About us
Pragati Wheel School - Bringing Education to the Doorstep
Bringing education to their doorstep 'Pragati Wheel School' an endeavour promoted by Basant Charitable Trust is bringing about an attitudinal change towards the need for education and open a window of opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and low self-esteem for the less privileged children.
Located in the bed of river Yamuna, Pragati Wheel is an endeavour borne out of the concern and compassion of a home maker for children.
Established in 2007, it started functioning from a cow shelter of the local farm, with children from the families of agricultural labourers /farmers growing vegetables and working in nurseries being the main beneficiaries. Today the school provides basic education to over 250 children.
The greatest advantage of the school is its location. Functioning from the river bed it is in close proximity to the living quarters of the families it is benefitting.
There is a long list of things that still need to be done to provide these children with an opportunity to identify and exploit their potential. Some things relate to providing physical and material amenities while others relate to their psychological and attitudinal growth.
It is the earnest desire of the school to tackle both these issues by providing a better teaching-learning environment with more classrooms, course materials, uniforms, library facilities and books, one to one interaction through more teachers. Enhance their development through exposure to the world at large by exploratory trips and outings, and. expose them in use of information technology education such as computers to the class room.
We are providing the children with practical knowledge of their parental profession e.g. farming, horticulture, or a skill as they reach higher classes, which can be a source of economic support.
Another major concern is the health and nutrition of these children. The school organizes regular health checkups for them along with an immunization programmes.
OUR JOURNEY SO FAR
Pragati Wheel School a unit of Basant Charitable Trust was registered at Hoshiarpur, Punjab in the year 1979 with the primary objective to promote education and health care services in the rural areas.
The main activities of the Trust are the Basant Kanya Inter College at Meerut, a primary health care centre cum hospital at Hoshiarpur and the Pragati Wheel School, Delhi for the under privileged and needy. The School was started in the year 2007 and provides education to over 250 children of farmers and nursery workers in the river bed of Yamuna at Delhi.
Overview
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OUR TEAM
- Managed and operated by volunteers and 14 teachers
- The School has a student teacher ratio of 1:20 (compared to 1:31 in private schools and 1:37 in public schools)
- Enroll children in the age group of 3 to 15 and runs classes from pre-nursery to Class Ten.
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SCHOOL LOCATION
- Located on/ in close proximity to Yamuna river bed which is the living quarters of its demographics.
- Other school options are located in urban colonies and require negotiating traffic and spending scarce resources on transportation.
- Both these factors act as deterrents for parents to send their children to schools especially a girl child.
- By bringing education to their doorstep Pragati is bringing an attitudinal change towards the need for education and open a window of opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and low self-esteem. To provide basic education and personal development to poor children.
- To provide them with exposure to professional opportunities outside their farming communities.
- To inspire students to develop and pursue bigger dreams of professional growth.
- To create a financially sustainable model and associate it with an NGO or a corporate funding source.
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GOAL & FUTURE STRATEGY
Our Immediate Goals
- To ensure that children complete their studies up to class XII especially the girl child.
- On completion provide them with skills training to find gainful employment.
- Simultaneously change their social attitudes towards girls and marriage.
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FUTURE STRATEGY
- To enroll them into professional courses and they becoming role models for the coming generations.
- Help each student realize their true potential.
- Inculcate values which will make them model citizens of the country.
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SCHOOL FACILITIES
- Classes: pre-nursery to 8th based on NCERT course curriculum
- Children are registered in National Institute of Open School (NIOS) for secondary and senior secondary examination
- Computer laboratory with 10 computers
- Science laboratory with all necessary instruments and equipments up to class X
- Library facility with a wide variety of books ranging from Indian folk tales to Encyclopedia
- Use of Information Technology for learning through IPads and computers
- Enrolled with learning Portals and English conversation courses
