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Higher education Essay This is to certify that Mr ANILKUMAR MORA, student of CNGO Management of Dr. BRAOU with Admission No (0231239044) has worked in our organisation for a period of November 1st to December 31st and submitted a Project Report on VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING. Date: Name Signature Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal Sharada Nagar, Sagroli Nanded 431 731, Maharashtra, India. CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the Project Report on VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING submitted by ANILKUMAR MORA (0231239044) is his own work and has been done under my supervision. Rohit Deshmukh M. B. A Signature of the Guide Project Director, Date: SANSKRITI SAMVARDHAN MANDAL, Sagroli, Dist. Nanded, M. S India – 431731 M +91 91589 87787 P +91 2465 227848 DECLARATION I ANILKUMAR MORA, a student of Certificate Programme in NGO Management of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, with Admission No. (0231239044) hereby declare that the Project Report submitted by me on VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING is an original work and the same has not been submitted to any other University / Institute for the award of any other degree / Certificate. Date of Submission: Signature of the candidate ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It is a great pleasure to express my deepest sense of gratitude and indebted to my guide Mr Rohit Deshmukh project director, Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal, Sagroli, Nanded, Maharashtra, for having been a source of constant inspiration, precious guidance and generous assistance during the project work. I deem it as a privilege to have worked under his able guidance without his close monitoring and valuable suggestions this work wouldn’t have taken this shape. I feel that this help is un substitutable and unforgettable. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Pramod Deshmukh, chairman of Sankriti Samvardhan mandal, Sagroli, Nanded, Maharashtra, for giving opportunity to do my project work and providing an eminent guide for the completion of the project. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Srihari Kulkarni co-ordinator of UTKARSH- Vocational Education Training of one of the SSM’s activity for providing all the information and facilities for the completion of the project work. I would like to thank rural unemployed youth, trainees and Alumni of UTKARSH- Vocational Education Training for their kind cooperation and valuable help for completing the project work. Finally I would like to thank my parents who are supporting from my childhood, friends and well-wishers for their support and co-operate for what I am in my life. ANILKUMAR MORA (0231239044) ABSTRACT Table of Contents List of Figuresi List of Tablesii Glossaryiii CHAPTER – I 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1INTRODUCTION 1. 2 DEFINITION OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION 1. 3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:- 1. 4 NEED OF THE STUDY:- 1. 5LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:- 1. 6RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:- 1. 6. 1 PERIOD OF STUDY:- 1. 6. 2 RESEARCH DESIGN:- 1. 6. 3 SOURCES OF DATA:- 1. 6. 4 QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINSTRATIONS:- 1. 6. 5 SAMPLE DESIGN:- 1. 6. 6 STATISTICAL TOOLS USED:- CHAPTER – II 1. 1PROFILE OF NGO 1. 2HISTORY 1. 2. 1THE FOUNDER 1. 2. 2GOVERNING BODY 1. 2. 3ADVISORY BOARD 1. 2. 4COLLABORATORS 1. 2. 5MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA 1. 2. 6COOPERATIVE ENSURES 1. 2. 7OUR STRUCTURE 1. 2. 8AWARDS 1. 3SERIVICES AND ACTIVITIES 1. 3. 1EDUCATION-FORMAL 1. 3. 1. 1PROJECT SPEAK WELL 1. 3. 1. 2ZEST (ZEAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN STUDENT TEACHER) 1. 3. 1. 3PROJECT EQUIP (EDUCATIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME) 1. 3. 1. 4SCIENCE WORKSHOPS 1. 3. 1. 5THE SCIENCE PARK 1. 3. 1. 6FINE ARTS 1. 3. 1. 7EDUCATION TOURS 1. 3. 1. 8THE NATIONAL CADET CORE 1. 3. 1. 9CULTURAL AND LITERACY ACTIVITIES 1. 3. 2EDUCATION VOCATIONAL 1. 3. 2. 1SHRI CHATRAPATI SHAHU SAINIKI VIDYALAYA 1. 3. 2. 2UTKARSH VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE 1. 3. 3SAGROLI SUNRISE 1. 3. 4ANAND BALAGRAM 1. 3. 5WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 1. 3. 6AFFORESTATION THROUGH SCHOOL 1. 3. 7KRISHI VIGNAN KENDRA 1. 3. 8THE WADI PROGRAM. 1. 3. 8. 1WADI A)AGRI-HORTI-FORESTRY B)WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT C)SOIL CONSERVATION 1. 3. 8. 2LANDLESS FAMILY DEVELOPMENT 1. 