Asha Samajik Vidyalaya (ASV), Sherpur, Punjab

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Asha Samajik Vidyalaya (ASV), Sherpur, Punjab

• Asha CNJ Know Your Projects Session
• October 2006

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Background

• ASV is an after school program for the poor and
  underprivileged kids of daily wage laborers,
  shopkeepers, farmers etc.
• Quality of education provided in local government
  schools is extremely poor (very low
  teacher/student ratio, teachers involved in more
  administrative work than teaching etc.)
• Located in a small village, Sherpur, in the
  Sangrur district of Punjab
• Started in sept-oct 2003 in the open courtyard of
  Sant Ravidas Gurudwara by Mr. Gurdyal Singh
  Sheetal, now runs in a local dharmshala (3-4
  rooms) provided by the community
• Total population of Sherpur is around 3000
  residential units (population 20,000)

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Mission and Stats

• Primary goal of the program is to provide
  educational assistance to the poor children who
  are enrolled in the local government schools
• Classes run from 230 PM to 500 PM on weekdays
• Students from grade 1 to grade 8
• Total 236 students, 127 girls and 109 boys
• Taught a variety of subjects (English, Hindi,
  Math, Science, Punjabi etc.).
• 7 full-time and 1 part-time teachers employed by
  the center
• 5-6 local government/public/private schools in
  the area

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Activities

• Provide traditional education to children
• Instill healthy moral and social values in the
  kids
• Get them involved in contemporary issues like
  environmental protection
• ASV also runs a sewing/knitting center to provide
  a source of income to the local people. 10 sewing
  machines have been donated by the forest
  department to aid this cause.

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Activities (contd.)

• A library with around 1000 books has been set up
• Regular health checkup of every child during the
  year
• Celebration of festivals (like Lohri etc.)
• Organize cultural events, plays etc. (certain
  plays have helped in generating awareness about
  the pressing issue of abortion of female fetuses
  which is very common in remote areas of Punjab)

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Asha CNJ and ASV

• Asha CNJ has been sponsoring this project for 2
  years now and has donated 4,600 each year.
• Money used to purchase school uniforms for the
  kids, school supplies, books, teachers salaries,
  shoes for children, and frequent medical checkup
  of every child among other things.
• 3-4 site visits done
• Frequently received accounts report, project
  status and updates

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Impact and involvement

• Local community has become more aware about the
  importance of educating their children
• Student enrollment is constantly increasing (went
  from 100 to 250 in 3 years)
• Student dropout rate is minimal, even after
  getting out of school (post 8th grade), most of
  the students stay in other schools and finish at
  least high school
• Local population is very much involved in ASV
  (frequently help out in organization of cultural
  events, dharmshala was provided with the help of
  the community), everybody in the area knows about
  ASV!

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Future Plans

• Teacher training required (preferably locally)
  for teachers teaching students of grades 1-3
• Can organize educational/cultural trips (outside
  Sherpur) for students for their overall
  development
• Computers (some teacher would need to be trained
  for a couple of months first, then he/she can
  teach the students)
• Sports gear
• Emphasis on development of a Plan B in order to
  self sustain the project

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Nursery

• Children also helped establish a nursery on a
  piece of community
• land (with little help from the local forest
  department)