1. Sanctuary Schools Site Visit – December 2008 Part One Madhav Acharya Manju Krishnan

2. Highlights of the Site Visit, December 2008 In December 2007, when we visited Sanctuary Schools for the very first time, we were there just for one day and hence were able to visit only 2 of the 5 schools that Asha DC sponsors This year we decided to spend a night at Kaigal Valley and were therefore able to spend a day and a half covering the remaining three schools The teachers from the two schools we visited last year came to meet with us once they were done teaching for the day Chandra, the coordinator for all of the schools has completed his first year of M.A. Economics, he is doing the course through a distance learning program. Last year when we met him he had applied for the program and had mentioned his interest, so it was heartening to see that he had followed through with his plans. When I asked him what was next, he says he wants to pursue his B.Ed and work in the field of education at Kaigal Valley and expand the reach of the Sanctuary Schools! Inspired by the work done by Mr. and Mrs. Premnath with the existing Sanctuary Schools, Chandra and the other teachers at Sanctuary have begun identifying villages where they can set up more schools.

3. On the way to one of the schools

4. In the school The children are divided into groups based on their learning levels and the teacher works with different groups teaching them something new and giving them exercises to work on before moving to another group

5. In the school An attendance register is maintained at all the schools A timetable is posted at every school

6. In the school … and a timetable is posted at every school