3. 8. 3WOMEN EMPOWERMENT 1. 3. 8. 4COMMUNITY HEALTH 1. 3. 8. 5TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING 1. 3. 8. 6WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND ORGANISATION 1. 3. 9SANJEEVANI AROGYA MANDIR 1. 3. 10DHARMA DONKEY SANCTUARY 1. 3. 11EQUINE WELFARE PROJECT 1. 3. 11. 1ACTIVITIES AWARENESS AND COMMUNITY MOTIVATION 1. 3. 11. 2ENHANCING LOCAL HEALTH SERVICES 1. 3. 11. 3ASHWAMITRA 1. 3. 11. 4FREE EMERGENCY TREATMENT 1. 3. 11. 5FIRST AID BOX 1. 3. 11. 6EQUINE WELFARE GROUPS 1. 3. 12SOCIAL HOUSING AND SANITATION 1. 3. 13MAHARSHI KANAD VILLAGE KNOWLEDGE CENTRE 1. 4PROPERTIES 1. 5MEDIA TALKS 1. 6FANANCIERIES CHAPTER – III 2. BACKGROUND OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING 2. 1VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN INDIA 2. 2INTRODUCTION 2. 3TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING ACCORDING TO NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY ORGANIZATION 2. 4TRAINING STATISTICS OF ITI/ITCs 2. 5TOTAL NUMBER AND CAPACITY OF it is AND ITCs PER MILLION PERSONS IN INDIA 2. 6STATUS IN SCHOOL 2. 7OTHR GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE BODIES PROVIDING VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN INDIA 2. 7. 1KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES COMMISSION 2. 7. 2LIST OF TRAINING INSTITUTES PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR THE SCHEMES 2. 8POINTS TO FOCUS ON 2. 9VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRIANING IN SSM. CHAPTER – IV 3. PRESENTATION OF DATA ANALYSIS 3. 1CASESTUDY-1 3. 2CASESTUDY-2 3. 3CASESTUDY-3 3. 4QUESTIONNAIRE CHAPTER – V 4. FINDINGS, CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATIONS 4. 1FINDINGS 4. 2CONCLUSION 4. 3RECOMMENDATIONS BIBLOGRAPHY GLOSSARY Sino. Short FormFull Form 1 SSMSanskriti Samvardhan Mandal 2KVKKrishi Vigyn Kendra 3MKVKCMaharshi Kanad Village Knowledge Centre 4NCVTNational centre for vocational education 5VETvocational education and training 6NSSONational Sample Survey Organization 7KVICKhadi and Village Industries Commission 8SAMSanjeevani Arogya Mandir 9EQUIPEducational Quality Improvement Program 10ZESTZeal For Excellence in Student and Teacher FIGURES Fig. 1: Main parts of the tudy. 11 Tables Table 1: ECVET reflector guide 13 CHAPTER – I 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1INTRODUCTION Vocational education (education based on occupation or employment) (also known as vocational education and training or VET) is education that prepares people for specific trades, crafts and careers at various levels from a trade, a craft, technician, or a professional position in engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, pharmacy, law etc. Craft vocations are usually based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation. It is sometimes referred to as technical education as the trainee directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques. In the UK some higher technician engineering positions that require 4-5 year apprenticeship require academic study to HNC / HND or higher City Guilds level. Vocational education may be classified as teaching procedural knowledge. This can be contrasted with declarative knowledge, as used in education in a usually broader scientific field, which might concentrate on theory and abstract conceptual knowledge, characteristic of tertiary education. Vocational education can be at the secondary, post-secondary level, further education level and can interact with the apprenticeship system. Increasingly, vocational education can be recognised in terms of recognition of prior learning and partial academic credit towards tertiary education (e. g. , at a university) as credit; however, it is rarely considered in its own form to fall under the traditional definition of higher education. Vocational education is related to the age-old apprenticeship system of learning. Apprenticeships are designed for many levels of work from manual trades to high knowledge work. However, as the labor market becomes more specialized and economies demand higher levels of skill, governments and businesses are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives for businesses. At the post-secondary level vocational education is typically provided by an institute of technology, university, or by a local community college. Vocational education has diversified over the 20th century and now exists in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries. 1. 2 Definition of Vocational Education and Training:- Web definitions Vocational education is education that prepares people for specific trades, crafts and careers at various levels from a trade, a craft, technician, or a professional position in engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, pharmacy, law etc. