Teaching And Learning

Dhrubotara’s main job is to create happy and successful learners among children whose families did not normally go to school at all until quite recently.

Our PP and Primary classes run early in the morning for 2 – 3 hours, depending on the season. Many children then attend the local Govt. Primary Schools (GPS) at Obhirampur or Akhirpur, which start about 10.30am.

Because the quality of teaching and learning is poor in Indian GPS, it was and is necessary for children to attend paid, private, group tuition sessions daily, or some other supplementary learning support arrangement. Dhrubotara provides this support to the poorest children of the locality, in a setting which feels secure and comfortable for the children, and has the ethos of a small, progressive school, physically and emotionally close to the community we serve.

The curriculum of Dhrubotara covers what children need to learn to be successful in the Govt school system. Govt school textbooks for each subject are used, but teaching is more stimulating and a range of other materials are used. Because our numbers are quite small our teachers are able to know the mind of each child and support them to learn effectively.

It is necessary to strike a balance between traditional teaching methods, which parents expect to see, and more modern and creative teaching which may deliver better and happier learning. Because of this tension it has not been possible to make a really creative environment for our PP children who attend from the age of 3 – 5 years. Sand and water play, free use of paints and junk materials, climbing and construction toys are not culturally acceptable in most PP settings in India, so we have to be discrete and sensitive in the activities we offer.

Subjects we cover are : Bangla (the medium of education, and the first language of 90% of the children), Maths, English, History, Geography, Environmental Science. In addition Drawing and Hand Crafts, singing and dance are regular activities.

Evaluation of children’s development and learning is traditionally done only by exams in India. Dhrubotara does not set exams. We are slowly developing useful evaluation tools which help teachers to know what children can do, and inform the next steps.

We are delighted to announce that the pre-school children at Joihoripur are now able to attend an ‘early years’ activity centre which runs in Dhrubotara’s school room from 11am to 1pm daily. This is run and funded by a programme called Ekka – Dokka led by our friend Malini Mukherji, an educator based in Kolkata. The 15 + children who attend at Joihoripur follow a programme which is activity, spoken language and play focussed and are enjoyed by the children. The leader at JHP is Tumpa, who is also one of our high school tutors. She has an assistant to help with managing and caring for the children. Mothers often remain with their children for some time. The arrival of Ekka-Dokka is a very positive development. Great thanks to Malini and her team !

DHRUBOTARA’S TEACHERS

Five persons are employed as teachers in our Pre-Primary and Primary Sections. They teach on six mornings a week. Puja and Sikha share a post between them. Other people are paid as tutors for our former primary kids who have gone on to the high school. These tutors are paid according to the number of students they teach.

TUMPA MUDI

Tumpa Mudi is an educated young woman of the local ‘tribal’ Mudi community. She has joined Nando and Sikha as a tutor at Joihoripur and teaches the older High School going children in the afternoon class. She is unmarried and lives with her own family. She plays harmonium and sings. Tumpa is employed also as teacher in a pre-primary class supported by Ekka-Dokka from Kolkata, which runs daily in the school room at Joihoripur from 11 am.

NANDOLAL MAHELI

The senior teacher at Joihoripur is Nandolal Maheli, who lives beside the school, and has been with Dhrubotara since 2012. He has a BA and is the son of a landless agricultural labourer. Nando is married and became a father in 2024. He is an activist in the movement for improved rights, conditions and wages for the 'tribal' and other poor people of the locality.

PUJA BAG

Puja Bag teaches the younger children at Joihoripur on 6 mornings a week. She was a college student and is now married and living with her husband's family in the nearby town of Dhaniakhali. She comes to the school on a motor scooter. Her father is a small cultivator on the family's land.

SOBHAN DAS

With Chompa since 2015 is Sobhan (known as Sumon) Das. He comes from a poor Bengali family in Makhalpur. In addition to teaching at Dhrubotara he works in a pharmacy in the nearby small town. He is married to Paromita.

TAPASI DEY

At Makhalpur the senior teacher is Taposi (known as Chompa) Dey who is with Dhrubotara from 2001 and was the first teacher. She is a mother of 2 daughters, one married and one a student of Dhrubotara. Her husband is a farmer on a small landholding. Chompa’s mother is a Shobbor woman and her father is a 'general caste' Bengali cultivator.

SIKHA MUDI

Sikha Mudi is a young, educated married woman who teaches in the morning tuition class for high school going students at Joihoripur. Her family live with the Shobbor community at Makhalpur. When the path is dry she walks across the fields daily to Joihoripur. When it is flooded she cycles the long way round on the road. She was recently widowed.

Paromita Das

Paromita Das is a college educated woman who runs the tuition class for high school enrolled students of Dhrubotara at Makhalpur. She is the wife of Sobhan Das. She lives in Makhalpur.