Software engineer Prabhakar K of Bangalore had his Landmark SELP project featured in the Citizen newspaper. The project is to teach English to rural children, with more than 50 rural schools affected. The district collector of the Indian Government and the director of elementary education are involved with the project.

Rural connect

By Niveditha Rao, Bengaluru

Language binds people together, but the lack of it definitely creates a rift and this is evident in the bridge between students in rural areas and city kids. While the city kids speak in English fluently, rural kids struggle to learn the basics. When they come to the city, they are alienated from the rest of the world and the adjustment period is harsh. This is what Prabhakar K., a software engineer from Tamil Nadu went through when he joined Cisco.

“I am from a non-English background and the first few years were a struggle for me here as I had to learn the language and fit in with my peers. This is what prompted me to start English in Paddy Field. A group of my friends have volunteered and we go to government schools and teach kids English. The purpose here is to educate them with a tool that can help them communicate better. I want to provide that connect between rural areas and the city and English is the key. With this exposure, I aim to inculcate growth of rural languages too. Local language medium students learn local language well but because of poor quality English lessons, they struggle. Imagine when a Local language medium student is competent in English and knows Local language as well. Is he not better than those English medium students who don’t even know their mother tongue?” asks Prabhakar.

Prabhakar wants to keep these English lessons like a sports period. “There will be on exams, no attendance and no compulsion. The course will contain videos, stories, activities and audios, all in all, a fun-filled activity. There will be a permanent structure or system in all the schools to continue this fun forever. Students and teachers will be supporting themselves after the completion of this project. Sutdents, who go out of the school, will support back thi in their school. We are looking for volunteers who are adept at the local languages and English to teach these kids, along with visual designers who can design audio and visual content for the presentations,” says Prabhakar. Those interested can contact him at admin@extra-extraordinary.com.