Divya Deepa Charitable Trust

Divya Deepa Charitable Trust runs Kaliyuva Mane (meaning Home for Learning) - Kaliyuva Mane is a free residential alternative school for child laboure Read morers, school dropouts, children from broken families, dyslexic children, children with huge academic lag, who are not suitable for main stream formal schools. Kaliyuva Mane works on the principle ‘School for children’ rather than ‘Children for school’. Kaliyuva Mane was started in the year 2005 in a hut with 4 children. Kaliyuva Mane is accreditated by National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), an autonomous Institution under Dept. of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education (MOE), Govt. of India (AA No. O08062). Kaliyuva Mane is located in an area of 2 acres and 27 guntas, on the outskirts of Mysore city in a rural area, away from the hustle bustle of the city. The key features of Kaliyuva Mane are: • Admission of children happens throughout the year because there is no fixed period for a child to slip into difficult situations or for an out-of-school child to regain interest in studies. • An informal talk/test is held with the guardians and the child at the time of admission. The purpose of this test is not a criterion for the rejection of the child, but to ascertain whether the child is really an opportunity-deprived child. As a sign of formal acceptance parents/guardians sign an affidavit. • Children are provided heathy food, clothing, healthcare and recreational facilities free of cost apart from alternative education. • A child need not attend the classes immediately after joining Kaliyuva Mane. Enough time is given for a child to build rapport with the school, staff members and other children. This gives ample time for a child with turbulent past to adapt to the new environment at Kaliyuva Mane. • An uncluttered mind is a prerequisite for learning. Love, Care and Empathy are the ingredients to create a happy mind. Happy minds learn faster. So, each child of Kaliyuva Mane gets adequate emotional support from the staff and volunteers. A homely atmosphere prevails in Kaliyuva Mane at all times. • Children are not graded as 1st standard, 2nd standard, 3rd standard etc. For e.g. a 12-year-old school dropout at an academic level of 2nd standard cannot be integrated with either age-appropriate 7th standard or with knowledge appropriate 3rd standard. So, children are grouped into flexible teams based on their age, academic level, pace of learning and emotional readiness of the child to be in that particular team. Meaningful temporary names are given to such teams. • Once a child demonstrates an interest in education, a thorough assessment is done to identify the academic level in all the subjects. Based on this, a tailored curriculum is designed using state and central syllabi, reference materials, and teaching aids specific to the child's needs. • No fear-instilling annual examinations are held till class X public examination. Instead, informal tests are conducted at regular intervals. The purpose of conducting these tests is not to label the child as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’, but quantify the child’s learning, re-fix the curriculum and discover new methods of teaching. • Kaliyuva Mane is neither a conventional English medium school nor Kannada medium school. Most of the children are from rural uneducated homes, where English is an alien language. But Now-a-days, English is a global language. So, core subjects like Science, Mathematics and Social Science are taught both in mother tongue and English. But children take class X public examination in English medium. • Once a child acquires the prerequisites for understanding the 10th standard syllabus, they are enrolled for the examination as a private candidate under the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination board. • Kaliyuva Mane is infusing innovation into every facet of education. Some are: Star rewarding system’ to identify and encourage positive attitude in children, Kids’ Bank to make the children understand the value of money and its limitations, Kids’ Court to settle the disputes among children, Kids’ shop etc. • Kaliyuva Mane is an eco-conscious school. It has implemented eco-friendly practices like rainwater harvesting, solar-powered lighting, biogas plant, a model of eco-toilet, Proper solid waste management system and organic farming etc. Children actively engage in these practices, reducing the school's carbon footprint and learning valuable eco-friendly practices. • In Kaliyuva Mane, there is a good work culture where all children participate in cooking, dairy, horticulture, Campus Cleaning work apart from academics, under the supervision of staff members. We have constructed a skill-learning Centre, ‘Kaushala’, to introduce all children of Kaliyuva Mane to various skills like plumbing, hair cutting, electrical, tailoring, welding, painting, etc. to hone their flair for hands-on-learning and expand their skill set. This opportunity will also increase the scope of their job prospects after completing their 10th standard.