Bharat Vidyalaya Karadi

Dear All,

Having completed the construction work of the Karadi School building and officially inaugurated the School on 27^th December 2006, the huge task of moving into the new school began.

Although a lot of thought and planning had gone into the building work mistakes began to emerge and compromises had to be made. Like any other project we too faced some teething problems.

For our School in Karadi we had set some very high objectives where,

?The children are enthusiastic about going to school
?They develop good learning skills which make them confident
?They achieve the expected reading, literacy and numerical standards
?They understand the ethics and morals of good citizenship and their future responsibilities
?They learn to have respect for the community and environment they live in
?The teachers understand the children’s psyche and are able to develop a bond of mutual trust and respect
?The teachers are able to competently and successfully impart the learning skills to their pupils using modern teaching techniques
?The teachers have satisfaction and pride in their profession
?Parents understand the importance of education and take interest in their children’s activities and have pride in their achievements

Doing all this was not going to be easy. The only way to achieve this was to start moulding children at a very young age and to introduce English as the medium of education. This could only be done from the start of the new school year. In the meantime we also needed to continue seeing through all the Gujarati medium students. The last term for the year 2006/7 finished with just over 400 children between the Primary and the Higher Secondary Schools. The May vacation had begun and it was time for us to act.

Our priority was to establish the English Medium School. Our old Kasturba Balvadi run by the Mahila Mandal needed to be converted to our new Nursery. Manibhai Bhuvan which had remained almost unused since it was built nearly 27 years ago was chosen to accommodate Junior and Senior Kindergarten. Specialist painters were brought in from Rajasthan to give a new look and to create a more welcoming environment. Disney characters, alphabets, fruits and some religious paintings were painted. The Nursery was furnished with a cushion floor and the two KG classes with some colourful desks.

English Medium Nursery

English Medium Junior KG

English Medium Senior KG

Finding English speaking teachers in our area is not easy. After interviewing more than eighty applicants three new teachers were recruited. The vacation went pretty fast and it was time for admissions. Applications began to come in and by the beginning of the term in June 2007 we had 95 children in our English Medium School. We were overwhelmed by the response.

Also, equal effort was put in to encourage admissions in the Gujarati Medium Section. It was decided to expand our hostel that we had started the previous year with about 55 children. Since the Secondary had moved into the new buildings the old buildings were now empty and available for our new hostel. Conversion work began and soon the old school building was ready to accommodate 200 boys and girls. We had decided to charge minimum fees for boarding; Rs.5000 for 5, 6 and 7^th standard students, Rs.7000 for 8, 9 and 10^th standard students and Rs.8000 for 11^th and 12^th standard students. For these minimum fees, we would provide accommodation and food for the whole year. This means less than £100 per year. Admissions started to come in and things went out of control. Geeta Sanskar Bhuvan too had to be converted to accommodate more boys and girls. People were begging to admit their children into the hostel. In spite of refusing, we were forced to accept more as they came through influence from higher authorities. By the time the official School opening date arrived, we had three hundred admissions. A hundred more than we had originally planned for.

To further enhance education in our school we had also planned to start the science stream. Teaching science at a higher level requires permission from the government. Permission was granted to us at a special hearing in Gandhinagar subject to us not applying for any government grants or teachers. This meant we had to finance it all or it had to be self financing. We built and equipped three laboratories and also recruited four more non granted teachers to teach Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. This was our first year and we had 30 science students.

There was also pressure building up with School admissions, and again we were expected to take in more students than we could handle. As the new academic year 2007/ 2008 term started we had 743 children compared to just over 400 in the 2006/ 2007 year. Though overwhelmed by the response of pupils seeking admissions we were fighting an uphill struggle. This meant that everyone had to put in extra effort. All the teachers did their own extra bit and we sailed successfully through the year. When the results were announced we had managed to obtain 90.14% in SSC (Standard 10) and 76.19% in HSC (Standard 12). We had also won 2 important awards for being the 3^rd Best School out of 156 schools in Navsari Jilla and the Nirmal Shala (Clean School) award.

Educational year 2007/ 2008 was over and the summer vacation had begun. Schools were once again closed and time for us to get to work. After preparing and equipping our laboratories last year we had not got the chance to decorate them. So it was time to do that now. We redecorated all the three labs and replaced the wooden windows with aluminium ones. This was going to be our first year for 12^th Science and new equipment had to be purchased. The 11^th standard students moved on to 12^th and new ones joined in the 11^th making a total of 55 science students.

 School Chemistry Lab

School Biology Lab

Last year we had managed to set up our computer class with twenty one laptop computers, an LCD projector and wireless broadband. The broadband facility enabled our students to surf the internet and enjoy the global experience. But during the year we noticed the classroom was becoming unbearably hot. Also there appeared to be a lot of dust coming from the nearby fields and we had to do something about it. We decided to install air conditioning, carpet the whole room and redecorate. This has made our computer class more comfortable and user friendly.