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Vocational_Education_and_Training 1. 4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:- 1. The study is intended to assist rural unemployed youth to increase their wareness of vocational education training. 2. The study provides understanding of unemployed human response to vocational education training. 3. The Focus is on presenting a broad back ground of vocational education training research and on providing awareness. 4. The Main objective of vocational education training. †¢Meet education demands of the population, support professional, career development and social protection of individuals; †¢Feed economy with qualified staff competitive both on local and international labour market, ensure a match between the fast changing labor market and VET system; †¢Foster appropriation of the peoples educational capacities with the new social-economic conditions to support self-employment and entrepreneurship; †¢Support student mobility; †¢Ensure professional development of minority groups and create employment opportunities for them; †¢Develop Lifelong Learning; 1. 5 NEED OF THE STUDY:- The need for VET qualifications are provided by government institutions, called Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions, as well as private institutions. Industry and employer groups contribute to training policies and priorities, and in developing qualifications that deliver skills to the workforce. Today Many of VET courses incorporate a period of on-site learning, which means you don’t just learn in a classroom, but get priceless industry experience in a genuine work environment. It’s real-world industry experience that ensures your qualifications fully prepare you for employment in your chosen industry. An important part of VET teaching staff are not just industry-aware, but have actual experience in their fields of expertise – maintaining the currency of their knowledge, and modifying their courses to reflect changing industry focus and needs. And that means you learn not only the theory, but also the reality of the subjects you’re studying. 1. 6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:- 1The study is dependent mostly on the data collected from the Internet and SSM related web pages. 2The findings and suggestions are drawn based on the responses of the questionnaire made and the data provided by the organization. 3Only 5% of the organization is taken into consideration while the survey is conducted. 4The project report is done in a period of 8 weeks 4days time forms an important limitation for carrying out the project. 5Accuracy of the study is purely based on the information as given by the respondent. 1. 7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:- 1. 7. 1 PERIOD OF STUDY:- The Present study had been undertaken for period of 8 weeks 4 days in which it had divided three stages as such. Stage one is of research problem and collection the literature of the topic chosen stage II is of deciding the research methodology and collecting the data required. Stage-III is of analysis and interpretations by using different statically tools findings and recommendations. Discusses the research design, importance of the study, scope and significance of the study. Sources of data, questionnaire, and sample design statically techniques used and objectives of the study and limitations of the study. 1. 7. 2 RESEARCH DESIGN:- A research design is an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. It is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted and it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. It includes an outline of what the researcher will do from writing the hypothesis and its operational implications to the final analysis of data. The research design used for the study is descriptive design. Descriptive research design includes observational methods, case-study methods and survey methods. The primary purpose of descriptive research is to provide an accurate description or picture of the status or characteristics of a situation or phenomenon 1. 7. 3 SOURCES OF DATA:- The relevant data has been collected from the primary sources and secondary sources. The primary data is collected by a questionnaire from the rural unemployed and employed human. For this purpose of data collection, the questionnaire was circulated among the employees to collect information. The secondary data is collected by internet organization journals, magazines, Websites etc. 1. 