Ruth (India)

As Head Teacher of a school in Hampshire, I was looking forward to seeing how my experiences in India would compare with my home school. During my Easter and Summer breaks, I have had the privilege of really getting to know the schools within whom Mondo partners in the Himalayan region of India.

Arriving at Bagdogra in the humid, blasting heat, it was so lovely to be met by Sudhir. He looked after us from the start and made sure we were comfy. Bagdogra is noisy and crowded and we made slow progress, but then were free of the city and following the river along a windy, bumpy road – hooting constantly and windows up and down to protect us from blasts of dust!

Heading up into the mountains, I visited Lava Primary School, hidden in the mist. Over lunch, I spoke with the head and deputy about key issues for the school, finding they are very similar to those I face in my own school – children’s ability to speak English well, pupil numbers and funding, recruiting high quality teachers. The phonics here is made harder by poor pronunciation and I quickly agreed to asking my phonics specialist teacher to create a CD that might support this.

Meeting with students, teachers and school management committee members gave me a real flavour for how the school system in India is set up. It was quickly evident that while we in the UK might feel we have very challenging budgets to grapple with, these schools really are poorly resourced, struggling even to ensure teachers’ wages are paid each month. Despite this, I saw engaged, hardworking children, (taught by dedicated teachers), who were achieving high outcomes.

I was over-awed when I witnessed lunchtime at another school, RIBS, near the Nepal border – every child has a lunch brought to him/her from home and the mothers wait in the playground for the children to finish before taking their tiffin boxes home again! The commitment to education is palpable and I couldn’t help but ponder on the apathy we often experience here in the UK towards the schools which so many of our families take for granted.

In Baranumber I was able to stay with a local family and saw first-hand the way learning continues at home. The children carry incredibly heavy bags of books to and from school every day and sit for lengthy periods every night to complete the work set. Key facts and skills are practised in drill form, without any complaining from the children or cajoling needed by the family.

A few days later, as I took my last ride down the mountain and followed the river again, I contemplated how my outlook and understanding of my own school and profession had deepened and altered over my time in India and how I couldn’t wait to return. It was a truly inspirational experience and one I shall value as a highlight of my professional life.