Asha Trust - Project Pearl
Asha Trust - Project Pearl
Project Brief: An Asha Chennai project that involves working with government schools and communities in rural areas of Thoothukudi district in the areas of education, health & hygiene.
Project Type: Working with the Government (description)
Primary Focus: to go to formal school (description)
Supporting Chapter Contact: Chennai
Project Type: Working with the Government (description)
Primary Focus: to go to formal school (description)
Secondary Focus: health and cleanliness
Area: RuralSupporting Chapter Contact:
Status: current / ongoing
Project Steward: Bhaskar Venkateswaran
Project Partner(s): Rajaraman Krishnan
Other Contacts: Rajaraman Krishnan
Project Address: , 14/12 Rangaraman complex Madurai main road Kayathar,,Thoothukkudi,
Tamil Nadu 628952
Tel: 91-9884437340
Stewarding Chapter: Chennai
Project Steward: Bhaskar Venkateswaran
Project Partner(s): Rajaraman Krishnan
Other Contacts: Rajaraman Krishnan
Project Address: , 14/12 Rangaraman complex Madurai main road Kayathar,,Thoothukkudi,
Tamil Nadu 628952
Tel: 91-9884437340
Stewarding Chapter: Chennai
| Sep 2024 | Chennai | USD 40985 |
| Apr 2024 | Chennai | USD 6913 |
| Aug 2023 | Chennai | USD 13053 |
| Aug 2023 | Chennai | USD 35039 |
| May 2023 | Chennai | USD 4060 |
| Aug 2022 | Chennai | USD 20950 |
| Apr 2022 | Chennai | USD 4401 |
| Jul 2021 | Chennai | USD 22518 |
| Jun 2021 | Chennai | USD 3775 |
| May 2021 | Chennai | INR 9660 |
| Nov 2020 | San Diego | USD 5010 |
| Sep 2020 | Chennai | USD 18658 |
| May 2020 | Chennai | USD 4628 |
| Sep 2019 | Chennai | USD 24460 |
| Oct 2018 | Chennai | USD 1556 |
| Jun 2018 | Chennai | USD 17726 |
| Sep 2017 | Chennai | USD 15849 |
| Aug 2017 | Chennai | USD 1758 |
| May 2017 | Chennai | USD 14348 |
| May 2017 | Chennai | INR 121687 |
| Oct 2015 | Chennai | USD 6238 |
| May 2015 | Chennai | USD 9123 |
| May 2014 | Chennai | USD 2639 |
| Feb 2013 | Chennai | USD 5119 |
| Oct 2011 | Chennai | USD 750 |
| Sep 2011 | Chennai | USD 5857 |
| Nov 2010 | Chennai | USD 9375 |
| Jun 2010 | Chennai | USD 8510 |
Total = $306161.3646
Thoothukudi or Tuticorin is called as "Pearl city" because it is famous for pearl fishery. Thoothukudi district is in the south of TamilNadu and is one of the backward districts in terms of economic indicators, social progress and industrialization. It is also a notoriously dry district and agriculture is completely dependent on the monsoons. Some of the blocks in this district are rain-shadow regions and receive no more than 10-15 days of rains in a year. Livelihood options for the people here are quite limited and migration to urban areas in search of jobs is quite common. With respect to education, access to schools for the underprivileged children is not an issue, especially at the primary school level (classes 1-5) but the quality of education is quite suspect.
A couple of Asha Chennai volunteers visited several remote government schools in three blocks of Thoothukudi namely Ottapidaram, Vilathikulam and Kayathar during the 2008-09 academic year. We identified schools where the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) was more than the government-mandated ratio of 40:1, visited them and interacted with the school teachers to understand the issues they were facing. Activity-Based Learning (ABL) was introduced for all primary level classes in TamilNadu about three years back. Teachers need to dedicate a lot more time to students on an individual basis under this methodology. Our interaction with teachers in these schools and several schools over the past couple of years presented a common picture - the mandated PTR of 40:1 was way too high and the ABL methodology would be absolutely ineffective in such a scenario. It was obvious that a lot of these schools absolutely need additional teachers to help out with ABL, to provide normal education to the students and for the smooth functioning of the schools.
