EDUCATION
 There
are Six states of education programmes in VRO, starting from
the basic pre school education programmes to village management
programmes and further.
We call this as “Temple of VRO Learning Programme”.
Stage
I (3 - 5 yrs age): This
is balwadi education.
If a village has a minimum of 30 children in the age group,
we start a balwadi education center in that village. The villagers
have to fulfill 9 conditions set in initially by VRO. After
meeting the conditions, we send a trained balwadi teacher
to the village to give education which will help in development
of the natural senses of the child, through story telling,
songs, games, etc. During the noon time, the balwadi teacher
train's the village women in various handicrafts making, and
during the evenings, the teacher conducts adult education
classes for the adults in the village (especially the women).
Stage
II (6 - 11 yrs age): For
this age group, based on the request from the villagers, we
start primary schools in the villages and give education to
the children. We send trained volunteers to conduct the programme.
We concentrate mainly on the developing the understanding
of the Nature, understanding of the Human being in the society
and the understanding of Freedom, in the child.
In
these Learning Estates on
an average 60 students get education in each center. We also
provide books and Mid day meal to the children. Every month,
we evaluate the performance of the children and prizes distributed
for the best performers. Emphasis is given to games and sports,
cultural programmes, educational tours, etc. After 5th Standard,
the students will write the government entrance test and go
for further studies in government schools.
Stage
III (12 - 16 yrs age): This
stage of education is called Basic
Productivity Training Center (BPTC). We select
the school drop-outs in this age group from the villages (
boys and girls seperately ) and admit them in our training
centres and give free education, skill training (tailoring,
carpentry, welding, weaving, stone-carving, pottery, and other
handicrafts) and Leadership training. The trainees stay minimum
of three years in our centre. During which we provide free
boarding and lodging. For each skill, there is one trained
instructor in each centre. After completion of the training,
they will be given opportunities to work in the villages in
the form of setting up of workshops and train other youth
in the villages. The objective of this programme is to train
the village youth as skilfull leaders.
Stage
IV (17 - 20 yrs age): This
programme is called Village
Forestry Training Centre (VFTC). Village
Learning Guides Training Centre (VLGTC) for
boys and Village Health and
Child Development Guides (VHCDG) Training
programme for the girls. This is one year residential training
for VFTC and for VHCDG, after successful completion of the
training, they will be assigned in villages to work as apprentices.
The girls will be sent to the villages to work as balwadi
teachers. In VLGTC training, the programme is for two years.
We train the youth as trainers for primary learning estates.
For each programme there is a systematic syllabus prepared
by the experienced volunteers under the guidance of Prof.M.A.Windey,
the Director of VRO.
Stage
V (20 - 25 yrs age): Village
Management Training Programme. Under this, we select the active
youth from the villages and train them in village activities
like village order, environment, sanitation, maintenance,
organising the village meetings, problem solving, development
of education, health care, etc. They will be visiting villages
to conduct village meetings to explain these things and strengthen
the village councils.
Stage VI (Above 25 yrs age): Continuous Education, to train the adults in the village in learning program as per their standards.
SAPTASHEELAS applied to EDUCATION Sector:
LEARNING to be truly village beneficial
- should be in a village environment
- should offer equal opportunity
- should be under community-control
- should lead to knowledge-sharing
- should promote research, discovery
- should be reflexive in experience
- should be continuous in life.
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