Symbiosis Law School reaches out to underprivileged
CHALLENGE
A large section of society does not have access to quality education. Children from the underprivileged section of society are either deprived of education or get access to poor quality of education. The scenario is so dismal that even students studying in higher classes do not possess basic reading and writing skills. The students of Symbiosis Law School, under the student-managed Human Rights Cell, run an initiative Make a Difference. They visit slums and teach children from the underprivileged section. They started the initiative from Wadarwadi and are now planning to expand their operations to other parts in the city.
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Mentor
Pranita Deshpande
This initiative to educate underprivileged children is also to give our students a platform to interact with society and develop their approach towards the society. We have been running Make a Difference for a long time and will continue. Also, we have our targets set and will expand operations in the surrounding areas. As teachers of Law, we are aware of various facets and we want to guide the students and enable them to implement innovative ideas for the betterment of society.
Faculty Incharge for Human Rights Cell of Symbiosis Law School -
Expert Advise
Dr Shashikala Gurpur
Make a difference is an excellent initiative by the students. It gives research, applications and learning by doing. We have a corpus of Rs 20 lakhs earmarked for community legal service, human rights education, training and projects with NGOs and experiential internships. All this is efficiently facilitated by our faculty team.
Director and Dean of Symbiosis Law School -
Students
Sharanya Menon
It is an amazing experience to go out and teach these underprivileged children. When I went to teach for the first time, I was shocked to know that they did not even know basic things about English, Hindi or Mathematics. When we asked them to read a poem, that is a part of their school curriculum, they did it easily. But they could not read anything else we asked them to. We not only need to teach these students but also spread awareness about our activities, so that more parents get encouraged to send their children to study.
Third year, BSL LLB, Symbiosis Law School -
@Pratik Patnaik" width="100" height="151" /> Pratik PatnaikI think the fundamental need is not to educate these underprivileged children but making them feel that they, too, can become like other children. These children are generally sent away to earn daily wages rather than study. Hence, we need to spread awareness about our activities as well. We hope that we will get more children when other parents hear about the experiences of children who come to us.
Fourth year, LLB, Student head of Human Rights Cell, Symbiosis Law School -
Sana Sud
I have been associated with Make a Difference since my first year. I have always been fond of Human Rights and have the urge to give back to society, which has a large chunk of underprivileged people. We wish to expand to the slums in Yerawada and Wadgaonsheri. I would also like to employ the skills I acquired through Make a Difference in a different forum after I finish my education.
Fifth Year, LLB, Project Head for Make a Difference, Symbiosis Law School