Scholarships for the Needy September 10, 2008
Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Education, Kumta, Scholarship, Shanbhag School.add a comment
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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Academic Update from the Shanbhag School Kumta June 22, 2008
Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Academic Updates, Education, Kumta, Shanbhag School.add a comment
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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Shikshan IS Education June 10, 2008
Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Education, Scholarship.add a comment
Shikshan is a not for profit organization dedicated to educating needy students in rural India.
We are busy working on site design and importantly on our educational mission -
Educating Rural India, One Student at a Time!
Please bookmark this page and visit us another time.
In the meantime, browse details of the Shanbhag School in Kumta, Karnataka, where we are giving scholarships to needy students.
Namaskar!