Asha Chennai's involvement will start with appointment of additional teachers to supplement government teachers in some of the following panchayat schools:
1. Middle school at Nagalapuram - Kayathar block
2. Primary school at Panickar Kulam - Kayathar block
3. Primary school at Melamanthai - Vilathikulam block
4. Middle school at Anaindha Madan Patcheri - Ottapidaram block
5. Primary school at A.Velayudhapuram - Ottapidaram block
We also plan to set up community centers in a couple of the above villages to provide children and adults access to newspapers, magazines and books.
A couple of Asha Chennai volunteers visited several remote government schools in three blocks of Thoothukudi namely Ottapidaram, Vilathikulam and Kayathar during the 2008-09 academic year. We identified schools where the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) was more than the government-mandated ratio of 40:1, visited them and interacted with the school teachers to understand the issues they were facing. Activity-Based Learning (ABL) was introduced for all primary level classes in TamilNadu about three years back. Teachers need to dedicate a lot more time to students on an individual basis under this methodology. Our interaction with teachers in these schools and several schools over the past couple of years presented a common picture - the mandated PTR of 40:1 was way too high and the ABL methodology would be absolutely ineffective in such a scenario. It was obvious that a lot of these schools absolutely need additional teachers to help out with ABL, to provide normal education to the students and for the smooth functioning of the schools.
Asha Chennai's involvement will start with appointment of additional teachers to supplement government teachers in some of the following panchayat schools:
1. Middle school at Nagalapuram - Kayathar block
2. Primary school at Panickar Kulam - Kayathar block
3. Primary school at Melamanthai - Vilathikulam block
4. Middle school at Anaindha Madan Patcheri - Ottapidaram block
5. Primary school at A.Velayudhapuram - Ottapidaram block
We also plan to set up community centers in a couple of the above villages to provide children and adults access to newspapers, magazines and books.
The goals of the project are aimed at encompassing four main components - education, health & hygiene, community center and rights-based work. We are aware that our intervention is only a short- to medium-term solution but several things such as government’s pro-active role in improving the quality of education, teachers’ commitment to their students, community’s involvement in the education of their wards, etc are absolutely necessary for a satisfactory and sustainable long term solution.
In the initial one or two years of the project, we plan to gather as much information and feedback for some of the components in order to determine an optimal course and direction.
Education - Our starting goal is to reduce the high pupil-teacher ratio in a few government schools. The inadequacy of teachers leads to poor standards in education, and insufficient stimulation for children. In keeping with Asha Chennai’s goals, Project Pearl aims to provide trained and qualified teachers to the selected schools in Thoothukudi district. We also plan to actively engage and seek cooperation from the district education officers and the school staff during the project execution in the areas of improving quality of education, providing adequate infrastructure, permission to conduct evaluations, etc.
Health and Hygiene - The project’s aim in this area is to introduce health and hygiene concepts to school children through the teachers, and encouraging them to spread awareness to the community at large. We plan to adopt best practices from other NGOs which have successfully implemented such programs.
Community involvement - We plan to establish a community center/library in a couple of villages that all people locally will have access to. This would be a starting point for us to gain the trust of the villagers so as to design and implement community intervention projects in the areas of education, health and advocacy.
Rights-based work - The initial work will involve gathering information related to appointment of teachers, fund flow to schools, infrastructure work and expenditure at schools, etc using the Right To Information (RTI) Act. This could provide us with insights and avenues to pursue some of these rights/funds that might have been denied.
In the initial one or two years of the project, we plan to gather as much information and feedback for some of the components in order to determine an optimal course and direction.
Education - Our starting goal is to reduce the high pupil-teacher ratio in a few government schools. The inadequacy of teachers leads to poor standards in education, and insufficient stimulation for children. In keeping with Asha Chennai’s goals, Project Pearl aims to provide trained and qualified teachers to the selected schools in Thoothukudi district. We also plan to actively engage and seek cooperation from the district education officers and the school staff during the project execution in the areas of improving quality of education, providing adequate infrastructure, permission to conduct evaluations, etc.
Health and Hygiene - The project’s aim in this area is to introduce health and hygiene concepts to school children through the teachers, and encouraging them to spread awareness to the community at large. We plan to adopt best practices from other NGOs which have successfully implemented such programs.
Community involvement - We plan to establish a community center/library in a couple of villages that all people locally will have access to. This would be a starting point for us to gain the trust of the villagers so as to design and implement community intervention projects in the areas of education, health and advocacy.
Rights-based work - The initial work will involve gathering information related to appointment of teachers, fund flow to schools, infrastructure work and expenditure at schools, etc using the Right To Information (RTI) Act. This could provide us with insights and avenues to pursue some of these rights/funds that might have been denied.
