How ‘Every Child Matters’ at the Bala Mandir Schools

The Bala Mandir schools were established with the sole purpose of providing holistic education to the needy and underprivileged. People from less-privileged sections of society often have to set aside a significant portion of their monthly salary to provide quality education to their children. Even if they opt for the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s no-fee waiver, it comes with many conditions, such as the requirement to apply for RTE from LKG or to reside within a 1 km radius of the school.

Bala Mandir strives to provide premium education at no tuition cost, ensuring that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds receive the same quality of education as those in more affluent private schools. We have been running our organisation for the past 76 years, exclusively through donor support, due to the credibility we have earned. We are also highly volunteer-driven, and many of our activities are supported by proactive volunteer organisations.

We are expanding our schools through funds received from CSR and other very generous donors. We expect our student enrolment to increase from the current 400 to about 800 in the near future. As an English-Medium school, we are doing our best to enhance English comprehension and spoken English through various regular activities. We aim to achieve maximum learning outcomes for our children alongside the Samacheer curriculum. The Boeing Sukanya STEM Lab was set up to encourage and motivate young girls to pursue a career in aviation, providing them with experiments and experiences in the field. Children develop a strong understanding of science, math, technology, and aviation through hands-on experiences and small projects. The children work with sensors, touchscreens, and even AI. ChatGPT is in the pipeline.

Bala Mandir has always sought to understand the challenges faced by the underprivileged in raising children and providing them with quality education. The management spends quality time assessing these issues and implementing solutions, often by introducing new initiatives within the schools. We recognise that for most children from urban slums, their home environments are not conducive to learning, making it almost impossible for them to focus on studies. In the past, some children even refused to take their books home due to unsafe and unstable home situations. To make learning more conducive, protected, and safe, the Management has opened hostel facilities for the school children, free of charge.

Another initiative the schools have introduced this year is after-school activities for students from Std 3 to Std 12. We found that students were often exposed to  negative influences or engaged in unproductive activities after school hours. To combat this, we now offer various extracurricular activities such as football, throwball, yoga, physical training, dance, and skill-building programmes, combined with remedial classes and tuitions. Parents no longer need to spend extra money on tuition or additional classes.

Additionally, many children were carrying small amounts of money under the pretext of buying snacks after school. To eliminate this issue, we have removed the need for children to carry pocket money, preventing unethical activities and consumption of junk food. We now provide free breakfast, lunch, and snacks in the evening for all students, entirely funded by our generous donors.

We also believe in the importance of strong parenting as the foundation of a strong childhood. Therefore, we actively involve and educate parents and the community to participate in their children’s educational journey.

‘Every Child Matters is the core belief at Bala Mandir, and we strive to provide the best possible opportunities for our children in every way we can. We work together as a community to make this happen.