School Computer Class

Having completed our first year of English Medium in Nursery, Junior KG and Senior KG, it was time to start preparing for our 1^st standard in the English medium. We decided to locate this class in the Higher Secondary section near the Principal’s office. We redecorated the room, replaced the wooden windows with aluminium ones and furnished it with 21 new desks. We also installed a new computer with a 32” flat screen monitor, spent a lot of time searching for the right software and finally purchased animated software to suit us. Supply of electricity has always been abnormal in our villages and if we were to use computers in our classrooms then we had to have a backup. An inverter to support the system was installed. A new teacher was also recruited to look after the class. Today we have 105 pupils in our English Medium section.

English Medium Std 1

English Medium Std 1

School libraries in most villages in our area are almost non existent. Donors in the past have spent a lot of money in providing such facilities but all these have been neglected and many have been closed down. Our school library had met with the same fate and was locked up for more than fifteen years. Libraries we think are a very important part of any school and we decided to re-develop our library in a brand new location. A library is a place where one could sit and enjoy reading in a clean, cool, peaceful and comfortable environment. We did exactly that by redecorating, installing air conditioning, fitting wall to wall carpets and furnishing with comfortable chairs and good sized tables. Our library now sits 48 people comfortably. A major donor from Toronto, Canada donated lot of books both in English and Gujarati. Books have also been donated and sent from UK and USA. Today we have a total of 3247 books all bar coded and computerised. Members are issued with bar coded membership cards. We have a capacity for almost 15000 books and we appeal for more donors. A full time librarian has also been recruited. The library is open to all members of the community and villages.

School Library

School Library

School Librarian Lataben Patel

Our school also enjoys a good sized swimming pool. After experiencing some difficulties last year a new drainage line was installed to take all the waste water directly to the gaam talao. The amphitheatre has proved to be a very important venue for all school programs and can comfortably sit almost 900 people. The school also has an amphitheatre style music room which is still being prepared. Here children will have a chance to learn and enjoy music.

School Swimming Pool

School Aphitheatre

We have noticed and experienced that although many people know a little bit of English, spoken English has been very poor in our area. When we have tried talking to people in English they have felt very shy and have no confidence, and especially with us NRIs they revert back to Gujarati. In February this year we invited Ruth Williams, an English teacher from London, to our school in Karadi. When she was there we noticed that people were making an effort to speak to her in English. This led us to believe that it would be a good idea to have foreign teachers that will help break their fear and improve confidence. We have offered this opportunity to Ruth and she has agreed to join and work voluntarily for us. She will be in Karadi teaching from November to April. Of course, we will be paying her airfare and accommodation. We welcome more teachers to come and help us on a voluntary basis.

The education year 2008/ 2009 has just started and we have a total of 731 students studying with us who come from around 78 different villages around us.

We have in all spent around Rs.2.50 crores (£312,000) on the school project. Almost all the funds came from ex-students and well wishers living in UK, Canada, USA, South Africa, New Zealand and Fiji. Karadi Sangathan Mandal UK has been our backbone and played the most important part in communicating with people around the world and was the major fund raiser for the project. To continue the huge task we have undertaken and for further development more funds will have to be raised. In UK fund raising has been ongoing. Karadi Sangathan Mandal UK in conjunction with Mandhata Samaj Wolverhampton have this year had two fund raising events. A New Year’s Party and a Valentine Dinner and Dance. The two events raised around £8000 for the school.

In summing up this report I would like to thank all those who have donated generously for the project and still continue supporting us. This project I believe has been very successful and will help impart better education to the children of Kantha Vibhag and the nearby villages. It will help us in fulfilling our objectives and to raise better citizens for tomorrow. I would also like to thank our team in particular Babubhai Rama, Maganbhai B Karadia, Ranchhodbhai C Patel,  Ashok RC and Mohanbhai Kesa who have constantly been with me in seeing this project through. Without their help and support this project would not have been possible.

Please feel free to contact me if you feel interested in the project or if you wish to donate in any way or form for this worthy cause. It is said that Siksha Daan is the most important of all daans meaning, donating for education is considered to be the most auspicious. Many people donate to temples and often where money is not required. Ours is a temple too but it is a Sarasvati Mandir (Temple of Knowledge) where we impart better education, so please help us to help others. Together we will make a difference. It is also important to note that all our finances are controlled and accounted for by people living in the UK. If you are in India, please make a point to come and visit our school and see the work we are doing.

Yours truly,

Mahesh Karadia,
President,
Bharat Vidyalaya Kelavni Mandal Karadi.

Mobile 0044 7801 882674 (UK)
Mobile 0091 9979 710627 (India)
Email maheshkaradia@hotmail.com

Website www.karadi-school.com