7. 4 QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINSTRATIONS:- The Questionnaire was prepared after consulting with the project coordinator of Utkarsh one of the activity of SSM. The researcher prepared to set of questionnaire. A three point scale â€Å"very good, good bad† Yes and No was used for this purpose. 1. 7. 5 SAMPLE DESIGN:- A sample of 20 respondents was taken using random sampling. The researcher contacted the youth personally and brief summary of the nature of the study and detail in the questionnaire were narrated to them. 1. 7. 6 STATISTICAL TOOLS USED:- For the purpose of present study percentage analysis was used. ? CHAPTER – II 2 PROFILE OF NGO Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal (SSM) is a voluntary organisation working for sustainable rural development since 1959. Credibility, based on transparency, is the main strength of SSM which has always been striving to practice the best norms in human relations and financial management. SSM is progressing confidently to meet the emerging challenges in every field. Started in village Sagroli, now SSM has scaled its work of rural development in adjoining districts with new interventions. SSM is registered under Societies Registration Act bearing No. B-118 /59 (Vidharbha) Dated 14-12-1959 and Public Trust act – F- 41 (Nanded) Dated 9/08/1963 Functionaries of the organization are: Address of the Head Office: Mr. Pramod Deshmukh – Chairman Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal Mr. P. Y. Shinde – Secretary Shardanagar, Sagroli Dist. Nanded 431731 Telefax 02465 227848, 227834 : www. ssmandal. net Vision – Educated, cultured, Vigilant and prosperous rural communities. Mission Attain Sustainable Rural development with need based, transparent and innovative approach through Value added education, health, environment, energy, animal welfare, agriculture, women child welfare, capacity building and livelihood. Core values:- Education has been the core activity of Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal (SSM) since its inception in 1959. Through formal and non-formal education we have made a sustainable difference to the lives of thousands who were completely unaware of what they truly deserve. SSM operates preschool to pre university level formal institutions providing education to 4000 children at a place History:- The Founder KARMAYOGI BABASAHEB DESHMUKH â€Å"Sa Vidya ya Vimuktayeâ€Å"(Education Leads to emancipation) Believed and manifested, the scripture from the eternal values of Indian heritage, till he breathes his last in August, 2004. A simple, dhoti clad, six feet tall, yet stooped out of humility is â€Å"The Karma Yogi†, Babasaheb Keshav Narayanrao Deshmukh. Born on the 27th of March, 1926, with a silver spoon in the mouth, Babasaheb was the most cherished child in the Regal Deshmukh’ family of Sagroli in the Marathawada region of Maharashtra. The village† Sagroli† in Tehsil Biloli, in Dist Nanded was an integral part of the Nizam’s state of Hyderabad. As a child and youth, Babasaheb had been well exposed to the plight of the village folk, the down trodden and the under privileged. He was sent to Hyderabad for his education, but something that was due to happen through him at Sagroli, didn’t allow him stay there for long time. On the other hand, his daughter who passed her 4th Std. was deprived of further education since there were no schools in the vicinity of 100 K. M. from Sagroli. All the girls of her age had to stay home. This disturbed Babasaheb. It proved good for the village. The thoughts of social reformation already took shape in his mind, came into being with the establishment of Sanskrit Samvardhan Mandal in 1959, an organization to promote education at grass root level. As a land lord, he had a big heart too to spare a hundred and thirty acres of his agricultural estate for the mission he started. As a person of deed and might, Babasaheb never turned back come what may! The Sanskrit Samvardhan Mandal was carefully nurtured in the hands of devoted and faithful volunteers of Babasaheb’ s team and this day stands among one of the most renowned development organizations in the region. Babasaheb Deshmukh’ vision was not limited to education sphere alone. He took every opportunity to serve the deprived communities. Gradually SSM propagated its service activities into the fields of health, Women and child welfare, Agriculture, environment, watershed development, conservation of National resources and what not. His vision was far ahead of the time. There was a great receptive potentiality in his ways. He tried every thing that he believed, would help the