The success story of the Telangana government-run social welfare institutions will soon be studied as a case study in the prestigious Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.
According to RS Praveen Kumar, IPS, Secretary of the Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) a communication from Harvard University confirmed the same that the University has chosen to highlight its work through a case study in its syllabus.
The TSWREIS runs as many as 268 residential educational institutions, with free boarding and education facilities, for thousands of underprivileged children each year. 75% of the seats are reserved for the SC community, while another 6% is reserved for those belonging to the ST community.
The society is funded and operated by the Telangana government and it caters to students from the primary level to the undergraduate level. The marginalised groups, which have previously seen huge drop-out rates, are now witnessing a change, with many students from these schools getting admissions in prestigious universities in India and abroad.
A unique education model and the changes it is bringing laurels to the government of Telangana which has strengthened institutions under KG-PG education mission, several research scholars from different universities, policymakers from other states also observing the model and changes.
Harvard University's Graduate School fellows will study about how the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Schools are disrupting the status quo in the education sector in India, under supervision of Prof. Fernando Reimers, who teaches the International Educational Policy Course.
"The students of International Educational Policy Course run by Prof Fernando Reimers of Harvard Graduate School of Education are going to discuss our story in their classrooms this academic year. Harvard Case Studies are very expensive and extremely popular in the world," Praveen Kumar said in a statement.
While stating that it is a first for a state-run education outreach programme to get academic attention of renowned Harvard University, he said, "Students and the faculty of the Education School of Harvard University will analyze challenges in professional development of teachers and school leaders against the background of acquisition of 21st century skills by the students."
"Our responsibility has increased by many folds now to retain and improve our quality further," he said in a message to the students and alumni while attributing the success and change of the institution to the staff.
From entering to prestigious universities in Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad; IITs, medical colleges to hitting up silver screen despite social burden and rural backgrounds, the students of these institutions are known for breaking barriers. The TSWREIS has ensured that several hundred underprivileged students are selected for top institutes across the country including the IITs and the NITs. Many mentored by the body have also climbed Mount Everest, to prove that no challenge is too hard for them.
The institutes also have an alumini movement called SWAEROES. The ‘SW’ in SWAROES stands for social welfare, while the AROES refers to the sky, suggesting that the sky is the limit.
Based on the ideologies of Jyothi Rao Phule and Dr. B R Ambedkar, the movement consists of alumni of the Society, who seek to empower and emancipate those who come from similar backgrounds.
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