Page:SELECTED ESSAYS of Dr. S. S. KALBAG.pdf/16

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He was planning for his future endeavor in the field of education even before quitting the job in Hindustan Lever. He had conducted a survey among the street urchins in Mumbai under the aegis of the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR. The kids were smart and could manage a range of tasks efficiently, yet they did not do well in the schools they attended, because the syllabus did not match their skills. The need for the change in curriculum realized due to such experiences lead him to Dr. JP Naik and Dr. Chitra Naik of the Indian Institute of Education (NIE), Pune. In 1981, he along with his wife Meera visited the villages where the “Universalisation of Primary Education" (UPE) program was conducted by IIE. He decided to join the Indian Institute of Education, Pune after this visit and subsequent discussions. He was supposed to start his program on his own, but under the auspices of the IIE. It was agreed that he would bring his own project funds and would have complete autonomy in carrying out his program. Later he started the search for a suitable place for starting his work. He purposefully selected Pabal, a village in Pune district, which was sufficiently away from city and was falling in drought prone area. Initially he stayed in the dalit basti of Pabal village and interacted with villagers. Later he moved to a hillock near the village, which was most suitable for his ashram like institution. He submitted a formal proiect to the Department of Science and Technology in 1981. Work in Vigyan Ashram commenced in January 1983. His wife Meera Kalbag was also a founder member of the Vigyan Ashram and accompanied him in his work till his death on 30th July 2003. The roots of many of his favourite ideas and passions can be traced hack to his student days. He conducted daily adult literacy classes for factory workers for nearly two years and acted as a social volunteer in his college days. During his two years stay in Chicago, 4 Rural Development Through Education System 11