BEI VOICE LAB
The Voice Lab has become operational at BEI center in Bagar.It is an attempt to provide platform for students in rural areas to communicate in English using technology, listen to pre recorded matter to improve their listening skills.Interact with the system in Q&A format to enhance their interview preparation skills, it also has interactive grammar learning features with vocabulary and accent improvement aid.
THE BAGAR PARADOX
BEI was established with a single point focus of providing quality training to rural youth to bridge the gap between the urban and non urban students. The training would empower them to snatch a job in fighting situations. In the last year or so we have opportunities of delight when a student or two of our institute managed to grab a job at uban elite centres like LIFESTYLE and others. But this year the delight and difficulty is different. Not one but two of our students were offered a job at this place but they refused citing the salary was too little . This offer was finally taken by a student who was not earlier selected and is working there right now. The challenge that now appears is what is the scale that as an institute we should be looking for our students. Bagar being , socially and educationally rich compared to other rural area presents a paradox. The not rich are influenced by the rich and the migrant population in the middle east so a job offer of 5000 or so seems petite. On the other hand there are people who are ready to work even for 2000 thousand or less. The challenge here is to how to develope a strategy that caters to all. Otherwise in future the refusal of students will dent our relationship that we have built with potential employers
New initiative at GDL: Developing Entrepreneurship
Dear GDL Blog readers,
This is my first entry (4 months into my time here!) so I should introduce myself.. My name is Pulkit Agrawal and I am one of the trinity of Indicorps Aug 08 fellows that are currently at GDL. I shall leave the others to give more details about themselves, but I have come with the aim of working to tackle youth unemployment, a significant issue here and other rural areas, during my 1 year at GDL..
Born not too far from here, in Jaipur, I’ve spent almost all my life abroad, mainly the UK and now live in London with my parents and younger sister. I’ve just graduated with a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Cambridge University this year and wanted to spend some time living and understanding India as well as doing something constructive before moving into the world of employment.
From tomorrow I shall begin classes to encourage entrepreneurship amongst youth here, as a means of self-employment. I hope to teach my students basic business skills through practical activities and develop their confidence in their own ability to successfully start and run a small rural enterprise. I will primarily be using the MOVE (Market Oriented Value Enhancement) manual - by Dr. M S Subhas (Kousali Institute of Management Studies, Karnatak University) - and Barefoot MBA - by Katherine Boas and Scott Raymond (two Stanford Business School graduates) - along with other individual sources. I hope to foster various soft/life skills alongside and foster a culture of civic responsibility amongst the participants. The first (pilot) batch will run for 2 hours/day and 6 days/week for 1 month, as a preliminary to a more developed strategy.
I am looking for a trainer to work with me in developing the course and to continue after I reach of my time here. In addition there are many aspects of this project that crave input and resources, so if there are any volunteers that would like to spend time developing this concept and start-up course then please get in touch at pulkit@gdl.org.in.
In addition the website is now undergoing some updates, after being pretty redundant for some time, so watch this space!
The Level of Elementary Education Survey was completed by the BEI Team
In collaboration with ASER (Annual State of Education Report) - 2008, facilitated by Pratham Rajasthan (Jaipur). The survey for level of elementary education was completed by the BEI team. This effort was co-ordinated by Kaushal Rajoriya and State Head of ASER organization, Mr. Ajay Sharma. The survey was completed in thirty villages of the Jhunjhnu District, each consisting of twenty households. The objective of the survey is to assess the education level of 3 to 18 year olds, the condition of Angan
BEI Use N-Computing Technology
BEI has shifted to a new building. It is situated in front of the Piramal Boy’s
Additionally, we have installed a relatively new technology, N-Computing, in the computer lab. It is cost effective because one computer is used to power three additional displays/stations through the N- Computing terminal. It also saves on electricity.
NEW INITATIVES ARE BEARING FRUITS
The arrival of autumn has brought chill and numbness in the weather but the spirit at the BEI English classes is high. The English class took the initiative of imparting medical representative training to the rural youth who were science graduates and above. The curriculum for the one month course was developed at BEI. It was a challenge to motivate people in these parts to think about careers in private sector. After some persuasion we were able to start a batch which concluded prior to Dipawali. The next big challenge was to find proper jobs for them as promised at the start. We are glad to announce that the effort put in by the students and the team has shown results. Three of our students Guljarilal Kumaot, Mahendra shaini and Kamlesh Dudi have been selected by Piramal e- Swasth to be their Field Supervisors. The only girl in our Class Mahesh Bambu who is M.Sc bio-tech is also on the threshold of landing a good job for herself. Once again , we at BEI appreciate the effort put in by the students and thank everyone who made it possible.
