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Ms. Sowmyashree Mathapathi is a remedial teacher in the Pre-Metric Girls Hostel at Gurmitkal town in Yadgir district which is one among 8 hostels selected under Kanya Sampoorna Program (KSP). The hostel has an enrollment of 134 girls studying from 5th to 10th standard and is looked after by a warden and four cooking staff under Social Welfare department. The resident girls are from neighboring villages, with about 10% of them studying at private schools and other 90% in government schools. The remedial program focuses on overall girl child empowerment through technology based education intervention with other complementing activities.
There was not much discipline observed among the hostel inmates before Ms. Sowmyashree joined the remedial program. Cleanliness around the hostel and in their rooms was not maintained, respect towards others and elders was lacking. Students were not making best use of leisure time and the library facility was not used.
The KSP program provided a trained Remedial Teacher, technology based sessions through Tabs pre-loaded with audio visual content, desktop computer with subject based free learning tools, library facility having useful reading resources like books, IEC materials and stationery. Daily two hours of remedial classes for Science, Mathematics and Social science were taken in the evening by the remedial teacher along with Spoken English and library sessions.
Initially, absenteeism at hostel was prevalent and the students were not attending the classes in spite of remedial teacher calling upon them in their rooms. The hostel warden’s engagement with the Sowmyashree was also low. She started taking sessions for the girls who responded and started attending the classes. She provided the required stationery and encouraged them to use the computer and library which resulted in gradual improvement in their attendance. Such was the impact, that the students themselves started keeping room ready in the evening even before the arrival of the remedial teacher. The students realized the value of these remedial classes specially being conducted in their hostel and subsequently it brought multiple changes in their behavior. They started maintaining cleanliness, developed respect towards others, became more disciplined and punctual. The warden also saw these improvements and started communicating with the remedial teacher through telephonic conversations. During the visits, warden also observed these remedial classes.
The program was appreciated by District Social Welfare Officer during his visit to the hostel for the resources provided and having a dedicated teacher for remedial sessions. He also extended his support for the program through the warden by ensuring provision of necessities like cupboard to store the materials, table for the computer and classroom board.
With introduction of crafts and co-curricular activities on Saturdays, girls who were earlier skipping the classes on Saturday to go home, started attending remedial sessions along with craft sessions.
The hostel remedial program under KSP has created a positive learning environment in the hostel and also resulted in a positive shift among girls in terms of their discipline, attitude and engagement in studies.