are sub-par and often there is no space to set up even a temporary classroom. There is a whole lot of lack of awareness about education and general well-being in these communities.

 

DSS aims to reach every child, and prepare and bring them into mainstream education. To reach the children from such extremely marginalized backgrounds, we came up with a rather forward-looking innovative concept in 1999 – School on Wheels.

 

As remodelled buses, each School on Wheels is an entire classroom. These have ample space for teachers, children, and necessary supplies that are efficiently stored in meticulously engineered spaces. Each ride is equipped with a computer, tablet, TV, DVD player, educational audio-visual learning facilities, a blackboard, charts, and a mini-library of books, and games.

 

Currently, 1 School on Wheels (SOWs) is operating from Door Step School Foundation.We have 9 SOWs under The Society for Door Step Schools, our parent organisation. And these will also move to DSSF eventually. Each of these SOWs visits 3 or 4 locations daily, conducting 2-hour sessions at each location. Each bus can accommodate up to 20-25 children aged 3 to 14 years with 2 to 3 DSS teachers.

 

The School-on-Wheels (SOW) project aims to –

 

  • Create awareness in extremely marginalized communities about the importance of education, their children’s Right to Education, and how education can bring change in their lives.
  • Prepare children for formal mainstream education and support them in different ways so that they remain in school.
  • Work with the families and the wider community to increase their involvement in children’s education.

 

 

The SOW team (our teachers ably supported by our driver kaka’s) undertakes different main and support activities to achieve these objectives.

 

This SOW has been operating since 2011. It has helped to reach ____ communities and enable ____ children in mainstream education.

 

Wheels of Change

Blurring Boundaries : Children from various families, tribes, and castes come to study at our Schools on Wheels. Some communities have so much hostility that their children do not even agree to sit together on the bus initially. Many children start feeling more comfortable around those from different communities as they start interacting with each other slowly. Thus, our buses blur some of the dark lines of divisions with the erasers of knowledge, diversity, and tolerance.

 

A teacher at one of our Schools on Wheels says: “Though I was educated before I started teaching, I did not know how to approach it. I often felt overwhelmed by it. But, after 5-years of working at the School on Wheels, I have gained tremendous confidence. Some may even call me ‘dashing’ now [laughs]. I am sure I can teach children – whoever it is, and wherever it is.”

 

Another one of our teachers opines: “The buses have given us the title of ‘madam’ in the communities we teach. The respect we get from it fills us with great pride and joy. Moreover, the training and teaching practice we get through the bus benefits us personally, too. The concepts, methodologies, and use of technology we learn here become very beneficial for our children too.”

 

Most importantly, the buses help us meet our prime goal – ek bhi bacche ka padhai chootna nahi chahiye!

 

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