Teach for India: Leveling Mumbai's educational playing field
"We have tin roofs in our classroom so during the rains half of the class is dripping. It is hot and unhygienic. It is tiring but it is also fulfilling because the students are so attentive and responsive," says Anirrban Mukerjii. Anirrban Mukerjii does not need to see this contrast in a music video to understand great disparity. He sees it everyday. As a Teach for India fellow, Mukerjii, a recent graduate of St Xaviers College Mumbai, has taken on a two-year commitment to teach full time in under-resourced schools. "Under resourced" is a nicer way of saying 18 chairs for 60 students, four toilets for 600.
No regular office
At the age of 21 he decided to skip conventional first job choices such as at a bank or a corporate office, and apply for a fellowship at Teach For India. "I was totally convinced about the theory of change. I thought that made sense theoretically and practically," he says.
Teach for India believes that educational equity for children in India will be best achieved by getting outstanding college graduates and young professionals to serve as teachers in low-income schools for two years. The organization, which combines aspects of a corporate structure with its NGO mandate, does however offer their fellows a monthly stipend.
Contrary to what is sometimes thought about social work and voluntary service, Mukerjii says that his job can be very stressful and things would be far more comfortable if he worked at a regular office in a more controlled environment.
"I work in a school near Chembur, called Geeta Vikas Vidyalay. The student fees are around Rs 200 (US$4.40) a month, which is on the higher side. Security of teachers, in terms of their commitment, is non-existent. We have tin roofs in our classroom so during the rains half of the class is dripping. It is hot and unhygienic. There is no water to wash your hands or drink and there is no chair or desk for the teachers. I don’t think any educated person would say that such conditions in which these kids study is normal."
Mukerjii's average day starts at about six in the morning. He wakes up early to grade papers. While classes officially start at noon, he and his co-teacher Meghana Mamtura are usually in at 10:30am because most of the students are at least two grades lower than the normal standard. They come in early to teach them the basics like pronunciation, English comprehension and sometimes even basic etiquette. "Things a child from a regular middle class family knows at the age of three," he says.
My brother, sister, teacher
Mukerjii's grade two class of 60 is roughly divided into three groups -- one that is at the current grade level, another that is below and third that is somewhere in between. It is not uncommon for the two teachers to take on these groups separately to help resolve the differentiation. However since there are barely enough chairs let alone extra classrooms they often have to go outside and study in the heat for eight hours. Mukerjii says, "It is tiring but it is also fulfilling because the students are so attentive and responsive."
Mukerjii's day does not finish when the school bell goes off at six in the evening. After school Teach for India fellows do community visits to engage the most important stakeholders in their students lives -- the parents. Most students live about 15-20 minutes away from the school and Mukerjii walks over to their houses to involve the parents in their child's progress.
"We don’t visit parents to complain about behavior or performance. Rather we meet the parents to complement and encourage their child. Encourage the parents' support of the program. There are so many things you understand about the child’s life when you visit their house. Also it makes the child realize that we are not just limited to the classroom, that we are there to help them in their lives. In fact our students do not to call us teacher or sir, they call us bhaya (brother) or didi (sister), to create some sort relationship that’s more personal. We are not outsiders, we are members of their lives."
Meet the parents: rickshaw drivers, maids and fishermen
Mukerjii's experience at Teach for India and his relationship with the children changed his perspective on the 'underprivileged'. "I have worked with NGO’s before so I was aware of the conditions, I mean, the physical conditions. What I was shocked or rather surprised at was at the reactions of the parents. They were far more supportive than I imagined. These are all either taxi drivers, rickshaw drivers, maids and fishermen. They are illiterate but they are trying to work and survive in the city so they know the value of education. They know that if they could read they would have better jobs and they want their children to have better lives than them. This is something I did not expect."
On most nights Mukerjii gets home by 8.30 in the evening and twice a week he has two-hour training sessions with other fellows to discuss their experiences and exchange advice. Together they tackle more complicated issues like signs of violent behavior and verbal abuse. After the sessions he plans his program for the next class before he sets his alarm and calls it a day.
There is a stark contrast in the education Mukerjii received as a child and the education students like his receive across the country. Teach for India and its fellows however, are trying to level the playing field.
For more details on the Teach for India or in the Fellowship program go here.
