Allamah Hafezian Memorial School, Sofipura, Kashmir

Allamah Hafezian Memorial School is situated in Sofipura, a small village located about eighty kilometres from Srinagar in the beautiful yet tumultuous region of Kashmir. This school had been a beacon of hope for a hundred and eighty families in the community, providing them with access to education and opportunities for a brighter future. However, running this school has not been an easy task for its management. They had faced multiple challenges, including operating the school in makeshift small classrooms that lacked proper lighting and ventilation. The state of the school was difficult to imagine, they lacked almost all basic amenities, making it difficult for teachers and students to concentrate. Furthermore, due to space limitations, exams had to be conducted outside in open areas, leaving the students exposed to the harsh weather elements and other potential challenges. 

In addition to these challenges, the region of Kashmir had been plagued by political unrest, militancy, and weather challenges, which had further compounded the difficulties faced by the school. Despite these hardships, the school leadership had been tirelessly working to provide better educational facilities to the children of the community.

However, due to the lack of resources and support, they had been unable to secure a proper school building, leaving the students and teachers in a somewhat demoralized state. The students, teachers, and the school leadership had shown great resilience and determination to keep the school running, but more support was needed to ensure that the children received the education they deserved. One of the biggest challenges faced by schools in rural areas is the lack of resources. The situation in Kashmir is particularly difficult, as political unrest and militancy have resulted in a shortage of funding and support for education. In addition, the region is prone to harsh weather conditions, which further compounds the difficulties faced by schools and their students.

Not to our surprise we realised that the teachers and school leaders, though were extremely passionate but in many cases lacked skills and competencies to ensure that children reach their fullest potential. It was evident that a holistic approach towards transformation of the school is needed if we were to sustainably solve the problem. 

To conclude, it is evident that the management of Allamah Hafezian Memorial School faced numerous challenges in providing education to the children of the community in the tumultuous region of Kashmir. Despite these obstacles, they showed great determination and resilience in ensuring that the students received an education. It is essential to recognize the importance of education in rural areas, and the initiative taken by the school’s management highlights the urgent need for further intervention to support such schools in the region. Through collaboration and support, we can help ensure that children in rural areas receive the education they deserve and the opportunities they need for a brighter future.

Raabta’s Intervention 

Raabta decided to intervene and support this passionate group of individuals. We worked with Allamah Hafezian Memorial School in Kashmir to bring a positive change in the community. We recognized the school’s potential and its management’s commitment to the community’s children. However, we also identified the challenges that the school faced, including inadequate facilities, lack of resources, and unskilled teachers.

Our intervention started; we understood that the school’s management has secured a large piece of land for building a new school. We provided financial support for the construction of the building, but what was unique about this project was the collective action of the community. The villagers worked as construction workers, which significantly reduced the overall cost and brought the community together for a common cause. It was special and magical to see a collective come together for a child and their future, this was so powerful for us to experience, more than anything we feel people coming together for children is what our vision is, indeed Raabta the word means connection and collective effort to ensure children get equipped for the future economy. 

Within record time, during COVID, the school building was ready with amazing infrastructure. In addition to building the school, we conducted rigorous training and coaching sessions for the teachers to upskill them in classroom management, behaviour’s management, lesson planning, and developing a positive classroom culture. This helped teachers to better engage with the students and create a positive learning environment.

Through our intervention, we not only transformed the school, but we also empowered the community to take ownership of the school, which in many ways is inspirational. It became an entire village’s initiative, and the school became a beacon of hope for the entire community. The children now have access to better educational facilities and opportunities for a brighter future.

The support that Raabta has provided the school till date include financial support construction of the building, providing a bus for ease in commute for children, training of eighteen school teachers and leaders and providing four Early childhood Education kits by Let’s Read to help the teachers teach students in Early years. 

In conclusion, our intervention in Allamah Hafezian Memorial School was a holistic approach that not only transformed the school but also brought the community together. The collective action of the community, along with our financial support and training, helped create a positive learning environment for the children. It is an example of how collaboration and support can help ensure that children in rural areas receive the education they deserve and the opportunities they need for a brighter future.

Outcomes & Impact- What shifted for School? 

The intervention brought in by Raabta turned out to be truly transformational in more ways than one. We witnessed an incredible 300-400% increase in enrollment within just two years, despite the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic. Even as private schools struggled to retain students, we saw a remarkable surge in attendance and engagement levels, a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire community.

Our training and coaching sessions led to a significant reduction in teacher turnover and a boost in their motivation levels. As a result, we witnessed numerous teacher-led initiatives, higher levels of parent engagement, and a surge in student learning outcomes. In fact, the indicators around attendance and student learning engagement increased by almost 2x, creating a learning environment that was truly conducive to growth and development.

During the second wave of the pandemic, the school continued to support learning through its innovative Raabta bridge learning program, engaging local volunteers to ensure that no student was left behind. As we continued to monitor and measure our impact, we were thrilled to see that the execution rate of our training learnings by the teachers was an impressive 65% across the years. This meant that on average, almost two-thirds of the learnings provided in training came alive in their execution.

We saw high levels of attendance and engagement by teachers in all professional development programs, which is a clear indicator of the success of our intervention. These are just some of the many outcomes we saw in the school post our intervention. At Raabta, we are incredibly proud of the progress made by the Allamah Hafezian Memorial School and its entire community. Together, we have shown that anything is possible when we work together towards a shared goal.