BEI Scaling of Computer Classes with Core Batch & Tally class
Festival Greetings to all…
Currently, four batches of classes for computer job training are running. One of the new batches started this week and after a long time we started a combined batch (male/female). One of the new things we have done with this batch is created a Core Batch, combining computer with English skills Training. Robert from France is a new intern at GDL. He is taking over the English training class. All the students are very happy with him. Very soon the students will be familiar with him.
Additionally, we have started a regular Tally training class. Deepak from Jhunjhunu is the new Tally trainer. He is good in Tally with practical knowledge and the students are getting a good response. Initially this training is for in-house GDL staff, interns and Bagar community volunteers. After this, we will be scaling that class.
GENERAL:Defining Moments
The onset of monsoon brought about relief from heat and expectation for future. Amidst the arrival of dark clouds, dancing peacocks, pattering Sheds and rushing umbrellas the weather at GDL was changing too. From hot, hectic,colorful, myriad and fruitful summer activities carried out by the interns from BITS and U.S. to the poise of tired but satisfied bones waiting to say ‘ thank you BAGAR for being such a lovely host this summer’.
It was also a time to celebrate the indomitable spirit of the interns; in putting up the web-site, setting up of S.F.C. , controlling and documenting job seekers at BEX , grooming the future leaders , creating career handbooks and promoting safe drinking water programmes. The dedication , creativity , resource- management and mobilisation exemplified by them is going to be a source of inspiration for people whose lives have changed by their endeavour. The happy and laughing faces of players of football camp shall continue to connect community with the organisation in times to come.
The weather was changing with each passing hour so were the Scenes and Responsibilities at GDL.The GDL SHOWCASE organised on 13 th july was an effort to summarise , rejoice and share the achievements of the organisation with the community. It was an occation to honor-Radhika Batra, Preeti Balkrishnan and Ashish Gupta- the three INDICORPS fellows who changed the way BAGAR looked and thought about itself through their endeavours in different sectors in the last two years. It was a emotional ceremony for the fact that it marked an end to their tryst with BAGAR as they were about to fly back to U.S. in couple of days.
The conclusion of a glorious era has brought about new phase at GDL .Under the leadership of Mr. Ajay patel ( M.D. GDL) and Mr. Anil Purohit (Community leadership Manager)GDL looks forward to carry on with rejuvenated vigour the Existing Tasks and meet the new challenges with positive thinking and practical approach.
GDL’s first community showcase
On Sunday July 13th, GDL organized its first showcase. Through the medium of video, the GDL team presented to the community what all we have been working on in recent months. Overall attendance was approximately 250. Chief Guests at the event were the COO of the Jhunjhunu district, Gautam Mukherjee; the District Employment Officer, Harish Verma; the Secretary of Piramal Boys Senior Secondary School, R. B. Chomal; and Mrs. Agarwal.
Some of the highlights at the event included recognition of Praveen and Balveer Bundela - two English students who found jobs in Jaipur - as well as of Nidhi Khandelwal, Naresh Bagoriya, and Harish Singh - summer camp students who were selected as exemplary by decidedly unanimous votes in class - and of the women from Source for Change.
The showcase was a nice closure to a great summer.
English Course Strategizing
**A challenge BEI’s Spoken English Course has recently experienced has been a lack of commitment by students. The English trainer, Arbind Ji and I have seen this in the form of a lack of effort in class and low attendance.
While BEI and the Spoken English Course’s objective is to place graduates in jobs, the Spoken English Course has accepted some individuals who are not yet ready for work. We have observed that it is largely these students who exhibit these noncommittal behaviors.
Thus, we have made it our mandate to take only those students who are in search of jobs or those who wish to perform better in their current jobs. Our feeling is that if we take only these students we will have classes in which students come prepared, are excited about learning and come with an urgency to learn quickly so that they may apply their skills to a job.