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Enkamma is a teacher who is passionate about her profession. With hard work, initiative and a little support from Kalike, she has transformed her life over the last few years. After completing a Diploma in Education, Enkamma came to us to be trained as an animator several years ago. She worked with Kalike for two years as an animator, teaching children who had fallen back academically as part of our Learning Improvement Programme (LIP). Working as an animator gave her time and the financial support that she needed to continue studying and pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. In 2015, Enkamma passed the Teachers Eligibility Test which was held for the first time in the state. Of the two lakh people who took the test, Enkamma was one of the two thousand that passed. This has given her confidence to set her sights on the CET which will qualify her to work as a full-time teacher.
She now works as a Teacher at the Madhwar School, and still uses the techniques that she learnt in her animator training with Kalike. She says she uses the read-aloud activities, songs and the reciting of poetry in her classes. The school, at one time, had just one teacher for 300 students. Understandably, the students were under-performing and lacked the drive to attend school. Now, with four teachers including Enkamma, the scenario is changing. “I have a student named Mahesh who was a very poor performer and had no interest in coming to school and studying,” Enkamma tells us. “But the activities I introduced him to – reciting letters, combining them to write a word – excited him. I’ve now become one of his favourite teachers. He follows me around and is always the first to class!” she adds proudly.
Enkamma’s love of books was fostered by the Kalike Book Fairs and library workshops. She now has a library of her own, and is committed to encouraging children to develop a love for reading.
Despite harbouring an ambition to join the Karanataka Administrative Services, this petite and enthusiastic young teacher is very clear that she wants to stay associated with the field of education for the long term. She is aware of the importance of learning by doing and of setting an example. “School development planning is in place,” she says. “But implementation is the problem. It is the teachers’ role to focus on planning and to implement the programmes available to us,” she adds.
Enkamma, with her determination and focus on education, is slowly changing the mood of her village. Seeing her, students and teachers are imbibing the lessons she shares and undergoing a transformation themselves. She is grateful for the support she’s received from Kalike, for allowing her to go beyond the role of an animator and work towards her ambition of becoming a full-fledged teacher. “Kalike has been like a gold mine to me,” Enkamma says. “I have used the opportunity to gain all the knowledge I possibly can to reshape my life.”