A class in progress

Mission

Jagriti Bal Vikas Samiti (JBVS) runs a network of unique education centers, called “Apna Skools” (“Our School”) for the children of migrant laborers who are not able to get admission into formal schools because of their itinerant lifestyle. The Apna Skools take education to the children by conducting classes around the brick kilns and construction sites in the city of Kanpur. The organization aims to open as many Apna Skool centers as possible, with the double objective of providing basic education to the children and ensuring the integration of these children in mainstream schools.

Location

JBVS currenly runs 25 Apna Skools at construction sites and brick kilns in and around the city of Kanpur, U.P., India.
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Learning through doing

Why support children of migrant labourers?

Due to the floating nature of their parents’ work, children of migrant workers do not have access to basic education. Migrant workers migrate to the cities for eight to nine months in a year, and return to their villages during the monsoons. Since they do not spend a substantial portion of the academic year in either location, the children do not seek admission in the regular schools.

Through their network of  25 Apna Skools at brick kilns and construction sites in Kanpur, JBVS reaches out to over 600 children in Grades 1 to 5. In addition to teaching them, JBVS also evaluates the children on the basis of an end-of-year examination administered by NIOS ( National Institute for Open Schooling), thus ensuring that the children are evaluated on the same platform as children from formal schools.

Wherever possible, JBVS tries to admit their students into mainstream schools. Even after that, the organization continues to  monitor the progress (academic and otherwise) of their former students, arranges for transportation, and takes care of their fees and other related expenditure.

When the children go back to their villages, JBVS makes an effort to ensure the continuity in the children’s education by getting them admitted to local village schools. In a few cases, JBVS has also run temporary Apna Skool centers in the villages to ensure that the children do not forget what they have learned.

Mid day meal in progress

Impact

Over the years, JBVS has grown from an organization running one Apna Skool center with 40 children to an organization with a  network of 25 Apna Skool centers with more than 600 students. Besides providing education, the organization provides the children with supplementary nutritious meals, uniforms, and routine medical check-ups.

Currently, 53 former students of JBVS are admitted in various mainstream schools in Kanpur and in their native villages.