Surat: The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has started a project to bring street children into the mainstream school system by setting up special mobile schools called “Signal Schools”. The name refers to traffic signals where many of these children are found begging from those in vehicles waiting for the light to turn green. The project was drawn up based on suggestions from principal and district judge R A Trivedi to the civic body. SMC will first carry out a survey to identify children living on the streets or begging on roads and junctions. The survey will help the civic body find the exact number of such children and mark those who stay in the same place for long spells. The project will focus on children between 6 and 14 years of age. SMC will run specially designed buses fitted with computers, smart boards and trained teachers. The children will also be given food and books to help keep them in school. “The students will be taught in the bus and once they are eligible to be admitted to a school, they will be enrolled in a nearby school. A pilot project will first be done at one location or in one area. The concept will then be expanded to other locations,” an SMC official said. The SMC also plans to hold regular health checks for students in Signal Schools. After some basic learning and a bridge course, the children will be placed in public schools according to their age, making it easier for them to settle into the school system. SMC has made an allotment for Signal Schools in its yearly budget. More funds will be given based on how the pilot project works out.
