Crowd funding and digital classrooms: Maharashtra govt schools show the way

Maharashtra schools raised Rs 216 crore, provided Wi-Fi-enabled classrooms, LCD projector, laptop

It is common to hear harrowing tales of government schools from across the country. In some instances, the infrastructure is in shambles. In other cases, teachers do not impart the lessons properly. While in many schools both the problems co-exist. 

A  Marathi-medium government school in Maharashtra, however, presents a completely different picture. The teachers of the school, including the principal, raised funds via crowd funding, a report published in The Indian Express said. The school staff has used the fund to provide Wi-Fi-enabled classrooms, LCD projector, Lenovo laptop, etc. 

How was the fund raised? 

The school is located in Dhekusim, a village of 1,800 people in Jalgaon’s Ambaner taluka, some 360 km north-east of Mumbai. To raise funds, the school staff approached the villagers who donated Rs 5.5 lakh. 

“When we reached out to people and sought help to improve the school, the villagers donated about Rs 5.5 lakh,” Suresh Patil, headmaster of the zila parishad school was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. 

Where was the money used? 

The school used the money to improve the infrastructure. Interestingly, the principal revealed that at least 10 students have left private schools to join the government school. "Our total number of students has gone up from 42 to 78," the principal said. 

• The revamped infrastructure includes: 
• An LCD projector worth Rs 78,000
• A Lenovo laptop 
• Wi-Fi-enabled classrooms 
• A 2,000-square-foot compound wall 

The frontrunner 

In many districts of Maharashtra, the community is an active participant in the change bringing process. However, Dhule district could be seen as a frontrunner of sorts as it is said to be the first in the state to have 100 per cent digital classrooms in government schools. 

 Harshal Vibhandik, a 35-year-old investment banker, is responsible for bringing about the change in Dhule. “I live in New York and two years ago, I came back to my hometown in Dhule. I had Rs 9 lakh with me and after visiting a few schools, I decided to digitise nine of them. But then, villagers wanted to pitch in too and that is when the 70:30 funding idea came to me, with villagers raising the majority of the money,” Vibhandik was quoted as saying.

Now, the initiative covers all 1,103 Zila Parishad schools of Dhule with the banker’s friends from abroad, donors, villagers, local NGOs all pitching in.

The data

The data available with Maharashtra State Council of Education Research and Training (MSCERT) highlights that between July 2015 and December 2016, school teachers in the state managed to raise Rs 216 crore from the public. The funds are utilised for revamping classrooms, building new toilets and on digital initiatives, among others. 

The MSCERT data further reveals that Ahmednagar district has ensured the maximum public participation, having raised over Rs 30 crore, followed by Pune (Rs 19.82 crore), Solapur (19.03 crore), Aurangabad (15.59 crore) and Nashik (14.80 crore).

The government trigger

The Maharashtra government had started the Pragat Shaikshanik programme two years ago where public participation reporting was made compulsory. Nand Kumar, principal secretary, state education department feels that it could acted as a necessary trigger. 

“One of the components of the programme was the compulsory reporting of public participation. Until now, schools didn’t actively seek outside funds. But now, since the programme documents public participation, teachers have started actively reaching out to the community, encouraging them to contribute and also seeking corporate help. There has also been an overall improvement in the quality of education, reflected in many recent surveys, due to which villagers have started investing in Zila Parishad schools,” he said.