Village Education at Murbad

A nation is built when a school is built. It is run when children enter those schools, built on its own land. Ignorance and darkness loom over the nation when schools are not built and run. These prison doors of darkness and ignorance can be closed when a school door is opened to welcome children of its own.

More than this, displaced children of the land need additional facilities of shelter, food, medicines, clothes and psychological support to make it a true nation-building process. It is with this goal that the Welfare Society for Destitute Children began to scout for a small piece of land anywhere in Maharashtra, since it was impossible to get a place in Mumbai. Our honorary social worker and ex-Army person, Mr. Harsh Kumar Gupta, came forward to scout for the land, and his long search became fruitful when Mr. Padmakar Baban Fanad donated half an acre of very good land at Ekhlahare village in Murbad. He dedicated this pious act in memory of his mother, Kasabi Baban Fanade.

The centre was inaugurated on 9 June 2015 with 23 children who had completed their studies at our stopgap New Mumbai centre. These residential students studied in English-medium schools and also through Pratham Open School. As a village outreach project, the students and staff help over a hundred poor children from the village. Very poor students from the village are financially supported for higher education after grade 10, since the dropout rate from school is higher in this area. As help requests started pouring in, more effective village activities were introduced so that the quality of education would not be compromised.

One Village, One Teacher

One Village, One Teacher is an active education project initiated at the St. Catherine of Siena Education Empowerment project at Ekhlahare village, Malshejghat, Murbad. The project promotes quality education among tribal and semi-tribal villages and currently runs 19 centres in 10 villages with over 1,000 students. It is an after-school programme for students from grade 1 to grade 10, junior college and university.

By providing quality education within the village itself, the quality of learning improves, with a visible behaviour change in learning as well as a lower school dropout rate. Daily classes are conducted by the teacher in the village, and ownership of the class rests entirely with the village authorities under the supervision of our expert mentors. Village heads, assistants, the police patil and local villagers get involved in the project so that children learn actively and day-to-day issues are sorted out. Parents participate in and attend organised meetings, since they expect a generational shift in learning that will benefit their children.

Skill building is also provided to students in high school, through coaching camps, field trips, aptitude tests and career guidance. Summer camps provide a head start in classroom and concept learning. Students are provided scholarships for higher studies according to their performance through various scholarship programmes. Students who have lost their parents, or whose parents are divorced, missing, terminally ill or handicapped, are provided sponsorship to continue their education, making education empowerment a reality with employability. Special focus is given to girls’ education and higher education, to make gender equality a priority.

Objectives and outcomes

The project is built on the following objectives and outcomes, and also focuses on action and research:

• To provide free education to all children from tribal and semi-tribal villages.
• Students receive quality free education irrespective of caste or creed.
• Students receive free uniforms (for high-school students), school books and school bags.
• Students receive a nutrition kit to improve health.
• After high-school education, students receive financial and mentoring support with skill-building sessions.
• Gaps in conceptual learning at school are bridged through daily learning.
• Classroom attendance has increased.
• Students receive expert learning opportunities in the village atmosphere with smart learning facilities.
• Summer camps promote education, higher education, aptitude testing, career guidance, personality development and field visits.
• Complete participation of village authorities is required and encouraged, to make the project effective for children.
• To strengthen village infrastructure, the project undertakes improvements in OVOT centres with solar panels, home solar lights, libraries and a smart classroom for interactive learning.
• Village teachers are trained by a special One Village, One Teacher trainer team to standardise quality as per the New Education Policy of the Government of India.
• The project has been a great blessing for children from poor, socially and economically backward families, migrant students in villages and the neighbourhood, tribal students, semi-orphan children, children of critically ill or handicapped parents, and students from brick-kiln backgrounds.

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SMART Classes at Ekhlahare

The SMART classes are a smart way to support the rural education project One Village, One Teacher, located in the Malshejghat area of Murbad, Thane. The initiative is open to students from grade 9 onwards up to university. It focuses on better employment, quality education, personality development and volunteering. The curriculum covers foundation skills such as spoken English, basic IT, career guidance, aptitude tests, and emotional and mental wellness, as these are crucial areas for students. All of this prepares students for workplace readiness and challenging career paths.

Until grade 8, education is provided free by the government; from grade 9 onwards there is a cost to study, as there is no government support. Since education is not focused on higher education and careers, the dropout rate and the decline in academic performance after grade 8 are extremely high. The SMART Class project supports these students with a focus on English, mathematics and science. It provides guidance on higher education and professional careers and helps students move from mobile literacy to computer literacy. Trade-specific domain training is provided based on aptitude, educational scores and the ability to travel to study.

At the SMART Centre, an informative library is also being created with resources that help students prepare for competitive exams. This project is the key programme supporting students’ higher education in a structured way, with a syllabus. Over 200 students are expected in 2026, a 30% increase. Smart classes are conducted on weekdays and weekends for students keen to develop or upskill in various domains. The syllabus covers spoken English, basic IT, personality development and life and soft skills. It also promotes mental and emotional wellness sessions and career guidance to prepare students for higher education and employment. Aptitude tests are conducted for all students attending the smart classes by professional psychologists. Classes are conducted by selected teachers from One Village, One Teacher and experts appointed by the Trust. There will be a total of 200 days of classes, mostly after school or college, with 300–400 hours of learning. Students receive certificates on completing the course.

Summer study camp

Summer camps are conducted for students in high school, junior college and university. Summer and Diwali camps are a great opportunity to upskill students so that they can focus on their academic and professional goals. A total of 25 camp days is planned and executed each year: during summer (from 12 May to 30 May) and during Diwali (for a week). Sessions cover education, higher education, personality development, emotional and mental wellness and extracurricular activities for students at various academic and skill levels.

This provides head-start skill-building training for students in grade 10, junior college and university. One main camp is conducted during summer, preferably in May 2026, with follow-ups during the Diwali holidays. Special awareness and training sessions are also conducted at the St. Catherine of Siena centre at Ekhlahare. Students receive free training, educational material, food and transport to the centre during camps. Transport is very important, since public transport is not available to the centre; most of our students come from remote village locations and have to walk. Providing free daily transport to the camp and safely home is key to a successful camp. Teachers from the village, and mentors and trainers from St. Catherine of Siena and OVOT, lead the camp. Volunteers are encouraged to join so that challenges are met with workable solutions and inspirational sessions.

Creating the belief that the impossible can be achieved is explored throughout the camps. We strongly believe that each student is blessed with natural intelligence, and that applying inborn intelligence in a practical manner is the key to making a difference, taking the extra leap to success, and helping each student look at the vast sky of opportunities.

Fr. Anthony Elenjimittam Educational Scholarship

The Fr. Anthony Elenjimittam Educational Scholarship is instituted for semi-orphan and orphan students who score 60% and above in their board or university exams. It is available for students studying for regular or professional graduation, and was instituted in the beloved and inspirational memory of the founder of the institute.

Many village students who have lost their earning father or caring mother receive this scholarship, and their study follow-up is carried out by our education field staff. Students are supported from school to university level.

It is our earnest request to support the village education programme through our Angel Donor initiative. You can sponsor a student who is in dire need, and your sponsorship and consistent support can make a life-changing difference to a child: to go to school and to university.

Special scholarship for students from all-girls families

This is an innovative and nerve-strengthening programme to promote higher education for students from all-girls families. The scholarship gives girls from the villages a ray of hope to complete their education with flying colours and come out of the problems of early marriage or early jobs. Because of the family’s poor financial status, girls drop out of education to support a parent who is the only breadwinner. This scholarship gives students a fair opportunity to study further and aim for their career opportunities.