It’s a truly unfortunate circumstance that despite the government’s efforts, there are still schools with very poor facilities and infrastructure in the vicinity of Shahapur. These are primarily public unaided schools or schools that receive only 20-40% funding from the government. Most of these schools are located in remote areas and the absence of proper public transport makes the commute tedious. Despite this and the absence of any basic compensation for their efforts, dedicated teachers continue to educate and add value to the pupil’s life.

To bring about a gradual but much-needed change, the DU Foundation had to start its way from the ground up. To ensure they were lending a hand where the circumstances were particularly dire, the Foundation conducted an in-depth assessment of the establishments and the facilities they had at their disposal. The Foundation has been helping schools based on their findings.

Improper seating arrangements always hamper concentration and the ability to absorb information. And no class can be in session unless there’s a blackboard for the teachers. To date, the DU Foundation has remedied broken seating and lack of blackboards by donating chairs, desks, benches, blackboards, and cupboards for classrooms in 15 schools.

For the students, geography was a lesson that relied on their imagination rather than actual depictions of the locations they studied. Given the fact that not everyone has the same capacity to visualize, the students showed little enthusiasm for the subject and received dismal grades in their Board examinations. Remedying this, each of the district’s 53 schools received a global map, a map of India, and a map of the Shahpur area from the Foundation. Now, these kids can at the very least see the locations & sites they are learning about.

A similar quandary existed for subjects such as geometry and science. Geometry lessons were taught with crude diagrams, as the schools lacked the proper mathematical instruments to draw structures on the blackboard. Science experiments were conducted without the use of apparatus and protective gear, leading to potential accidents. The Foundation stepped in and not only has it donated geometry boxes but has also set up laboratories in several schools to aid the students of standard 10th with their practical examinations.

Libraries are gateways to knowledge and culture. If the school is where you gather knowledge, the library is where it’s stored. A library encourages self-exploration & research skills in young minds. There is something empowering about searching the stacks for answers & being able to find them. Without a library, no school is complete. For the past 5 years, the Foundation has organized a district-wide elocution competition that encourages this self-exploratory and research abilities in the students. Additionally, all the participating schools receive 25 books to add to their libraries to help foster the love for reading in the children.