development of rural communities. Though he always acknowledged that he was inspired by the Trio, Mahatma Phule, Maharshi Karve and Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil, the pioneers of education (Particularly for the deprived) in Maharashtra, It is the fact that the quartette gets completed only when his name is added to the list. He’s a kind hearted human being who added height to the eternal values in the society. S. O. S. children’s village, the â€Å"Anand Balgram† the home for the orphan children provides shelter and education to more than 500 god’s children through its associated units. Just not the orphan children, but hundreds of orphan animals, also were blessed enough to seek protection under his care. A typical day in his life would never probably give a hint to any enthusiast that such a simple ONE man had created this vast world of social service in the rural sector. Babasaheb’ s services were duly recognized by the nation and he was bestowed with many honors and rewards at national level platforms. He had six presidential awards conferred upon him, though he humbly avows the felicitation to the credit of all his volunteers. Through the six decades of his tireless journey, Babasaheb left behind him a great inspiration to carry forward and ever widen the scope for human service. GOVERNING BODY : SANSKRITI SAMVARDHAN MANDAL, Sharadanagar,SAGROLI, Dist. Nanded Members of the Governing Body for the period 2012-13 TO 2017-18 SrNo. Name of the MemberDOBQualificationDesignationOccupation 1Pramod Keshavrao Deshmukh7-8-1956B. Sc. Agri. ChairmanAgriculture 2Pandharinath Yadavrao Shinde8-4-1944S. S. C. SecretaryAgriculture 3Khanderao Nathraje Deshmukh10-06-1954B. Sc. TreasurerAgriculture 4Bhalchandra Dhundamaharaj Deglurkar10-4-1946B. Tech( Chem. )Trustee/MemberAgriculture 5Shyamrao Bapurao Sagrolikar25-4-1935S. S. C. Trustee/ MemberAgriculture 6Anandidas Renukadas Mahajan10-2-1953S. S. C. Trustee/MemberAgriculture 7Dattaram Nagappa Sompure20-8-1947S. S. C. MemberAgriculture 8Arvind Diggamber Deshmukh20-6-1952B. Sc. B. Ed. MemberRetired Principal 9Khanderao Ramrao Shinde9-9-1953B. A. B. Ed. MemberRetired Principal 10Vitthal Gangaram Jathore12-6-1962B. A. B,Ed. MemberTeacher 11Dr. Jayant Narayanrao Jakate5-7-1962B. A. M. S. MemberMedical Officer 12Vyankat Purshottamrao Kulkarni4-6-1961M. Com. B. Ed. MemberPrincipal 13Sakharam Govind Jagtap9-1-1952B. A. M. S. W. MemberAnand BalgramVillage Director 14Gangadhar Vaijanathappa Mathadevaru18-4-1966B. A. D,Ed. MemberPrincipal 15Aruna Sunilrao Deshmukh16/8/1965S. S. C. MemberHouse wife Advisory Board: 1Dr. Ashok KukdeLatur 2Mr. Pratapraoji PawarPune 3Mr. Suhas ApteUSA 4Mr. V. N. Allies Bhau AbhyankarPune 5Mr. Upendra DegloorkarPune 6Mr. Keshavrao ShindeSolapur Collaborators AFARM is an association of more than 250 voluntary organisations working in the field of rural development in Maharashtra state. The head quarter is based at Pune. SSM is associated with AFARM since 1972. The Brooke is an international animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in some of the world’s poorest communities. They provide treatment, training and programmes around animal health and wellbeing. SSM has been partnering with The Brooke India since 2010 for â€Å"Equine Welfare Project† in Nanded district. Starting with one person supporting one institution in 1981, caring friends is now a group of more than 300 friends from India and abroad, supporting nearly 40 institutions in 9 different States of India. SSM is a member of Caring Friends since 2010. Credibility Alliance is a consortium of Voluntary Organizations (VOs) committed towards enhancing Accountability and Transparency in the Voluntary Sector through good Governance. SSM is a member of credibility alliance since 2004. Equitable Water was set up as an entirely voluntary charity in 2004 to focus on small projects delivering water (for irrigation and drinking) and conserving water in impoverished parts of rural India. Equitable water supported Nagdarwadi village through SSM in 2004. GiveIndia is a donation platform that allows you to support a cause of your choice from about 200 NGOs that have been scrutinised for transparency credibility. SSM is a member of Give India since 2004. SSM has been partnering with state and central Government especially for Education, Agriculture, Human Resource and Natural Resource Management. NASSCOM Foundation is a non-profit organization that is building an ecosystem to bring to fruition – Technology for Good. The Foundation is leveraging the capabilities of IT-BPM member companies of NASSCOM along with emerging social enterprises to meet the technology needs of non-profits and underserved communities across India with continuous support from the Government. SSM has been partnering with NASSCOM foundation since 2006 through MaharshiKanad Village Knowledge Center. SSM has been partnering with state and central Government especially for Education, Agriculture, Human Resource and Natural Resource Management. