Advocacy for a Tent School at Auto Nagar, Bidar

Don Bosco, Bidar identified a slum area at Auto Nagar, Naubad, Bidar Taluk, with high prevalence of school dropouts and out of school children.  An in-depth survey was done by CREAM staff to get the actual number of children out of school. As part of survey the team went to each house in the area, with the direction and support of the District Session Judge – Sri. Sanjeevkumar Hanchate, DCPO, BEO & DDPI of Bidar.  It was found that the children and adults who stay in this area pick rags & beg for their livelihood and migrate from one place to other. In the locality 59 children between the ages of 06 – 14 years were spotted as out of school children.

The District Session Judge called for a meeting of DCPO, BEO, DDPI and Don Bosco Bidar CREAM Team after seeing the alarming result of the survey done at Auto Nagar. The outcome of the meeting was to start a tent school at Govt. Karnataka Reserve Police School premises, Naubad, for these children as suggested by the district judge. The Education department started the tent school under the Sarva Sikshana Abhiyan Project and directed the school authorities to provide Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Books, Travel and other facilities for the children at tent school.

The tent school will work in collaboration with Don Bosco Child Rights Education and Action Movement project. The CREAM supplementary education teacher Smt. Sharadha will work as a voluntary teacher for these children. The department of education has entrusted her responsibility of motivating and bring the children to the school daily to reduce the risk of school dropout.  As a part of CREAM, she gives tuition for all the children in the area. Now with all these efforts, Don Bosco Bidar and the govt. departments together were successful in enrolling children to the tent school.