Asha-Chennai is a chapter of ‘Asha for Education’ based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is run entirely by an action group formed to catalyze socio-economic change in India through the education of underprivileged children.
Sep 2024 Pearl_Metrics_2024.pdf
Sep 2024 RTC Impact Assessment - Sep 2024
Aug 2024 Pearl_Metrics_2022.pdf
Aug 2024 Report on ACE V2 Inauguration
Jul 2024 Report on RTC Impressions- July 2024
Jun 2024 Report on RightStart 2024
Jun 2024 Status Report on our RTCs - June 2024
Jun 2024 Budget Proposal for 2024-25
Apr 2024 CS Assessment Framework 2023-24
Mar 2024 Report on Annual Day Celebrations
Mar 2024 Hindu Covers our RTC Impressions
Jan 2024 Proposal for Flood Relief - Jan 2024
Jan 2024 Flood relief work report
Oct 2023 Report on MOU with TN Government - Oct 2023
Oct 2023 Inauguration of ACE Program - 19 Oct 2023
Aug 2023 Status report on the RTCs - Aug 2023
Aug 2023 Report on Uniform Distribution- Aug 2023
Jun 2023 Report on toilet work - Apr - June 2023
May 2023 Report School Annual Day Functions - Mar_Apr 2023
May 2023 Project Budget 2023-2024
Apr 2023 Report on Blackboard Painting - 2023
Apr 2023 Pearl_Metrics_2022.pdf
Apr 2023 Proposal for Pearl School Student-s Uniforms
Mar 2023 Report on Student Excursions - 2023
Feb 2023 Report on Inauguration of new RTC at Kalugumalai
Feb 2023 Report on Written Assessment - Feb 2023
Jan 2023 Report on Training for Computer Teachers
Dec 2022 Amazons video and article on Ashas work
Dec 2022 Report on the distribution of stationery materials
Dec 2022 Photo shoot at the RTCs
Dec 2022 Report on Teacher Excursion
Nov 2022 Report on Oral Assessments - Nov 2022
Oct 2022 Report on analysis of assessments in 2021-22
Oct 2022 Report on new RTC at Kayathar
Oct 2022 Report on Maths and Science training in Oct 2022
Sep 2022 Video on Amazon Future Engineer Program
Aug 2022 Report on Donation of laptops to Asha by Ford
Aug 2022 Report on start of Amazon Future Engineer program
Jul 2022 Project Budget 2022-2023
Jul 2022 Amazon Future Engineer supports Ashas CS Education
Apr 2022 Report on Asha Annual Assessments - 2022
Apr 2022 Site Visit Report - April 2022
Mar 2022 Report on Blackboard Painting
Mar 2022 Report on Material Distributions at Schools
Mar 2022 Report on Kovaachipatti Toilet Renovation and Inauguration
Mar 2022 Inauguration of new libraries
Dec 2021 Report on Computer Teacher Training
Nov 2021 Report on Continuing mini-schools and Arogyam
Oct 2021 Project Arogyam report till end of Sept 2021
Oct 2021 Report on Oral Assessment at our Mini-schools
Jul 2021 Report on Stationery Items distribution June-July 2021
Jul 2021 Report on Mini-school opening for 2021-22
Jun 2021 Project Proposal 2021-2022
May 2021 Teachers reports on mini-schools for 2020-21
May 2021 Final report on mini-schools for 2020-21
Jan 2021 Report on renovating toilets
Dec 2020 Site visit to Report - Dec 2020
Dec 2020 Report on Oral Assessment at our Mini-schools
Nov 2020 Coverage of Mini-schools in The Hindu
Nov 2020 Site Visit Report - Nov 2020
Nov 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools - Sept 2020
Oct 2020 Report on Hybrid Curriculum
Sep 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools - Sept 2020
Jun 2020 Report on Teacher activities during School Closure
Jun 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools
Jun 2020 Project Proposal 2020-2021
Jun 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools
Mar 2020 -
Feb 2020 Site visit report in Feb 2020
Feb 2020 Report on toilet repair work at Kumaragiri and Athikinaru
Feb 2020 Report on Written Assessments - 2020
Jan 2020
Dec 2019 Report on Computer Training in Dec 2019
