Thane’s street school sending right signals during pandemic

Old steel cupboards beside the Signal School near Teen Hath Naka filled with heaps of books that are gathering dust are now converted into a mini library for its students.

Gone are the mismanaged piles of books, dumped merely for lack of space. The books are catalogued as per authors and genres. The library in the cupboard, created by the teachers and students of this school operated below Thane’s busiest junction. It is now keeping the students busy with reading amidst the pandemic.

The students and teachers placed small wooden partitions within the cupboards and displayed all the books, making them easily accessible.

Four years ago, Thane Municipal Corporation and Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth jointly started the Signal School, a first such initiative to educate children begging on the streets and providing them with a motivating alternative.

Although books were available earlier too for the students, it was just arranged in the cupboard and hardly a few used them. “We divided the books into various categories and asked the students to arrange them. It was a fun experiment and the students also learnt about the names of various authors and how books are categorised. They now eagerly take these books to read and their curiosity regarding the books has increased,” said Aarti Parab, teacher at Signal School, Thane.

They now have a variety of books ranging from stories, novels and poems of well-known authors in Marathi and English, to comic books and those with moral stories. They also have made available reading and research material for teachers and a variety of dictionaries, informative books and children’s monthly magazines.

Geeta Pawar, a student of Class 5, said, “I love to read Tinkle and Panchatantra comics from our library, but soon I will also pick up books of well-known authors as well. Our teachers keep explaining about PL Deshpande and Acharya Atre, about their work in literature.”

There are three cupboards filled with books and students are eager to arrange the remaining few books as well.

Signal School operating amid pandemic

While the regular schools might be close during the pandemic, the Signal School continues to operate. From identifying objects based on the topic for the day to planting various leafy vegetables, the students are kept occupied.

“Unlike other schools, students at the Signal School continue to have their sessions below the flyover despite the pandemic. Parents of children studying here are seen selling knick-knacks at traffic signals; the children do not have a place to be at during such times. As these families do not have access to online education, the school is open for them. With hardly 30 students during the lockdown, they ensure social distancing and all precautions are taken within the premises,” said a senior official from education department, Thane Municipal Corporation.

Teachers introduced various shapes on each day of the week and asked children to collect various objects in that shape.

“During the lockdown, we have fun events where every week a topic is selected and all activities and sessions revolve around this topic. They have already taught us about shapes and tastes, I enjoyed the most last week when we had an opportunity to not only plant methi seeds but were also taught how it was cooked. We were also served the same for lunch. The teachers explained the bitter taste through this week-long fun activity,” said Amol Pawar, Class 10 student of Signal School.

Bhatu Sawant, CEO, Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth, that runs Signal School, said, “Our teachers continuously focus on taking special efforts to make teaching fun and informative for the kids. These initiatives are a few among many such planned by the teachers to keep the children of various age groups engrossed in school and keen to finish their studies.”

About Signal School:

Well known for educating children begging on the streets, Signal School operates out of a shipping container under the Teen Haath Naka flyover in Thane. It was formally inaugurated in 2016 with 22 children and has now expanded to more than 50 students who diligently attend school. With more students from as far as Kalwa joining the Signal School, they are provided with transportation facilities also. In the last academic year, two students were shifted to regular schooling. A 21-year-old-boy who passed out from the Signal School three years ago has got placement into a consumer goods company recently.