Outreach

Creating Social Consciousness

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Reaching out to the underprivileged is an integral part of every full-time course offered in the Polytechnic. All the students are expected to do some outreach work, at least at Christmas time when every class visits some marginalized group or other and spends time with them, engendering mutual joy. In fact, "awakening social consciousness in the students and creating in them a desire to serve" has been one of the original goals of the polytechnic right from its inception in 1970. Assignments, projects, value education programmes, regular inputs and talks on various issues or around a chosen theme are all geared to develop this social consciousness in the students.

Since 2002, the Polytechnic has also been running five extension centres in rural/ semi-rural Maharashtra for the empowerment of women and school dropouts. These are funded by the Central Government through the Community Polytechnic Scheme. The activities conducted vary from tailoring and cookery to computer literacy, chalkmaking, candlemaking, jewellery and rexine bag making, embroidery to vermicomposting. The tailoring classes are all supervised by our Staff of the Department of Dress Designing and Garment Manufacturing.

At the Polytechnic, which is the Main Centre, we conduct activities such as:

• Supervision of tailoring classes, conducted by the NGO MESCO at Dharavi, by our department of Dress Designing and Garment Manufacturing.
• Updating sessions in cookery skills for domestic workers.
• Teaching in balwadis by the trainees of the Preschool Teacher Training Department.

Efforts are made to involve our students in these activities through visits to one or other of our centres.

Constant efforts are made by the Staff and Management to keep alive in the students an awareness of the "other half". with the hope that they will carry this awareness with them when they leave the Polytechnic.

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