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Lanelle Hills visits ICFAI Republic School in Hyderabad – a school that gives needy children equal opportunities in education
Where the shunned shine
Arriving a little before lunch time, we are greeted by the chatter of a hundred voices emanating from two buildings. Inside, children stand to attention chanting a chorus of ‘Good mornings,’ as we stop by each classroom. These are children from the slums of Hyderabad, some of them either a rickshaw wallah or an ayah’s child who are now enjoying an English medium education virtually free.

Located close to the Fatehnagar flyover and railway station, the ICFAI Republic School is not only the first of its kind in India, but also the starting point for the Alpha Foundation in setting up similar schools all over the country.

“We put up the school right in the heart of the slums or the area where people do not have much means. This was done to ensure that children from poorer families would come,” explains Koshy Verghese, Director of the Alpha Foundation, a no- profit organization sponsored by the ICFAI University.

ICFAI University, has emerged as one of the largest providers of higher education and knowledge-centric services in India over the last 20 years. They have also set up a branch in Sri Lanka called ICFAI Education Lanka (IEL) at 113, Dutugemunu Street in Kohuwela. (see FT on Sunday).

When the Republic School was set up last June, with a capacity to accommodate children up to Class V, they anticipated having around 200 students. However they were pleasantly surprised when 700 students showed up seeking admission. This year their student population has risen to 780, and classes have increased to grade VIII. Next year they hope to increase it to grade ten making it a fully fledged school.

Agencies involved in teaching children from the slums, come and train the teachers because “there is absolutely no support in terms of education from the parents, ” insists Mala Sundareshan, a coordinator at the school. Teachers are “acutely aware that they will get no help from home since the classes are in English,” adds Mr. Verghese.

The ground floor has a large assembly hall and an adequately covered play area with play equipment, utilities and offices. The first floor onwards comprises spacious, well lit and airy classrooms.

A lot of thought has gone into making the students feel welcome, for instance the taps and the sinks in the toilets have been built at a lower level making them easily accessible to the children. Students are also taught how to use toilets and keep them clean encouraging similar behaviour at home. In addition to free uniforms, text books and school equipment, the school also sees to the children’s nutritional intake.

Lunch time is eagerly awaited by hungry faces, standing in a row in their red and blue checked uniforms, with their eyes fixed on the ayah who dishes out their lunch. “Children were fainting in the classrooms when we started, so we give them milk with Horlicks or Bonvita in the morning. Later on we give them a nutritious meal, a balanced diet in terms of vitamins and minerals,” explains Mr. Verghese. Meals are prepared in a clean kitchen just outside the school with all the high tech equipment one would expect of a small hotel.

As for the quality of education, the ICFAI Republic School, follows the same guidelines and syllabi as mainstream schools. It was decided to teach the children in English so that “these children should be able to compete with the children from mainstream schools,” Mr. Verghese said.

Facilities such as a fully equipped computer lab providing students with the basics in computer skills and internet, an audio visual room where educational programmes are shown, an English lab where special training is offered to help improve their pronunciation and their grammar, encouraging them to speak in public and improve their confidence through debates and speeches, a counsellor, indoor and outdoor sports facilities and personality-development programmes to develop the mental, emotional and social character of each child are all part of the school.

The school’s fundamental vision is that the children become upright and responsible citizens who will look after their families one day. They are also thinking in terms of setting up deserving students with scholarships to further their studies and micro-financing small enterprises for them in the future.

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