Photo Source: Deccan Herald
By Malati Hegde
https://www.deccanherald.com/spectrum/learning-and-contests-689317.html
Recently, Anand Kiresur, a young boy from a shepherd family secured the highest in Mathematics in a contest. His family was elated and was proud of him. While addressing the gathering in his felicitation ceremony at Ganitha Kalika Andolana (GKA), a campaign to learn Math, at Binkadakatte in Gadag district, Anand said, “I will grow up and become a police officer and arrest those who steal sheep in the region.”
The boy had excelled in the G P Contest organised as part of GKA launched by Akshara Foundation, a public charitable trust which is into ensuring quality pre-school and primary education for children. The foundation was set up in 2000 by a group of people in Bengaluru to ensure that every child gets an opportunity to learn and realise their dreams.
What’s it all about?
The foundation has adopted the activity-based learning format to teach the students math in a creative manner. It has come up with a mathematics kit which comprises teaching and learning materials for the implementation of GKA, as part of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The GKA is an elementary school mathematics programme designed to improve numeracy skills and facilitate the classroom teaching of mathematics in grades IV and V in government schools. Akshara Foundation contacts schools and provides kits and books. The organisation’s resource persons train math and language teachers in handling the kit and the GKA is taken up as part of the school curriculum.
The kit consists of 21 materials including beaded rope, tape, blocks, foamed goodies, measuring tools, and weighing balance, which makes learning an enjoyable and a wholesome experience. These kits also aid the teachers in the classroom.
The kit consists of 21 materials including beaded rope, tape, blocks, foamed goodies, measuring tools, and weighing balance, which makes learning an enjoyable and a wholesome experience. These kits also aid the teachers in the classroom.
Furthermore, the foundation also has a library to help the students and teachers. And, the programme ropes in local youth who have completed either PUC or undergraduate programme and involves them as volunteers. They visit various houses, and talk tothe students and parents, in order to collect data regarding difficulties faced by students in solving math exercises, staff shortage in their schools and the basic amenities available for them on campus.
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