Reuben Sam Jose reaches ‘home’ by about 2 p.m.. After a wash, he has his lunch and then sits down to finish his homework. By the time his father, Josemon S., picks him up at 7 p.m., the 12-year-old student would have finished his studies for the day.
“I have been coming here since my kindergarten and feel at home here,” says Reuben, talking about Children’s World, his home away from home at Kowdiar. “Since I finish my studies here itself I don’t have to study once I go back home,” says Reuben, a resident of Karakulam.
At about 2.30 p.m., the two-storeyed building at Kowdiar is quiet though there are 20 to 25 children inside. While the little ones in the front room sit around tables in colourful chairs, others are in separate rooms with benches and desks.
They are busy studying under the watchful eyes of a teacher.
Parents of these children in the age group of four to 13 work late into the evening and so the children stay at this place till they are picked up by their parents.
With nuclear families and working parents becoming the norm, after-school centres have become a necessity. As a result, many day-care centres in the city metamorphised into after-school centres. For parents without a support system at home, this arrangement is turning out to be the best option to leave their wards after school.
Everything comes in a package – there are facilities for children to freshen up (have a bath even), eat homely food and get help with their studies, be it homework, project work or revision. There are extracurricular activities too.
“It was a difficult decision, but this is the best choice. My kids are safe in this centre and since they finish their studies by the time they reach home, we get enough time to spend together. If I leave them at home, they will be glued to the television. This is a better option than keeping a maid at home. There is a certain amount of discipline in most of these places,” says Deepthi R.V., an employee of Kerala State Film Development Corporation.
Both her children, Sidharth S., a Class V student, and Niveditha S., a Class III student, go to Padashala, an after-school home at Thycaud. Most of these after-school homes function till 7 p.m. or 8 p.m and have pick-up and drop facilities. Some centres pick children from their respective schools as well. Proximity to the schools helps the parents to zero in on a place.
It is a huge responsibility, say those who run such centres. Ajitha A.N. has been running Children’s World for 15 years. She says: “Parents trust us and so we can’t compromise on any aspect, be it food, hygiene, academics, transportation facilities and the like,” she says. Bindu C.J., proprietor of Padashala, says that qualified teachers have been appointed to teach different subjects and separate timetables have been chalked out for all the teachers.
While most after-school centres are located within city limits, many such homes can also be found around Kazhakuttam and Karyavattam, their target being the techie population. “Over 80 percent of the students’ parents work in Technopark,” says Kumari B.S. She runs Bloomingdale at Kazhakuttam and Sreekariyam, with nearly 60 children at the two branches.
Reshmy Raghavan, an employee with an MNC in Technopark, says how such places are a boon for mothers like her. “In fact I didn’t have to hunt for an after school after I came down from the United States recently. Since many colleagues sent their kids to after-school centres it was pretty easy for me to identify one at Karyavattom for my children, aged 11 and six,” she says.
Parents also look out for centres that offer a range of extracurricular activities. Wiggles at Vazhuthacaud has over 30 children in its after-school section. They have classes in Karate, Western dance, classical dance and chess. “We have a library and also organise games for the children,” says Lekshmy Rajan, proprietor of the centre.
Yoga, meditation, value education sessions, painting, dance classes, craft classes, maths orientation sessions, music... there are a lot to choose from for the children at the centres.
Most places are open for children in the age group of four to 13 (14 or 15 in rare cases) and charge anything between Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 6,000. Many of them function on Saturdays as well, which is usually a holiday for most educational institutions. “We dedicate that day to creative activities. Some parents even ask us whether we could function on Sundays as well!” says Bindu.
There is no doubt that many of the well-run places are of big help to the parents. “It is a safety net. Also, since these places take care of the studies, it is a blessing for those parents who might find the syllabus that their children study quite tough. But nothing is foolproof and so a lot of aspects have to be taken care of before you admit your child in such centres,” says Sajini Varghese, director, Mindscape.
The biggest problem is of numbers, with some centres admitting children without any restrictions, points out Nisha M., an IT professional, who sends her daughter, Neeraja, who is in Class III, to a centre near Sasthamangalam. “So the only thing you can do is keep a daily tab on the activities of the place,” she says.
“I usually pick her around 7.30 p.m. or 8 p.m. and I know it is too much for a kid whose school starts by 8 a.m. But I know that she is in safe hands at the centre,” Nisha says.
