Vidyashilp Community Trust in association with Vidyashilp Academy (VSA)has adopted 21 Government Schools in the N4 region of Bangalore. The Trust will work to provide government school children with a comprehensive holistic, quality education which allows each child to reach their potential. The primary objective of the School Adoption Programme is to transform the rural, semi-urban and urban Government schools into model schools so that they are at the same level, as the best schools in the city in terms of quality, facilities, infrastructure and performance.

VidyashipCommunity Trust has impacted the lives of nearly 3,577 children since 2018. TheMoU, signed for the next five years, was exchanged between the Department of Education – Government of Karnataka and the Vice President, Mr. RavindraPai – Vidyashilp Community Trust.

The first school to be adopted by the trust was the Government School atByatarayanapura. Vidyashilp Academy (VSA) has been involved with this school on various projects, one such was with U&I – an NGO that works on ensuring impactful, high-quality education for underprivileged students in order for them to lead successful lives. Students from VSA have been teaching the basics of English language and this has made a great impact with some students wanting to pursue teaching as a profession. The continuous interactions by the trust have not only catered infrastructure but also have focused on future readiness for the school.

TheVidyashilp Community Trust will now benefit 3,900 plus children of21 government school for this year. This adoption program will also focus on improving the student-teacher ratio, by hiring more teaching staff, thus providing for special attention required for slow learners by supplementing studies through English language programs and facilitating holistic development through sports, health and environmental awareness. This program is being further bolstered by seeking participation from within the community by building partnerships for engagements such as Youth for Seva andPeople4People.

The central goal of the trust is to ensure opportunities for children, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. The core purpose is to provide appropriate learning with a broad curriculum, based on active learning that exposes students to a variety of subjects such as language, mathematics and development of skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, use of technology and collaborative learning.

The community outreach programmes by the students of VidyashilpAcademy have done significant work in the field of education over the last20 years. Vidyashilp Community Trust will now programme along with its volunteers in curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, school management, teacher education. Further, it is committed to expanding its role in education by adding new dimensions to its vision.

Speaking the momentous occasion, Ms. Kiran Pai, Director-Vidyashilp Academy and Vidyasagar Preschools, said, “With the aim to transform the educational landscape in the state, we also want to make education accessible to every child in the society. The trust’s vision is to make the government schools future ready and with our association with various NGOs; we believe that we will be able to achieve steady transformation. The goal is to see that no child in the state is deprived of the right to education, due to the lack of inadequate infrastructure, lack of professional learning techniques and weak academic outcomes.” 

Mrs. Indukala P.B, the principal of the Government Lower Primary School of Kenchenahalli, said, “We welcome this collaborative effort from VCTand Vidyashilp Academy. There is a big hope to see how this interaction will benefit each student’s future for the better. Our children are bright and have great ideas; they need only attention and encouragement to soar high.” 

Vidyashilp Academy (VSA) students have been involved with the government school on various projects, with U&I along with other NGOs such as Paint for a cause. The collaboration with the NGO is to ensure impactful, high-quality education for underprivileged students in order to lead successful lives.

The news was first published in Business Today.