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INDIA: Salesian Missions donors supporting better learning environment for youth in Salesian schools across India

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions donors are ensuring that youth in India have access to education through several recent projects. Donor funding has supported the construction of new schools, the refurbishment of classrooms, the purchase of furniture and school supplies and the recruitment and training of new teachers.

Salesian schools in India create opportunities for children and older youth to succeed. Salesian missionaries ensure youth receive education, skills training and workforce development services so that they can become productive citizens. They also make the safety of at-risk children a priority, protecting them through child rights education and the removal of children from dangerous working conditions.

Many students attending Salesian schools are the first in their families to attend school.  This can be a challenge since not all local families support their children going to school. Parents are often unable to help their children with their homework and many would rather see their children working to help support the family. Often, they do not understand how important education is in helping to break the cycle of poverty.

While students receive a quality education at Salesian schools, many are reflective of the poor communities in which they are located. In some there are no chalkboards so teachers use chalk to write directly on painted black walls. In others, students must sit on the floor because there are no desks and chairs. Many Salesian schools urgently need furniture and supplies to help provide a better learning environment for students.

Salesian Missions donors have answered the call for help. Donor funding was provided to refurbish classrooms that were old and worn out at the Don Bosco Premnivas School in Mangalagiri as well as complete construction of new schools and recruit and train teachers in the Salesian Province of Assam. Funding was also provided to continue educational classes for poor troubled teenagers at the Don Bosco School in Tipura.

Students at other Salesian schools in India have new school furniture. Donors provided funding for new benches and desks as well as scholarship assistance for impoverished students at the Don Bosco School Rangajan. Don Bosco School in Nalgonda also received desks, chairs, benches and backboards for 10 new classrooms.

“Youth in India are already attending school under challenging circumstances so ensuring they have a proper school environment is important,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Desks and chairs help to provide a more dignified and organized educational environment for students to complete their studies. As a result, students are often more focused on classroom work and more prepared for their lessons.”

India has the world’s fourth largest economy but more than 22 percent of the country lives in poverty. About 31 percent of the world’s multidimensionally poor children live in India, according to a new report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. A “multidimensionally poor” child is one who lacks at least one-third of 10 indicators, grouped into three dimensions of poverty: health, education and standard of living.

India’s youth also face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44 percent of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions Projects

World Bank – India