Teen shows the way in Sultanpur Lodhi schools

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, April 27

Taking initiative and showing compassion, Lehnaaz Rana, a student at Strawberry Fields School in Chandigarh, has emerged as a beacon of change at a remarkably young age.

Founding The Rattan Foundation at the tender age of 17, Lehnaaz’s journey began with a simple curiosity about the conditions of government schools in Sultanpur Lodhi.

Now, with unwavering determination, she has transformed her curiosity into action, dedicating herself to improving the learning for countless underprivileged children.

“I found that the schools in remote areas of Sultanpur Lodhi had a lot of students. However, there was a severe lack of teachers. Fewer government teachers wanted to join schools in this distant and remote belt and hence the teacher to student ratio was insufficient. I discussed this issue with my family members and some retired educators of our area. So, we tried to work out if we could hire local unemployed, qualified teachers as part of the Rattan Foundation Team and pay them salaries from the donations we received,” she explained while reflecting a thorough understanding of the issue.

The teen went on, “Finally, we found that we could actually work on this model. There were young qualified graduate teachers in our area who were willing to work in schools. With the guidance of retired educators and principals on our board, we select candidates after a rigorous interview process followed by a demonstration lesson to learn more about their teaching techniques. Our team has also been imparting proper training and helping selected teachers get well-versed with new teaching techniques to boost interest and engagement. We have hired them and are paying them salaries through this NGO and it gives me immense happiness that we have started seeing positive results.”

She said, “Beginning with one school, we have provided additional staff to 23 schools in two years and shall be extending the same service to 42 schools gradually. It has helped the students get proper attention in school, improve their learning process for a brighter future and at the same time has provided employment to the local youth. I visit these schools whenever I come to Sultanpur Lodhi on the weekends and during holidays and have seen great progress in the attendance, grades and communication skills of the students.”

She added, “Our teacher training programmes equip faculty members with innovative teaching methodologies.”

Bridging Learning Gap

• Lehnaaz Rana's NGO — The Rattan Foundation — aims to address the teacher-student gap in government schools in Sultanpur Lodhi
• She said we have provided additional staff to 23 schools in two years and shall be extending the same service to 42 schools gradually
• She added that the initiative has helped students get proper attention in school, improve their learning process for a brighter future and at the same time has provided employment to the local youth

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