https://csim.in/conversations/ConversationsToday-March2014.pdf

Punya’s day starts at 6 am. Her parents are marginal farmers in a village at Virajpet Taluk in Madikere District. After attending to her daily chores at home, she packs her lunch and walks to her school which is located 3 kilometers away. The school starts at 9:30 am and she reaches much ahead of her fellow students. 

In a while, her friends stroll in, some greeting her with a smile, and few asking if she would have time to clarify their doubts. She paused, looked at them and smiled.

Punya, 12, studies at the Government Higher Primary School in Virajpet, a village in Madikere (Coorg) District. She is a Young Instructor Leader trained by Agastya International Foundation.

Agastya International Foundation is an Indian education trust and a non-profit organization, founded in 1999, by Shri Ramji Raghavan and Shri Mahavir Kumar in Bangalore, India. It runs hands-on science education programs in rural and peri-urban regions across 12 Indian states and is one of the largest science education programs catering to economically disadvantaged children and teachers. 

Agastya has launched Science Centres and Mobile Science Labs in rural India to enhance learning amongst underprivileged children and unlock the creative potential of India’s rural population. Agastya has a variety of innovative methods and channels including a Creativity Lab located on a 172-acre campus in Kuppam, 80 Mobile Science Labs and 35 Science Centres. 

Agastya has implemented programs for over 5 million children (50 percent girls) and 150,000 teachers, from vulnerable and economically disadvantaged communities. By making practical, hands-on science education accessible to rural government schools, Agastya aims to transform and stimulate the thinking of underprivileged children and teachers.

While I waited for the teachers to arrive, a few children came towards me. 

Lakshmi, 10, held my hand and asked (in Kannada), “Where are you from? Whom do you want to meet?”

“I have come to meet your Head Master to talk about the Mobile Science Lab progamme. I am waiting for my friends from Agastya International Foundation to arrive,” I replied. 

She chuckled. Managing a smile, I felt pleased that I could convey the message in Kannada. 

Ravi, 9, was curious to learn why I had a camera, and what the book like gizmo was. “Are you going to take our pictures? I want one with my friends. Shall I call them?” He asked spontaneously.

I voraciously clicked pictures of the children. In less than five minutes, I had more than 40 children around me, each with their own set of friends, posing for pictures.

A loud bell rang, and in a moment the children assembled for prayers. 

Subramanya and his colleague Raghavendra arrived. Subramanya works as the Area In-Charge of Agastya and coordinates the activities at Madikere District; and Raghavendra is In-charge of the Science Centre at the Virajpet Chickpet Junior College and oversees the Mobile Science Lab programmes. Both are full time employees of Agastya and work in coordination with the Government schools at Madikere district. They also form Science Clubs and train young children to teach and demonstrate science experiments to their fellow students. 

We entered the School Head Master’s room. Shri. Muthappa greeted us and after exchanging pleasantries, we began the conversation.

“We have 176 students studying in this school. The efforts made by Agastya International Foundation, along with our school lessons, has helped the children improve their knowledge in science. Our children now participate in science fairs. We also have a Science Club in our school and allow the children to visit the Science Centre at the Virajpet Chickpet Junior College and Science Centre which is nearby. Besides, the Mobile Science Lab also visits our school thrice a year,” he said.

I requested him to allow us interact with the Science Club students, and he instantly agreed. 

The Science Club had nine students; two Young Instructors. As we entered, I noticed the students discussing their science project with Mrs. Pushpa Nachiappa, their mentor. 

They rose spontaneously to greet us. Muthappa introduced us to the students and asked them: “What are you learning today?”

“We are preparing for the science competition,” replied Babu. 

“Can one of you explain how the heart functions?” I asked.

Punya, the Young Leader Instructor, narrated the functions of the heart in detail and with confidence. “I like to teach my fellow students. Heart, earth and sun are among my favourite topics. I feel that I am treated with respect after I became the Young Instructor,” said Punya.

While she spoke, the rest grew restless. 

“It is not feasible to establish Science Centres in each of the Government schools, hence we initiated the Science Clubs. Our team that handles the Mobile Science Lab trains interested students to become Young Leader Instructors. This not only motivates the children, but also instills confidence in them,” said Subramanya.

The Mobile Science Lab at Virajpet visits 60 schools in the taluk, with three visits scheduled per school in a year. Two instructors and a driver coordinate these visits. They teach children science experiments and involve them during the demonstration classes. “Most of the government schools do not have Science Labs equipped to conduct experiments as per the school lesson plan. We address this gap,” said Raghavendra.

After spending some time with the enthusiastic children and evoking simple questions to each of them, we bid adieu. 

We then visited the Science Centre at Virajpet Chickpet Junior College which was a few kilometers away. Mrs. Poornima was teaching Physics to around 60 students studying in class 9. I interacted with the children, and requested them to join me at the Science Centre, which was situated next to their classroom. 

The children grew excited and some forcefully pushed their way through, as they wanted to get their hands first on their favourite experiment. 

Poornima said, “Our children enjoy going to the Science Centre. They prefer to spend their free time here. There are around 400 experiments and the lab instructor explains each of the experiments very clearly. In fact, I too learn along with the children, as I did not have the opportunity to practically engage in most of these experiments when I studied.”

While I was going through the experiments displayed in the Science Centre, Ravi explained how a square-wheeled bicycle worked.

We thanked Poornima and the children and left the school campus in a hustle as we were getting late for our next school visit. 

A bright yellow colored Tempo Traveler was parked in the Devapura Government School campus and the children were gathered in a large hall. I tiptoed slowly not wanting to distract their attention. 

Pandu, Instructor, was demonstrating the experiment on light and both children as well as their teachers actively participated. 

“How many types of lenses are there?” He asked.

The chorus response was too loud for my ears. 

As the day drew to a close, I thanked the Agastya team and returned to my place of stay. While driving through the winding roads of Madikere I remembered my school teachers. Teaching is indeed the noblest profession!

Agastya’s gift of providing rural children with access to science education has certainly made an impact in the lives of these innocent children, thereby enabling them to carve a positive future for themselves and their families.