Into its second year, the Roshni project for schoolchildren of migrant labourers in Ernakulam district is turning over a leaf with a social audit on the competence of students taking place between October 29 and November 10. This will be followed by an official declaration, most likely by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on the acquired Malayalam language proficiency of these students.
Officials steering the project, which is under way in 20 government/aided schools in Ernakulam with over 600 migrant children benefitting from it, said educationists from various organisations would assess the proficiency level of students who are given multi-lingual schooling to enhance their proficiency in English, their mother tongue and Malayalam (which is the primary medium of instruction). “In the social audit, the students will be given different tasks to showcase their proficiency in front of these officials, PTA members, representatives from various local bodies and the public,” a note in this regard mentioned.
Piloted in four schools in the district with 110 students in the last academic year, the success of the project, run with the financial assistance of BPCL-Kochi Refinery, prompted the district administration to extend it to 20 schools in the current academic year. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), in a report published in 2017-18, put the number of schoolable migrant children in Ernakulam district at 2,500. “While Roshni has brought 600 of these children [mostly from Nepal, Lakshadweep, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, UP, Bihar, Assam and Rajasthan] under the project, constant creative interventions have ensured that attrition is kept at less than 10% — even that’s because of labour issues faced by the families. Implemented with the support of educational volunteers — invariably those conversant in the language of these children—the project has a monthly review system, booster trainings and a focus on developing their life and vocational skills. Breakfast with a menu prepared consultatively and with adequate nutritional values is also offered to Roshni students in these schools,” said Jayasree Kulakkunnath, academic coordinator.
Besides educational volunteers, the project introduced student volunteers as well for better academic performance. In schools where the migrant students’ strength is high, students proficient in the languages are employed to support their peers in writing.
