Geetanjali Krishna: Taking Inspiration from Prerana

Often, when I read the news, I come across good words and terms that seem to have lost their meaning with overuse. Take Right to Education (RTE), for example. The report card of this path-breaking piece of legislation, which has made India the first country in the world to take on the huge responsibility of ensuring student enrolment, attendance and completion of elementary education, still seems to bear the classic teacher remark - "can do better". An oft-heard criticism is that with increased enrolments, the quality of education in over-crowded schools has taken a dip. But more worrying to me is that fact that RTE hasn't addressed the issue of high dropout rates in the higher classes. Thousands, maybe more, of deserving but poor students remain unable to pursue higher studies because their parents cannot afford the fees. The reasons that most parents of dropouts cited, according to a recent U S Agency for International Development survey, were economic - either they needed extra income in the house, or they couldn't afford to pay the high costs of higher education. The logical way forward for RTE is to create a system whereby meritorious students from impoverished backgrounds continue getting funded for their higher studies. Else, the huge public expense of providing them with free education up to Class VIII could go waste when they drop out.

Recently, I came across an NGO Prerana, which is doing something on these lines in Bangalore. Every year, it conducts a Nurture Merit Test for Class X students in the city's schools, whose household income is below Rs 1, 50,000 per annum and who've received over 75 per cent marks in their Class X exams. The selected candidates not only receive a full scholarship till they graduate, they also get counselling, English language training, mentoring and more. From helping 100 students in 2004, the Nurture Merit Programme has grown to cover over 400 students during the year 2011-12.

I had the chance to chat with one of Prerana's students, Thujarappa Revathi, the daughter of a coolie who earns Rs 200 a day. "In class 10, after I scored 88 per cent marks, I cleared the Prerana entrance test and it changed my life!" said the bubbly young girl. The month-long training camp helped Revathi figure out what she wanted to study ahead, and honed her English language skills. "I took up commerce, and found it very interesting. As a result, in Class XII, I topped my school with 94 per cent, full marks in Accountancy and Business Maths and received the Best Student award as well," she recounted. At this juncture, Prerana counsellors again helped Revathi to decide what she wanted to do further.

"Without this scholarship, college would have been a distant dream for me. My mother used to sell flowers to supplement the household income, but was forced to stop because of ill health. There was no way my father could have supported me for so long," said Revathi. But Prerana enabled her to enroll in the B Com course at a good local college. "Now I'm planning to take the banking and management entrance exams," she said. "And as soon as I can stand on my own two feet, I want to give back in as many ways as possible to society..."

Listening to Revathi enthusiastically planning to extricate her family from penury in the not-too-distant future, I realised that her's would be the dream outcome of RTE... However, unless the legislation exchanges its blunt milk teeth for stronger permanent ones, Revathi's success story may remain a mere drop in the ocean.