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The Bhusandpur Girls’s High School is an initiative started in the village of Bhusandpur, situated about 70 km from Bhubhaneshwar The school was started in 1996 by a group of motivated residents who were keen to provide a medium for encouraging girls’ education.
The school was amongst the first ones to open in the district, and over the years has managed to sustain itself and grow to a student strength of 125 girls. An overwhelming majority of the students at the school come from low-income families (annual family income of <INR 50,000). Parents of these girls typically work as farmers, fishermen or manual labourers. The school itself remains free for students, who are also provided with books and uniforms to encourage the girls to enroll.
Currently the school runs Classes VIII – Xth under the Orissa State Board system, and operates from a semi-permanent structure within the village. The school is accredited by the Government of Orissa, and will be eligible for state funding from 2010 onwards. The school currently has 8 teachers covering mathematics, science, languages and Oriya literature, with a student/teacher ratio of 15:1. Management of the school is currently done by the OSCAR trust, which is run and funded by the founding members of the school. Plans and requirements
The school currently operates from a semi-permanent structure consisting of three covered rooms, and three rooms which do not have a roof currently. The main requirements are:
Funding the operational expenses for the school, which includes teacher salaries, equipment and books, and other running expenses: currently estimated at INR 30,000 per month- Completing the construction of the remaining three rooms to expand the capacity of the school
- Fitting permanent wooden furniture in the classrooms, installing blackboards and electric lights/ fans in the rooms
- Providing a basic games and reading room for the students to engage in extra-curricular activities
- In the medium term, initiating scholarship schemes for girls completing Class X to study further in Bhubaneshwar. The objective is to further empower them to be self-reliant and earn a livelihood.
Prayaas involvement
Prayaas is currently helping the school fund its operational and running expenses, and has done that for all of 2008. Funds donated have been utilized for raising the salary levels for existing teachers (which were abysmally low at INR 1000 per month initially) and for recruitment of more teachers to improve teaching standards. Prayaas is also planning to help the school complete its construction project to make the current structure more functional and attractive for new students. Prayaas’ aim is for the school to evolve into a vibrant and competent girls education centre until the government grants commence, at which point the school expenses would be covered by the government grants.
Performance report for 2011: OSCAR 2011 report
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