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Five thousand years of discrimination, difficult job prospects, corruption and economic globalization. These are some of the daunting issues facing the June 2002 graduates from the Tenali School, but the school’s founder, local librarian and academic Tad Venkateswarlu, says these are not insurmountable obstacles.
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Tad’s hopes for the future include contact with city, state and national government bureaucracies to lobby for employment for members of the first group of students to complete their education at the Tenali School. These students, despite their “Untouchable” caste, have a constitutional right to employment and should represent 15-20% of government personnel. The actual number of low caste members in government employ is closer to 5-10%.
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| In 2002 the first students will graduate
from the Tenali School.
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Apart from lobbying for government positions, Tad will be marketing the new graduates to the private sector. To increase their employability, Tad will pursue development of vocational training for students after their graduation from the academic programme. The post-graduate vocational training will consist of courses lasting six hours per day for a six month period and utilize full time teachers. This new programme may take up to a year to put in place and it may be four to five years before the local economy feels the effect of jobs developed through the Tenali School.
As well as the academic programme, the school’s curriculum includes tailoring, candle making, electrical wiring, TV and cassette repair. Tad would like to offer courses in hybrid agriculture so students can grow their own food and market any surplus. Cows’ milk for student consumption and sale could be a viable business if more land were available for cattle grazing. But land cost is prohibitive—an acre of land can go for thirty-five to forty thousand dollars.
Tad plans on training some of the current students as teachers for the school. There are also plans to create evening adult literacy classes for the children’s parents and guardians. Expansion of the current medical programme to include health education and inoculations for polio has been suggested. There is also the idea of conducting marketing surveys to determine local product development. It is hoped that with young and old involved in medical, literacy and job opportunities the community will become more invested in the school’s success.
Tad often reflects philosophically and spiritually about the Tenali School. He has a strong belief that we are all destined to serve humankind in different ways...and there are several ways that Canadians can help to serve these disadvantaged children:
financial support,
service at the school in Tenali as teachers and support workers,
assisting the Friends of Tenali to help the school grow and prosper.
Anyone interested in making a financial or volunteer contribution to the school should contact the Friends of Tenali at 519-973-7335 or visit our membership Web page.
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