“Signal Shala”: Mumbai flyover school offers big lifeline to street children
Despite laws guaranteeing free education for children aged six to 14, poverty and migration continue to keep many away from classes, especially in sprawling cities like Mumbai, where many families survive on low-paying informal jobs.
Crippling urban poverty also means that young children selling trinkets on the streets are still a fairly common sight at crowded traffic junctions in India’s major cities.
But the nonprofit that runs the free school is determined to educate its underprivileged group, many of whom come from homeless families barely making ends meet.
Nestled among gleaming skyscrapers and busy roads, the “Signal Shala” or traffic signaling school caters to a few dozen children left out of the formal education system, according to Bhatu Sawant, the initiative’s founder.
“These kids can’t go to a (regular) school. So let’s do this. Let’s bring the school to them,” Sawant, 45, told AFP.
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free meals
According to Sawant, India’s public schools are “not flexible enough for these kids”, while private schools charging exorbitant fees is out of the question.
The signal school operates from repurposed air-conditioned containers placed on a narrow strip of land under an overpass; Here lessons and games take place amidst the constant noise of traffic.
His approach is tailored to the realities of street life.
Every morning, the school bus picks up students through the cramped streets of Mumbai’s slums; It’s a lifeline for parents who can’t afford transportation.
The first thing to do when children arrive at school is to take a shower, as many do not have access to bathroom facilities.
Lockers are provided for books and uniforms that otherwise cannot be kept safe or clean when living in slums or on the streets.
Since school hours are longer than usual, three meals are provided free of charge.
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Classes are divided by ability rather than age, and teachers adapt lessons for children who may have never held a pencil before.
Older students are also taught basic skills such as sitting still, speaking clearly, and focusing.
The challenges are particularly acute when it comes to children of the semi-nomadic Pardhi community, who often do not speak the local language.
“When the kids came here, they didn’t know what the days of the week were, what the 12 months were, or what the seasons were,” teacher Tejasvi Borade said, as the container walls rumbled from the steady stream of cars passing overhead.
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
For students, school serves as a refuge from the harshness of the real world.
“I am very happy when I see the school bus,” said 12-year-old Pooja Pawar, whose parents undertake odd jobs in construction.
“School uniforms are nice. Breakfast is nice… We bake cakes at school… and dance.”
For others, it represents an opportunity long denied.
Balaji Laxman, who once sold tissues at traffic lights to earn a few hundred rupees a day (equivalent to a few US dollars), said the classes represent a chance to imagine a different future.
“I want to be a doctor,” said 12-year-old Laxman with a shy smile.
While the school directs many children into vocational pathways, Sawant said the broader goal is to ensure they are not left behind in a rapidly changing world.
“We have to prepare them for the 21st century,” said Sawant, who has set up two similar schools on the outskirts of Mumbai, which have robotics laboratories among other facilities.
“They should know robotics, artificial intelligence, computers and 3D printing,” said the educator, who relies on private and corporate donations for funding, with the government helping with infrastructure.
“They need to know everything the elite class kids are good at.”
