Non-formal education (NFE)

as a first step to get them interested and eventual enrollment in regular schools. Since 1995, around 5000 children have so far been given the NFE. 75% of them get enrolled in schools. With higher success rate in Chennai, NFE is being implemented in Red Hills and Pulicat in Thiruvallur District. Children who have undergone pre-school formation in NFE Centre can be directly admitted to the regular schools according to their age and capacity to grasp.

Red Hills area has 17 NFE Centres and Pulicat 24.

Supplementary education

to help children who have dropped out, who do not go to school and those in regular schools but need additional coaching.

SE programs is organized in the 17 Centres at Red Hills and 24 Centres in Pulicat.

Balwadi (Day Care Centres)

JJ has ten Balwadi Centres in Chennai, Red Hills and Pulicat. Though children in the age group 0 – 6 yrs are in the Balwadi scheme, Jeeva Jyothi concentrates on children in 4 – 6 age groups to prepare them for formal school education through fun learning. Besides taking care of the children of working parents, mostly very poor, Balwadis provide better nutrition and joyful learning free of cost.

Child Rights Protection Committees

The political advocacies on behalf of working children in Red Hills have helped abolish child labour in rice mills and brick kilns. The committee comprised: children, parents, owners of the hazardous industries where child labour prevails, trade union representatives and government officials.

Parent-Teachers Association

Once enrolled, we cannot assure that the street or working kid will attend school regularly. In order to monitor this, we elicited the cooperation of their mothers. Women groups thus emerged. They were asked to be members of the PTA along with the teachers and the Jeeva Jyothi staff. Parents make aggressive demands for better teacher performance and accountability of the government. PTA monitors the performance of children thus enrolled.