Education in the Himalayas

In 2014, efforts to build and maintain strategic roads in the areas along India’s border areas were ramped up. In the remote and hilly regions of the Himalayas, the roads are usually shut during the winter, and when open, the elements and the terrain often conspire to cut off access.

Most of the laborers who work on the roads are migrants from the plains. It is a matter of irony, then, that the children of those who work to improve and maintain connectivity to these remote regions have little or no access to education themselves. While most children are enrolled in the local schools, the itinerant nature of the workers’ lives leads to a large percentage of children dropping out of the schools altogether.

At Pragya, we believe that if you cannot reach the schools, then the schools must come to you. Mobile Education Units (MEUs), popularly known as ‘My School on Wheels’, are vans equipped with digital equipment, and specially designed material by the folks at Jodo Gyan.  These vans are working to improve basic literacy in these regions.

The strategy of our ‘My School on Wheels’ is multi – pronged: to operate a Basic Minimum Literacy program for children and adults, while encouraging the children to enroll in the local schools and minimizing the drop out rate. Simultaneously, Pragya is also in the process of promoting health and safety awareness among the migrant laborers. Members from Pragya act as facilitators between the employers and the laborers, conducting campaigns and holding awareness camps about basic health and safety standards. Two ‘My School on Wheels’ are already operational in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh and Chamoli, Uttarakhand, serving a total of 12 migrant camps in both the districts. So far, 78 sessions have been conducted and 148 children have already enrolled in the program.