Hyderabad,22nd March 2024 Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), in collaboration with a local Mosque in Jalpally area, south of the city has set up a first of its kind Free Bridge School for Primary & mid school dropouts.

A recent survey done by HHF in a few Urban slums in Hyderabad – reveals that 27% of Muslim children have dropped out of school, and an additional 5% have never attended. The main reasons behind these dropouts are financial constraints in paying fees in private schools. Secondly, lack of teachers, availability of govt schools in proximity & poor infrastructure in govt schools make the choice difficult for most parents.

The First of its kind Bridge school has been set up in Masjid E-Rehmat-E-Alam on Pahadi Shareef Road, Jalpally Gate, Opp Al-Ashraf Unani Hospital. In the first batch, 110 students from primary to secondary level have been registered for bridge schooling from the nearby slum areas.

Qualified teachers and counselors with a customized syllabus for bridge schooling along with free transportation and a midday snack for the students consisting of boiled eggs and bananas daily being provided to children from poor and marginalized families.

We aim to set up more BRIDGE SCHOOLS across different Urban Slums. In a matter of 3 to 6 months, we will be able to bring this vulnerable child into mainstream education & link them to Free Govt School education said Mr. Mujtaba Hasan Askari of Helping Hand Foundation.

Bridge Courses will be conducted under 3 different formats:

•  Foundation Level Course (FLC): A 60-day program emphasizing the foundational aspects of English, Mathematics, and EVS studies from Nursery to LKG.
•  Beginning Level Course (BLC): Another 60-day program taking a step further into more advanced topics for UKG to 1st Class.
•  Senior Level Course (SLC): A final 90-day program delving into advanced levels of learning for classes 2nd to 5th Class.

Throughout the project, assessments will be conducted every three months to thoroughly evaluate each child’s progress. Based on these outcomes, we will determine whether the child is ready to transition into mainstream education.