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. SSM has been partnering with Habitat for Humanity since 2010. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research. SSM has been partnering with ICAR through the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) since 2012. Kimberley – Clark Corporation is a US based company, sells its products in more than 150 countries. Kimberley – Clark supported SSM for a project of Water Conservation and Literacy in 2011. Karl Kubel Stiftung fur Kind und Familie is a secular, charitable trust with its headquarters in Bensheim/Germany. It was founded by Karl Kubel, a former industrial entrepreneur. SSM partnered with KKS for â€Å"Integrated Village Development Programme† in 2000. Life Insurance Corporation of India is a Leading life insurance company in India. SSM, as an agent, helping people secure their life. NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of rural areas. SSM has been partnering with NABARD since 1993 through Watershed Development Programmes and since 2010 through Wadi programme. WOTR is a not-for-profit NGO founded in 1993 operating currently in five 6 Indian states – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Orissa. WOTR is recognised widely as a premier institution in the field of participatory Watershed Development andClimate Change Adaptation. SSM has been associated with WOTR since 1993 through Indo German Watershed Development Programme. MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA: All the members of the organization †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦? COOPERATIVE ENSURES:- That membership is voluntary and open to those who need the man services 1. That management is 2. That share capital receives 3. That surplus is distributed 4. That the organisation participates in social welfare activities. OUR STRUCTURE:- Ours is an NGO . We believe in the will of our members, Experience has shown, too, that in last (57) years, the decisions of the members have been, of the whole, wise and responsible. Our Board of directors meets at least once a month and our general body meets last once a year. These meetings are strictly business meetings and take as long as members think necessary. Our staff, and we have over 110 employees, are all drawn from the 14 villages. We believe that much of our success is due to our employees identifying with the cooperative’s mission our staff is lead by a general manager who, like all the other employees is fully accountable to the cooperative. AWARDS: Manav Sava Award 2002 Award Vasundhara Sanman Award 2011 National Teacher Award 2002; Child Welfare Award 1995; Vriksha Mitra Award -1992 Real Heroes of the Nation; Indian Merchant Chamber 1988 Best Teacher Award 2000 Dadhichi Puraskar Dalit Mitra Puraskar Bhumijal samvardhan Award Real Heroes of the Nation award Services and activities: Our Programs Education – Formal Education has been the nucleus of all of SSM’s activities since its inception in 1959. SSM has therefore put in efforts to impart quality education to the deprived rural children, especially the girls. We facilitate pre-school to pre-university education on the campus for 4000 students through different schools with hostel facilities. Presently 2000 of them are housed in the hostels on the campus. This makes us one of the largest rural residential schools. The schools and hostels are located on the same campus. As such the progress of the students is closed monitored. The teachers and rectors coordinate and monitor the activities undertaken for the students’ all round development. Thus, besides formal education, value education is also imparted to the students. Good habits such as early rising, doing regular exercises, evening prayer, etc are inculcated in the children. Various cultural activities are also organized to provide an outlet to their aesthetic potential. Education and Training in drawing Painting and Music is also facilitated. There are well equipped library and laboratory facilities in place to develop reading culture and to facilitate scientific experiments respectively. There are large play grounds on the campus where students are trained in various games and sports by trained sports teachers and trainers. We also have a unit, set up in 1983, to provide education to