Grower
of teachers @ Shaheen
Mistri - Akanksha Centre
When
she was 18, and on a summer visit home from college in the USA, Shaheen Mistri
began acting on her dream, quality education for every child in India. She
started the first Akanksha Centre at the Holy Name School, Colaba: just her and
a group of volunteers using the classrooms for after-hours classes for children
from neighbouring slum areas. That little idea had legs. The Akanksha
Foundation now serves 6,500 children through three centres and 21 schools in
Mumbai and Pune.
In
2008, she founded Teach For India, based on the Teach For America model. TFI
places college graduates and other professionals in schools in low-income areas
for two-year full-time teaching stints where they are exposed to the challenges
of education at the grassroots. Long-term, the aim is that many of the TFI
Fellows pursue their own careers in education, thus building leadership in the
sector. That this is needed isn’t in doubt. A recent Pratham report — among
others — pointed to a critical imbalance in the quality of education, stating
that one in two Indian children can’t read books meant for three classes below
the one they were in. The government school system also has numbers of teacher
vacancies across the country.
“What
motivated me to start Akanksha was the belief that the world wasn't fair, that
children didn't have equal opportunities to fulfil their potential,” Mistri
says. “That's my motivation now as well, except that today, this is fuelled by
the belief that a movement is
building to change this. I'm here to do what I can until that day that all
children attain an excellent education.” TFI and its alumni are creating a
silent revolution. What sets them apart is their attitude to teaching, a
commitment not just to imparting information but also to ensuring kids enjoy
learning. That attitude clearly filters down from the top.
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Knowledge
Repository
Khaitan & Co
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