High School in Sion holds annual pre-board study camp for Marathi students

This Sion school would have made education reformists Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule swell with pride as educators continue to preserve the tradition of letting students due to appear in class 10 board examination come to study for 12 hoursThe 67year tradition is held up by D S High School located in Sion where a lsquoshibirrsquo or lsquostudy camprsquo is held ahead of Maharashtra State Board Examinations Here the students pay only Rs 400 for the textbook and if that is not possible the school trust steps in and pays on the studentrsquos behalf This year the shibir is being conducted from December 30 to January 12The school is known to cater to Marathi speaking students with only Math and English being taught in a nonMarathi languageThe students in this school hail from areas such as Dharavi Pratiksha Nagar Chunabhatti and Kurla among other localities where finding space to sit in a crammed house without noise and interruptions is next to impossibleThe educators who have help preserve this tradition in a school located in the heart of the cityKalpana Patil the principal explains that for 90 per cent of the students attending the Marathi or semiEnglish medium often find it difficult to concentrate in the cramped homes they reside in One can gauge the lack of infrastructure back home from Patilrsquos remark ldquoThey get the Sunday off so they can wash their uniformsrdquoldquoWhen the whole family resides in a 10x10 room the child may not get the right environment for board preparations Sometimes itrsquos the familial environment living conditions or other responsibilities of the parents which may hamper the childrsquos readiness for this milestone exam We want to help our children up until the last milerdquo said PatilWhich is why D S High Schoolrsquos 10day study camp where students spend half of the day mdash a total of 12 hours mdash at school has been a tradition closely guarded by each generation of educators and principalsThis year the school hall is filled with the hum of morning prayers by 176 students at 7 am sharp Soon after an hour of revising the syllabus is ticked off as the first task of the day and then students attempt their first mock paperShaurya Utekar and Siraj MulaniA timeout from academics is introduced via breakfast and then the drill repeats Students end up attempting four exams of different subjects throughout the day and take quick breaks in between and refuel on foodIn order to ensure some other form of relief from the continuous study students are asked to do a brief yoga session and a few eye exercises for visual reprieveOther than providing them a study discipline the school is gently shepherding the students to perform under pressure One of the ways the school does this is by making the students race against time The student gets oneandahalf hours to attempt an exam that is otherwise allotted three hours by the Maharashtra State Board ldquoThis helps them improve their writing speedrdquo said Adesh Arun Patil the teacher who is coordinating the camp this year ldquoWe thoroughly correct two papers and share feedback on the other two Even when students are attempting the exam in the openbook format they are able to gauge their weak spots Additionally we have separate sessions to resolve doubts if anyrdquo he addedThe batch of 2026 then logs off from their 12hour schedule with meditation and pasaydaan and heads back home at 7 pmOver these 10 days the students end up attempting 36 question papers which are compiled in a textbook four for each subjectWhat might be perceived as gruelling has turned into a fun discipline that takes away the exam jitters from students It doesnrsquot feel like a drill but serves as socialisation during one of the most tense and defining exams of a studentrsquos life Lunch boxes are shared in the school hall with stolen moments for mischief all while studyingIn a rare display of dedication that might be absent during a time where education has become synonymous with business all 28 teachers at D S High School who are responsible for students from Class 5 to Class 10 take turns manning the lsquoshibirrsquo Everyone including the principal puts in nearly two extra hours during the campWhen the shibir sees challenges mdash like it does during every civic election when many educators are called upon for poll duties mdash parents come to the rescue and volunteer time and manpowerBut in the day of online classes study music to help you concentrate and the Internet feeding into not just students but even the adultsrsquo knowitall syndrome are students even interested in this shibirThe answer is evident when students like Shaurya Utekar who steps out with his father to distribute newspapers to doorsteps rushes back to make it in time for the morning prayers ldquoI wake up at 5 am to help out my fatherrdquo said Utekar ldquoI distribute newspapers around our locality in Takiya Ward Kurla and show up at school by 7 amrdquo he added The 16yearold fell out of the habit of studying on his own after the lockdown and the camp has helped him get back in the zoneSiraj Mulani Shauryarsquos friend wakes up at 4 am too But for wrestling practice in order to achieve his dream of becoming a sportsman Mulani is a member of Lal Bahadur Shastri Vyayamsahala near Matungarsquos Zbridge ldquoI practise kushti from 430 am to 6 am have food and show up for study camp After returning by 8 pm I practise again till 10 pm and fall asleep instantlyrdquo he told Sunday middayThe routine was tough at first says Mulani who now has got the hang of thingsThe camp closes with a ceremony where students are to share their feedback and pupils who worked the hardest get felicitated The classroom doors will remain open for them until February 17 two days before the SSC board exams commenceldquoWhat helps is that most of our teachers and trustees from Shiv Shikshan today are our alumni which is why our Marathi school is given as much importance as the schools following other boards languagesrdquo Principal Patil addedParents SpeakNisha Koli Parent Dharavi residentlsquoOwing to the camp my daughter has gotten better at writing and learning She now feels more responsible about her academics Wersquoll know the full effect of this activity once we get their papers backrsquoThe traditionStudents at the shibir solving an exam paper on a timerThe Sionbased school has been running a study camp for Class 10 students for the past 67 years Up until 1995 the camp was residential Owing to preferences of parents and space crunches students now only spend the daytime at school While they bring their own tiffins for lunch the school manages to get tea and pav for their other breaks on their own buckRipple Effect After class 10 the school has also involved 44 students from Class 8 to prepare them for the scholarship exams 40 students from Class 5 also attend the camp but only for 7 hoursAlumni SpeaklsquoI came from a modest household in Kurla Money was always tight and there were times when even basic necessities felt like luxuries When competitive exam fees were due my teachers would quietly pay them for me and my friendsThe education camp pushed us far beyond what we thought were our limits mdash not just academically but mentally The rigorous schedule the focused environment and the shared sense of purpose among students built a mental toughness that proved invaluable during the board exams When exam day arrived we werenrsquot nervous we were prepared The shibir had already tested us in ways that made the actual exams feel manageable It gave us the confidence that comes from knowing yoursquove put in the workrsquoSchool alumnus Rohit Mandage who now resides in California