physically challenged students, especially for the deaf and mute. Project Speak Well- Speak Well Initiative is really a very prudent and innovative move by SSM in the last two academic years. The prime objective behind this move was to equip every student with the tool of English language skills that he/she can utilize for the application of any sort of acquired knowledge in his/her practical life to achieve success. With the students and teaching non-teaching staff as the target group, project Speak-Well was formally launched in October 2011. With a Vision of â€Å"Manufacturing Effective English Communicators† and â€Å"Empowering Community with English Language Skills† is the Mission of the project. The main objective of the project is to help the students acquire skills enabling him/her to keep pace with time. The project has a major focus on motivating and encouraging students to interact in English through various activities like loud reading of English newspaper, speech and conversation in school assembly, group discussion, etc. Through training programmes inputs are given to the teachers to help them enhance their English language competencies, acquire novel methodologies and techniques of teaching. Earlier, the students were so hesitant to form even eye-contact and to come forward to utter a few words that they had to be literally pushed to the front to speak. However, after the project was launched, every student started enjoying his stage appearance to articulate in English confidently without any hesitation. They have started reading not only English academic books, but English newspapers also. This was the foundation. We’re now moving to the next step towards making them proficient in English. ZEST (Zeal for Excellence in Student Teacher) is one of the innovative projects initiated by SSM in 2011-12. The vision is to enhance the quality of higher secondary education. Objectives of the project are to –Improve the quality of teaching and learning. 1. Change the existing teaching – learning process. 2. Adopt innovative approach towards education. 3. Create learning-conducive atmosphere. We combined the forces of two units of junior college to create a synergy of the resources, especially the teachers. The project involves teacher’s orientation and training programmes, aimed at improving their subject knowledge and teaching skills. Special coaching is facilitated for various entrance exams. A separate cell has been set up to counsel the students on various career options after HSC. As an impact of the project, the teaching and learning process has become more interactive and interesting. As such, students’ attendance and active participation in the class have increased. Project EQUIP- With an objective of improving quality of and in education, SSM has launched the Project EQUIP (Educational Quality Improvement Programme). The project consists of teachers’ training program, counseling and career guidance for children, motivation of stakeholders like parents, etc. The project aims to motivate the children towards LEARNING. Science workshops- Apart from well-equipped labs, we do have a science workshop to bring out the hidden talents of the young minds. Every year they try out their ideas and at least one science project of our children finds a place at the national level science fair organized by NCERT. The workshop named Khatpat-ghar, provides every opportunity to creative and innovative students to bring out incredibly sophisticated devices related to house hold activities, science, agriculture, every economy and what not. The activity is based on utilization of low cost and waste material. The exhibits are demonstrated at the khatpatghar. The science park named after Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, inaugurated on 25th March 2012, provides an outlet to children’s curiosity and creativity through the working models demonstrating different scientific principles and theories. The models provide the children an opportunity of learning by doing and playing. The park is now also proving to be an open learning centre for children from other schools in the area. Fine arts- Painting Drawing and Classical Music are the optional subjects open for all the students of the school. The students appear for graded examinations at the end of each spell of the training. Educational Tours- Twice a year, educational tours are conducted to give the children an exposure to our rich heritage, in addition to the educational objectives. The National Cadet Core (NCC)- The school is proud of its dynamic/adventurous youth participating social services through N. C. C. 52 Maharashtra Battalion.