Dec 2019 Report on Teachers excursion to Mysore
Nov 2019 Oral Assessment - 2019 report
Sep 2019 Report on September Teacher trainings
Aug 2019 Site visit report in Aug 2019
Aug 2019 Report on Inauguration of new toilet at Chidambarampatti
Jul 2019 Project Proposal 2019-2020
Jul 2019 Report on Construction of new toilet at Chidambarampatti
Mar 2019 Report on Written Assessments at project schools
Feb 2019 Site visit report in Feb 2019
Jan 2019 _
Nov 2018 Report on Oral Assessment at the schools
Jun 2018 Site visit report 2018
Jun 2018 Pictures from site visit June 2018
Jun 2018 Project Proposal 2017-18
Mar 2018 Repair work at Nagalapuram
Feb 2018 Annual Day Celebrations at the schools
Nov 2017 Pictures from site visit November 2017
Jul 2017 Site visit report in July 2017
Jun 2017 Project Proposal 2017-18
Nov 2016 Rajaraman and Bhaskar - site visit report in Nov 2016
Nov 2016 Pictures from site visit November 2016
Apr 2016 Project Proposal 2016_17
Jan 2016 archive
Jul 2015 Project proposal 2015-2016
Jul 2015 Vijaya and Geetha - site visit report in July 2015
Jan 2015 Site visit report 2015
Jan 2015 Pictures from site visit January 2015
Oct 2014 Project Proposal 2014-2015
Oct 2014 Photos from various events held at the project
Jul 2014 Project Proposal 2014-2015
Jun 2014 Site visit report 2014
Dec 2013 Project Proposal 2014-2015
Sep 2013 Project Proposal 2013-2014
Sep 2013 Site visit report 2013
May 2012 2012-13 Proposal+Budget
Mar 2012 Site visit report
May 2011 2011-12 Proposal+Budget
Sep 2010 Site visit report
Sep 2010 2011-12 Proposal+Budget
Jul 2010 2010-11 Proposal+Budget
Jun 2010 2009-10 Report
Nov 2009 Site visit report
Oct 2009 Educational materials distribution
Sep 2009 Site visit to Vilvamarathupatti
Sep 2009 Interview and appointment letters
Aug 2009 Modified 2009-10 Proposal+Budget
Aug 2009 Teachers' selection process & visit
Jun 2009 2009-10 Proposal+Budget
Apr 2009 Exploratary site visits by Sivasankar and Bhaskar
Sep 2024 RTC Impact Assessment - Sep 2024
Aug 2024 Pearl_Metrics_2022.pdf
Aug 2024 Report on ACE V2 Inauguration
Jul 2024 Report on RTC Impressions- July 2024
Jun 2024 Report on RightStart 2024
Jun 2024 Status Report on our RTCs - June 2024
Jun 2024 Budget Proposal for 2024-25
Apr 2024 CS Assessment Framework 2023-24
Mar 2024 Report on Annual Day Celebrations
Mar 2024 Hindu Covers our RTC Impressions
Jan 2024 Proposal for Flood Relief - Jan 2024
Jan 2024 Flood relief work report
Oct 2023 Report on MOU with TN Government - Oct 2023
Oct 2023 Inauguration of ACE Program - 19 Oct 2023
Aug 2023 Status report on the RTCs - Aug 2023
Aug 2023 Report on Uniform Distribution- Aug 2023
Jun 2023 Report on toilet work - Apr - June 2023
May 2023 Report School Annual Day Functions - Mar_Apr 2023
May 2023 Project Budget 2023-2024
Apr 2023 Report on Blackboard Painting - 2023
Apr 2023 Pearl_Metrics_2022.pdf
Apr 2023 Proposal for Pearl School Student-s Uniforms
Mar 2023 Report on Student Excursions - 2023
Feb 2023 Report on Inauguration of new RTC at Kalugumalai
Feb 2023 Report on Written Assessment - Feb 2023
Jan 2023 Report on Training for Computer Teachers
Dec 2022 Amazons video and article on Ashas work
Dec 2022 Report on the distribution of stationery materials
Dec 2022 Photo shoot at the RTCs
Dec 2022 Report on Teacher Excursion
Nov 2022 Report on Oral Assessments - Nov 2022
Oct 2022 Report on analysis of assessments in 2021-22
Oct 2022 Report on new RTC at Kayathar
Oct 2022 Report on Maths and Science training in Oct 2022
Sep 2022 Video on Amazon Future Engineer Program
Aug 2022 Report on Donation of laptops to Asha by Ford
Aug 2022 Report on start of Amazon Future Engineer program
