Shikshan IS Education

Scholarships for the Needy September 10, 2008

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Education, Kumta, Scholarship, Shanbhag School.
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This article was also posted here on ArunShanbhag.com

The Shanbhag High School, managed by the Konkan Education Trust does not receive any governmental aid. But it follows the state determined academic syllabus and guidelines. While we attract many students who can afford fees, our family wanted to make good education particularly accessible to the poor. As I have mentioned earlier, last year we gave 16 scholarships to very needy students to attend either the Shanbhag High School, or the affiliated primary school, Saraswati Vidya Kendra. See list of Scholarship Recipients for 2007-2008.

Last December (2007) during my travels to Kumta I visited most of the scholarship recipients in their homes. The visit served two purposes: (a) to meet the families and convince them of our commitment to support their child’s education ~ and in turn expect them to make education a priority; and (b) to ensure that these were indeed needy families, which I could determine from their living conditions.

They lived in simple dwellings, and it was emotionally overwhelming to experience the gratitude of these families. Below, I share with you some of the scholarship recipients in their home settings. Appropriately I have omitted their names.

We supported the boy in the center, flanked by his father and cousin sister. Being poor, the girl was enrolled in the local government run Kannada language school. She wanted to attend our English school, but being in 8th std (grade) it would have been academically disastrous for her to switch the language of instruction a year before the State Board Exams. This was an important reason why we started giving scholarships to students in primary school!

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Scholarship Recipients: 2007-2008 July 2, 2008

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Scholarship.
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Shanbhag Scholarships were awarded to the 16 students (10 boys, 6 girls) named below on the 21st of August, 2007. Scholarship were granted purely on the basis of need; included full tuition, and money for school books and uniforms. Both Schools represented below are managed by the Konkan Education Trust, Kumta, India.

Primary Students,
Saraswati Vidya Kendra

Nakul NP, Class III
Kumari Nidhi SK, Class III
Kumari Soujanya SR, Class III
Mahesh AS, Class IV
Vishal VS, Class V
Kumari Neha SK, Class VI
Kumari Rekha KH, Class VI
Kumari Akshata SS, Class VII
Bharat SN, Class VII

Secondary Students,
Shanbhag High School

Ramanath GS, Class VIII
Nagendra KH, Class VIII
Vinayak AS, Class VIII
Nagaraj GB, Class IX
Nagaraj SD, Class IX
Ganapati AP, Class X
Kumari Soumya GB, Class X

Where are All the Needy Girls? June 23, 2008

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Scholarship.
Tags: culture, girls education, Life, needy students
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Challenges of Identifying Needy Girls: My Personal Experience.

In the summer of 2006, we cousins raised money for 15 scholarships in Kumta. Emphasizing girls education, we allocated scholarships to 10 girls and 5 boys at the Shanbhag High School in Kumta. While the school is named after our grandfather, we have no role in its management. For more on our involvement with the School, see post on my personal blog here. I asked the school management to identify students in the school based solely on need. A few months later (October 2006), the school provided a list of students for consideration. Surprisingly it had 14 boys and 1 girl, very different from our emphasis on needy girls.

When asked about this discrepancy, I was told, “We don’t have any other needy girls in the school.”

I knew from previous visits, the gender ratio in the school is nearly even; also, the school management was giving me an honest opinion and specifically excluded girls who could afford tuition. Why did we have so many more needy boys? Where were all the needy girls? I was disappointed, but realized there were probably cultural dynamics at play and we needed more ground work to identify needy girls. Certainly they were there, but below our radar. We froze the scholarships and did not give to any student in 2006. I felt horrible for not supporting the needy boys, but could not come to grips with the skewed gender ratio.

Where are the needy girls?
After much reading on the priorities of poor families in India, as well as statistics from the United Nations, I finally came upon the answer.

I called my contact at the School and said:

“I know where the needy girls are! Just ask the needy boys on your list, where their sisters are!”

Poor parents send their daughters to either work the fields, work as maids, or help around the house, while the boys go to school!

Poor Families Make Choices
Needy families make seemingly wise (but flawed) decisions based on their current and future economic welfare. Sons, who contribute to family wealth, are sent to good schools. Even if it means scrounging and borrowing; or in many cases, simply enrolling in the school, paying a minimal deposit and constantly pleading with management to forgive delinquent fees.

The girls are put to work as maids and help around the house. Or, the girls are sent to local government schools teaching in the local vernacular language, for free. Thus, even if the girls do go to school, they end up with significant drawbacks in furthering their education and importantly, their job prospects. See, the poor families perceive no incentive in spending valuable resources on educating girls. After all, the girls will get married and go to their husband’s house. It is the boys who are expected to bring home a bride and also help take care of parents in their old age.

Guided by this understanding the school management made a tremendous effort to recruit needy girls. Firstly by asking families of needy boys for their siblings, and secondly, by actively spreading the word in the community.

Making Progress
For the 2007-2008 academic year, we made significant progress and identified 6 girls and 10 boys and gave them scholarships (see details here).

This was not a perfect solution, but it provided our team with a firm understanding of the cultural challenges in this area. Now, we have put in motion means to identify and recruit needy girls. Along the way, we will support needy boys as well. As we continue this work, you are welcome to join us.

Academic Update from the Shanbhag School Kumta June 22, 2008

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Academic Updates, Education, Kumta, Shanbhag School.
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This article was previously posted here on arunshanbhag.com
I am cross-posting it here.

When I first posted on the Shanbhag School, the upper floor (1st floor) was still under construction. During my visit in Nov, it was a thrill to see students enjoying lectures in the new classrooms. You can see pics of ongoing classes later in the post. But first, an important question: How are the students performing academically?

In a word - EXCELLENT!
Summary of Results of 58 students who appeared in the 2007 X Std, Karnataka State Board Exams:

Highest score of 97.7%
3/58 students scored greater than 97%
20/58 students scored greater than 90%
34/58 scored greater than 85%
54/58 scored greater than 60%
3/58 scored between 50 and 60%
1/58 scored between 35 and 50%
No student in the entire class failed the X std Board exams

WoW! Congratulations to the students on their excellent performance. Also a big pat on the back for the teachers who did an outstanding job of educating the young. Since the Shanbhag School is a private school, it does not receive any Government subsidies or aid. Thus the teacher’s salary are much lower than at local government-aided schools. The dedication of teachers to teach is thus so much more appreciated. The 2008 exams has recently concluded and it will be some months before the results are out.

Here are a few pics of ongoing classes. Note: I did not know that Thursdays are “casual Thursdays” and students did not have to wear their blue and white uniforms (which you see in this post). Thus the school took on a festive appearance. YaaY!

It was a fabulous November afternoon. Looking towards the front of the school. For comparison, see here for pics from a few years ago.

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