She has measured a cow’s width, a chicken’s height and sketched leaves of different varieties. She’s even learnt to sort out several kinds of seeds according to their uses. Most importantly, this 13-year-old has, along with her classmates, “made maps of our village.” This demanded that “I had to observe so many things in my own village, neighbouring ones, in our block and district. Then I could draw it correctly.”

Sanjana Majhi might have been out of school for months now due to the lockdown. But she has never stopped learning. The attitude of this Adivasi girl in Odisha’s Sundagarh district gives new meaning to Mark Twain’s famous words: “Never let school interfere with your education.” Except, Sanjana has a teacher. One who is physically active even if her school is not.

Read the full story School 2020: mapping futures in the lockdown on PARI Education .

Read also other Children's Day 2020 stories on PARI Education:
Profiles of migrants: Journeys of hope – Part IV
and The ‘Happy Box’: learning delivered

PARI Education Team

We bring stories of rural India and marginalised people into mainstream education’s curriculum. We also work with young people who want to report and document issues around them, guiding and training them in journalistic storytelling. We do this with short courses, sessions and workshops as well as designing curriculums that give students a better understanding of the everyday lives of everyday people.

Other stories by PARI Education Team