Gujarat: Vali Shala, where parents are taught how to teach kids

AHMEDABAD: Vraj Busa, 11, a class VI student at Dharampur Primary School, about 40 km away from Rajkot, has not attended any class of his new academic year yet. But he has not missed a class either, despite having no access to online schooling! This is because parents of class VI have become teachers and have been taking turns at educating the kids for the past one and half months.
Naresh Busa, Vraj’s father and an agro product seller in the village, says that Vraj is getting educated in ‘Vali Shala,’ a concept introduced by Pooja Paija, a teacher at Dharampur Primary School. “Earlier, we all had to spend some time with our kids and ensure that they study. But now Vraj and his classmates go from one parent’s home to another each fortnight to complete a designated chapter,” he says, adding that it’s not just education though – it’s also the essential life skills imparted by the parents to the kids that makes the experiment unique.
The project, which has also been documented by the Education Innovation Bank at Ravi J Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation (RJMCEI) at IIM Ahmedabad, and won laurels at state and national level, is getting a complete overhaul in post-Covid-19 world.
“The idea was to engage the parents in their children’s education – mostly the kids spend morning till late afternoon at the school and then forget about what they had learnt. Teaching kids was individual responsibility of families. But we thought that why not identify enthusiastic and interested parents who could be roped in to educating kids after the school is over?” says Paija.
After a few months, the parents of class I to VI students warmed up to the idea and started volunteering for a fortnight where they had to devote one and a half to two hours daily. Paija said that it not only eliminated the need for tuitions but also ensured that the kids remained engaged. It was not just about science and mathematics; the parents also took them to identification of crops at their farms or teaching them how to roll those perfect chapatis.
Vali Shala gains new importance
Post Covid-19 pandemic, parents have shrunk the group of students from 15-17 to twothree. “Vali Shala has assumed greater significance now as many students do not have access to smart phones and TV for online classes. In such a scenario, parents having the resources can reach out to the kids not having it,” says Paija.
Prof Vijaya Sherry Chand, chairperson of RJMCEI, said that what started as an evening remedial input has now come in handy during the current lockdown. “The role of the teacher has been crucial – more than the specific activity, what we picked up for replication was the principle of working out a concrete activity in which parents would be regularly involved without feeling it to be burdensome, monitoring the progress, and supporting the engagement of the parents with the teacher's own inputs.”
Experts at IIM-A said that ‘Vali Shala’ is a concept where the parents are empowered to impart education to the kids in close coordination with the school. While schools are likely to remain closed for some more weeks parents with enough resources can ensure that the students’ education.