(Creating an enabling child-centred ecosystem comprising of teachers, community, and school administration at different levels in Khed taluka of Pune district)

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is a one of the 12 bio-diversity hotspots of the world. It is home to the state animal of Maharashtra, Shekru, the endangered giant Indian Flying Squirrel.

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary falls under Khed tehsil (and some part under Ambegaon tehsil) of Pune district. Besides the nine core zone villages, the other in the buffer zone stretch along with River Bhima. In the top core and some of the buffer zone, the houses of Mahadev Koli, the scheduled tribe that is credited with sacred groves, are dotted in scattered hamlets. Besides these, the other community groups are found to be living in clans in wadis/hamlets in a typical village. 

The other feature of the area is that, at least one member of the family or the extended family lives in Mumbai - the famous dabbawalas are from this area.   

Access to Education: In the hilly terrain, the villages are scattered into many hamlets. The children have to negotiate the slopes o reach the primary schools. Most of the villages are cut off from basic amenities like electricity, net connectivity etc., and in the monsoons, where the annual precipitation is around 3000 mm from June to October, the roads in the valleys are washed off. Under these severe conditions, not only children but some of the teachers walk through the forest or the hilly terrain to reach the schools.

Shiksha Protsahan Kendra (SPKs): Though we have had SPKs as a tool to provide quality education access for the first generation school goers in Madhya Pradesh, there is a slight change in the SPKs in this area. The children are not first generation school goers but the issue of accessibility has caused in reduced time spent in the primary schools which along with the top-down traditional schooling, has affected the learning levels of the children in the poor and marginalised families. Some features of the programme:

• Around 900 children in the age group of 6-12 from marginalised communities learning Marathi and Maths in a creative, activity based fun-filled environment facilitated by a community volunteer and overseen by a community based committee.
• SPKs as a transition tool towards child-centric learning
• SPKs as a place and platform for community and teachers to collaborate-cooperate, and work towards quality of education
• Work in collaboration, work to share experiences, work to develop geo-cultural teaching-learning tools that aid the learning (against the schooling)
• The model to be incorporated into mainstream government primary schools with community and the community volunteer being the important strands. Teachers’ capabilities enhancement in perspective, and philosophy of education, and moving towards child-centric-teaching-learning.

This is the first year of the project which is implemented in 30 villages from Khed tehsil in Pune district.

The project is supported by  Bajaj Auto Ltd, Pune, Maharashtra, through its CSR initiatives.