Jul 2022 Project Budget 2022-2023
Jul 2022 Amazon Future Engineer supports Ashas CS Education
Apr 2022 Report on Asha Annual Assessments - 2022
Apr 2022 Site Visit Report - April 2022
Mar 2022 Report on Blackboard Painting
Mar 2022 Report on Material Distributions at Schools
Mar 2022 Report on Kovaachipatti Toilet Renovation and Inauguration
Mar 2022 Inauguration of new libraries
Dec 2021 Report on Computer Teacher Training
Nov 2021 Report on Continuing mini-schools and Arogyam
Oct 2021 Project Arogyam report till end of Sept 2021
Oct 2021 Report on Oral Assessment at our Mini-schools
Jul 2021 Report on Stationery Items distribution June-July 2021
Jul 2021 Report on Mini-school opening for 2021-22
Jun 2021 Project Proposal 2021-2022
May 2021 Teachers reports on mini-schools for 2020-21
May 2021 Final report on mini-schools for 2020-21
Jan 2021 Report on renovating toilets
Dec 2020 Site visit to Report - Dec 2020
Dec 2020 Report on Oral Assessment at our Mini-schools
Nov 2020 Coverage of Mini-schools in The Hindu
Nov 2020 Site Visit Report - Nov 2020
Nov 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools - Sept 2020
Oct 2020 Report on Hybrid Curriculum
Sep 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools - Sept 2020
Jun 2020 Report on Teacher activities during School Closure
Jun 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools
Jun 2020 Project Proposal 2020-2021
Jun 2020 Report on Asha Chennai Mini Schools
Mar 2020 -
Feb 2020 Site visit report in Feb 2020
Feb 2020 Report on toilet repair work at Kumaragiri and Athikinaru
Feb 2020 Report on Written Assessments - 2020
Jan 2020
Dec 2019 Report on Computer Training in Dec 2019
Dec 2019 Report on Teachers excursion to Mysore
Nov 2019 Oral Assessment - 2019 report
Sep 2019 Report on September Teacher trainings
Aug 2019 Site visit report in Aug 2019
Aug 2019 Report on Inauguration of new toilet at Chidambarampatti
Jul 2019 Project Proposal 2019-2020
Jul 2019 Report on Construction of new toilet at Chidambarampatti
Mar 2019 Report on Written Assessments at project schools
Feb 2019 Site visit report in Feb 2019
Jan 2019 _
Nov 2018 Report on Oral Assessment at the schools
Jun 2018 Site visit report 2018
Jun 2018 Pictures from site visit June 2018
Jun 2018 Project Proposal 2017-18
Mar 2018 Repair work at Nagalapuram
Feb 2018 Annual Day Celebrations at the schools
Nov 2017 Pictures from site visit November 2017
Jul 2017 Site visit report in July 2017
Jun 2017 Project Proposal 2017-18
Nov 2016 Rajaraman and Bhaskar - site visit report in Nov 2016
Nov 2016 Pictures from site visit November 2016
Apr 2016 Project Proposal 2016_17
Jan 2016 archive
Jul 2015 Project proposal 2015-2016
Jul 2015 Vijaya and Geetha - site visit report in July 2015
Jan 2015 Site visit report 2015
Jan 2015 Pictures from site visit January 2015
Oct 2014 Project Proposal 2014-2015
Oct 2014 Photos from various events held at the project
Jul 2014 Project Proposal 2014-2015
Jun 2014 Site visit report 2014
Dec 2013 Project Proposal 2014-2015
Sep 2013 Project Proposal 2013-2014
Sep 2013 Site visit report 2013
May 2012 2012-13 Proposal+Budget
Mar 2012 Site visit report
May 2011 2011-12 Proposal+Budget
Sep 2010 Site visit report
Sep 2010 2011-12 Proposal+Budget
Jul 2010 2010-11 Proposal+Budget
Jun 2010 2009-10 Report
Nov 2009 Site visit report
Oct 2009 Educational materials distribution
Sep 2009 Site visit to Vilvamarathupatti
Sep 2009 Interview and appointment letters
Aug 2009 Modified 2009-10 Proposal+Budget
Aug 2009 Teachers' selection process & visit
Jun 2009 2009-10 Proposal+Budget
Apr 2009 Exploratary site visits by Sivasankar and Bhaskar