Scan - Thane Kopri Area (East) - May 1st 2010

Area: Thane Kopri area. The settlements are on the roads which go parallel to the railway station.

Time: 11:00 to 12:30 hrs

Volunteers: Prajakta, Ratna, Alok and Yash.

Observations:

We went to 2 settlements in the Kopri area. There are 2 aaganwaadis and 4 schools in the area. One of the schools was very close to the settlement. There is a municipal hospital and a number of private clinics in the nearby areas. The area has a public toilet – separate for men and women. Shiv Sena is the ruling party and Mr. Pandurang Patil is the elected leader.

In the first settlement that we went to, all children we met were going to school. There were children in the age group of 1-6 years who were going to the aaganwaadi as well.

When we went a little ahead (off the main road), we met a number of children who had finished their 7^th standard (in the municipal school) and then had quit school.

We met Anil, 17 years old, who had finished his 7^th. We asked him why he quit. He said that one of his teachers (a Mr. Pawar who teaches in the Municipal School) used to catch hold of his hair and beat him. That caused him to leave school. He now has his own shop (sells falooda and pani puris in some area in Thane) and makes around 3000-3500 Rs/Month. He became an escort for us and took us to children who had quit school.

Mayur was a guy who had given his 10^th this year. He failed and when we asked him whether he was going to re-appear, he said that he was not sure.

Aayub had quit school after 7^th. He is only 15-16 years old and still drives a rickshaw at night. He showed no intention of joining school again. And he says that even though he doesn’t have a license…. ‘ Raat ko koi nahi pakadta!!!’

We also met a 14 year old girl named Lata. She also studied till 7^th standard. But now she does house work. When we asked her parents about her further education, they said that they were getting her married in 2 months. They said that education was not so important for a girl and were not interested in her further education.

Apart from the above disappointments, there were also a number of children who were going to school and were in 8^th, 9^th and further standards. It was good to see positive inclination towards education in some of these children.

Personal Comments:

• One of the main reasons, I feel for these children leaving their education after 7^th is the required change in schools from 7^th to 8^th. This causes a hiatus in their education. I most certainly feel that if schools were till 10^th, many of these (if not all) would surely complete their education at least till the 10^th.
• It is also disappointing to see that even in this day and age; education is not felt to be important for girls. This mindset needs to change.
• It is also disappointing that many of these children (more than 13-14 years of age) do not have a dream or aim about what they want to do or be in life. This may be because of lack of motivation or lack of exposure.