Inspiring story of a Government School Teacher empowering her peers

As part of Project Sulabh, Government School Teacher Ms Shwetha P.S. plays a critical role in empowering other Government School Teachers, resulting in hundreds of rural students benefiting from the initiative ??

Just when the Government Schools in Karnataka closed for the annual summer holidays in April 2024, Shwetha P.S. heard about an Online Spoken English course being offered to Government School Teachers by Sharada Educational Trust - Bangalore based NGO focused on education and women empowerment.

Shwetha, a Teacher at Government Primary School - Sathanuru (Ramanagara district) located about 75 kms from Bangalore, wasted no time in enrolling for the course, attended by 8 other Government School Teachers from various districts of Karnataka. Shwetha with a 100% attendance record topped the Batch by scoring A+ in the Assessment exercises given to the Teachers, as part of the course.

Just as the course was ending, Sharada Educational Trust announced the launch of the Sulabh App on 15th May 2024 at Government Primary School – Cheeluru (Ramanagara district). The App was developed for Sharada Educational Trust by 3 students from the BFH University in Bern – Switzerland, as part of their Bachelor thesis project. The Sulabh App was intended to supplement the learning by offering existing courses like Spoken English, Financial Literacy for kids, Soft skills for Teachers etc. in the self-paced and tutor-led modes.

As part of the Core Team, Shwetha was trained on the usage of the App. She actively participated in the field-testing process when the Swiss team visited the Government School in the month of May. Immediately thereafter, Shwetha took up the responsibility of championing the usage of Sulabh App among her students coming from rural and under-privileged backgrounds, who speak or read and write only in their native language - Kannada. Coming from a less privileged background with no exposure to English language until she completed her High School, Shwetha realises the importance of learning English for a bright and better future for her students.

The Sulabh App went live on 15th June 2024 after she enrolled about 20 Students and 4 Teachers from her school. The users were provided access to the Spoken English and Financial Literacy courses. However, the biggest challenge she faced was the non-availability of smartphones, for the students to access the App. Shwetha requested the parents of her students to spare their smartphones on Saturdays so that she could teach them how to use the App and learn Spoken English and Financial Literacy related course, which includes simple topics related to Banking and Insurance. By the end of July, she had already identified about 50 students from Class 5th to 8th and taught them both the subjects through the Sulabh App, post school hours on Saturdays.

In less than 3 months, about 30 students received their Certificate of Completion in Spoken English and Financial Literacy, issued through the Sulabh App. The Certificates were handed over to the students on Independence Day - 15th August 2024, by the Headmaster of the Government school.

Someone who strongly believes in this old adage - "What you want to ignite in others must first burn inside yourself", Shwetha did not stop with just training the students from her school. She took up an added responsibility of teaching and empowering other Government School Teachers from remote parts of Karnataka as part of “Project Sulabh”. This despite facing several challenges like commuting a long distance of about 40 kms from her school to home and ensuring she is on time to conduct the sessions at 7pm; asking her neighbour to take care of her 5-year-old son, to ensure he does not disturb her during the sessions; completing the household chores and preparing for dinner just after the sessions.

Sharada Educational Trust has partnered with Right To Live, a Bangalore based NGO that supports more than a hundred Government Schools in Karnataka, to empower the Government School Teachers. Through the “Hybrid mode” of learning, the Government School Teachers undergo an Online Spoken English course, to be delivered by Shwetha, a Project Sulabh Champion. Once they complete the Online course, they have a commitment to teach their students in the Offline mode (classroom), with the support of Sulabh App.

The Teachers have access to the Sulabh App, which will supplement their learning. The self-paced course available in the App, will prove to be a useful teaching aid, when the Teachers have to share the knowledge with their students, post completion of the course.

The batch also includes 5 members from Right To Live, in addition to the Government School Teachers. This will ensure they take the initiative forward, with many other rural Government Schools associated with Right To Live, in the future.

Through the current batch, the Project is likely to impact more than 300 Government School students as a result of the “Teach the Teacher” model, supplemented by the Sulabh App. Government School Teacher Shwetha is playing a very critical role in empowering other Government School Teachers, resulting in hundreds of rural students benefiting from the initiative ??

We need more Shwethas, who can transform education in the Government Schools and empower more and more Teachers and Students in the process.