Last year, our teacher T.Divya was wunning a mini-school at JJ Nagar a big Irular colony with 100s of families. But the place where she was teaching last year was not made available for us this year. Her mother happens to be a government teacher at the PUPS Palavakkam. So she was aware of a smaller Irular colony called Eri Colony. Divya explored on her own and went to this Eri Colony which has just about 20 houses. It is very poor. None of the houses are Pucca houses. She got the support of the parents to have a mini-school batch there. As there is no building available, she just teaches under the shade of a big tree there. As the children there are from very poor households, we also started providing nutrition there. I also visited the mini-school on October 22^nd and interviewed the teacher and the children.

Divya also runs another mini-school next to her house in Uthukottai.

After the interview, I also distributed the nutrition food for the day – Pasi paruppu payasam!

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How did you find this colony?
My mother was aware of this colony and told me about it. During the lockdown me and some of my friends came here to donate some things here. So once the lockdown lifted and the other building in JJ Nagar was not available, I came and asked the parents here.

Did your family support you working in a remote place like this?
I had full support of my mother. I had no problems coming and working here. The people here also were happy to send their children to the mini-school.

Were there any other challenges?
As the mini-school is running under the tree, weather is a problem. If it rains, I will have to cut the mini-school short. There wasn’t any option of running it inside a house or building.

What was different about the mini-school?
I enjoyed the freedom of teaching on my own. It was a new experience. The responsibility weighs on me sometimes. As my mother is ill, I have had to miss mini-school on a couple of days. I know that the children will not get the extra nutrition that I provide on those days.

What will you take to the school from what you did in the mini-schools?
I will understand the level of the children and teach accordingly. I will use activities to teach concepts. I am very happy with the success of the mini-schools and I have learnt a lot from running them.

Will you miss the mini-school?
I will miss this mini-school and this group of children. Having seen the mini-schools and before that the schools, I really think Asha should continue running the mini-schools. The children here are learning much better now. They didn’t know anything when I first started coming here. Teachers can do much better with the freedom that comes with the mini-schools.
She is trying to continue the nutrition in this mini-school and continue teaching here in the evening after her regular duties in the schools. But her mother also needs her support as she has health issues.

How were the experiences in your two mini-schools different?
They are very different. The children in Uthukottai were better off and knew more. But they were more difficult to control. The children here are much better behaved. I felt a much deeper connection with the children here. When the children in my Uthukottai mini-school saw the pictures from this mini-school, they also wanted to come here. Can I bring them here one day Sir?
I did allow her and Asha paid for the Auto fare to transport the children. They celebrated a joint “Farewell day” function. It was a wonderful experience for both the groups of children.

About the Students
I talked to four students. In particular the following.

• Dhatchayani Will be going to 4^th Std at PUPS Palavakkam.
• Lakshmi Will be going to 5^th Std at PUPS Palavakkam. I thought she is in 3^rd std as she is very small. She has two younger sisters also coming to the mini-school.
• Muthamma Will be going to 4^th Std at PUPS Palavakkam.
• Hemavathi Will be going to 5^th Std at PUPS Palavakkam. She is Muthamma’s elder sister. She is much taller than the rest of the children in the mini-school. She has two elder sisters.

Hemavathi and Lakshmi also took me to their homes. Lakshmi’s house was locked as her mother was washing clothes elsewhere. Hemavathi’s mother and one of her elder sisters were next to the house. The photos below will show the precarious state of their lives. Just a one room ramshackle house in both the cases with multiple people living there. It is difficult to imagine how the children will get any opportunity to study unless we provide some alternate space like a mini-school or library. Asha has to think about how to support children in such places.


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Which school did you go to / are you going to go to?
All the children go to PUPS Palavakkam. There is no one who has been to any private school from this colony.

What did you do last year when there was no mini-school?
We were just playing and helping our parents with odd jobs.  I have myself often seen Hemavathi carrying a young baby (in photos). Responsibility comes early to these children. Even slightly older girls care for the younger ones, wash clothes etc.

How was the mini-school?
All Children: We enjoyed it very much. We really like the snacks we get every day. We like all the games and activities. We liked celebrating functions like Vinayaga Chathurthi and Ayudha Poojai very much. Teacher got us to cook good food for these functions which we enjoyed.

What do you feel about going back to school?
We are looking forward to it!