BANGALORE: In an effort to reduce the distinction between the rich and the poor, an innovative method has been introduced by Bal Utsav, an initiative of Child Empowerment Foundation India and a non-profit company registered under Section 25 of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. The Museum School, a concept which was first introduced in Bhopal, is about a school within a museum. The school provides the right infrastructure for children, thereby enabling them to get information conceptually. “If museums are built in educational institutions, the quality of education will improve,” said Pradeep Ghosh, President, Organisation for Awareness of Integrated Social Security (Oasis). This school will offer subjects based on life skills and sentences are learnt through graphical representation. When it comes to learning numbers, the children will be subjected to a buy and sell situation where they are given chits with an amount written. “The children who were once illiterate are now able to write full sentences,” he added. In the school located in Bhopal, subjects like science, archeology and social studies are taught. As they have also collaborated with Archeological Survey of India (ASI), retired individuals come to teach the young ones. “What better history teacher can one get?” asks Ghosh. As per their technique, the current knowledge of a child is examined and accordingly the students in the school are trained. Further, the school provides facilities such as free transportation. Although the Government has provided for free text books, food, etc they have done very little to retain them in school. All these years, it has been seen that the children used to run away from school only to go back home and play. With the advent of Museum school, the same set of children seem to be enjoying school more than they do at home. “Although parents themselves are illiterate, they do know what homework is. When they see the bag and a set of homework, the parents feel that their kids are going to an educational institution,” said Pradeep.The Museum school, which also has a center for regular learning was inaugurated on April 21 by Nina P Nayak, the chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The school will cover 100 children from the slums of the city including 55 children from Mysore and 30 from Cox town.
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