Twelve-year-old Sonam Kumari, whose mother died in childbirth and whose father sells vegetables in Sector 71, has never been to school. But for the past two years, she has been learning fourth-standard English, maths and science for two-and-a-half hours a day in a mobile education van that arrives at her temporary settlement colony in Sector 70.
“I stayed at home, did housework and cooked food. But in May 2021, with my father’s permission, I enrolled in a van school. Initially, I was not interested in studying, but after talking to the teachers, I now have ambitions to become a teacher as well,” says Sonam.
She is one of the 2,124 out-of-school children in Gautam Budh Nagar who have been provided with alternative education system by ‘Nanhe Parinde’, an initiative of Gautam Budh Nagar police in collaboration with HCL Foundation and Chetna NGO, officials said.
As part of this initiative, multi-dimensional mobile classrooms offer academic support to disadvantaged children in math and science, English language skills, art education and digital literacy. They also provide children with sports and recreational opportunities that help reduce dropout rates and juvenile crime rates.
Launched in the district in January 2021, the initiative has five vans operating in various temporary settlements. On Tuesday, Bharti Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police (Headquarters), Commissioner of Police Gautam Budh Nagar, flagged off five more vans in the district from Police Lines, Surajpur and Greater Noida.
“Providing comprehensive life skills education and encouraging collective social action will help empower young people from marginalized communities. It is our responsibility to help young talent progress to contribute to the nation,” says Singh.
According to official data from program coordinators at HCL, 2,124 children have received ‘bridging school’ through mobile vans and 64,826 nutritious meals through the program since January 2021.
“With the support of the local police station, each van reaches 50-60 children a day. The vans will stay in one temporary settlement for about two and a half hours before moving on to the next destination. Since it is ‘bridging education’, we aim to integrate these children into schools,” says Dr Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President Global Corporate Social Responsibility, HCL Foundation.
According to officials, since the initiative began in the district, 339 out-of-school children have been integrated into the formal education system and 259 homeless children have been enrolled in schools. Sonam also plans to enroll in a government school near her locality in her sixth standard.
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