Skill in Village
Vijay Kumar is from a small agricultural family. He studies in the eighth grade in Hallikeri. His father Mahesh, is a self-taught mechanic and has a small garage which provides income to meet their day-to-day household expenses. His mother Rekha actively supports his education. She works on their agricultural land to support her family.
The Skill in VIllage (SiV) program was introduced in Vijay’s school when he was in the sixth grade. After Vijay was enrolled into this program, his father saw tremendous changes in his son. Vijay had started to converse in English and started spending much more time studying. His confidence also increased considerably, he was no longer the shy boy who refused to talk to new people.
He was able to form grammatically correct English sentences without any aid. This resulted in him being more sure of himself. Vijay is now able to do all his school assignments independently. Teachers are very appreciative of his changes and the spurt in his academic growth. His extracurricular involvements have also increased - he has been part of multiple English dramas in school. Both Mahesh and Rekha were very appreciative of the SiV teachers’ involvement.
The teachers were usually available to help the children even outside of school hours. They mentioned that even during lockdown, it was ensured that one SiV teacher stayed in the village to make sure that any assistance to the children during the COVID-19 times could be provided, especially with respect to adapting to online classes so that their education would not be hampered. This involvement is directly reflected in Vijay’s improvement in academics and in his attitude.