Sikshana

The Problem: 20% graduation rate in public schools
Over eight million children (5-12 years) in Karnataka, India, study in public schools that do not have a learning environment necessary for success. This is due to a wide variety of factors that include a lack of infrastructure, lack of teaching aids, poor quality of teaching and a general lack of community awareness on the benefits of education. This results in less than 65% graduation at the seventh grade, and an average graduation rate of 50% in subsequent grades. Finally, less than 20% graduate from high school (10th Grade).

The Opportunity: Government of Karnataka has allowed individuals and organizations to adopt public schools.
Recognizing the need to transform the learning environment in public schools, the Karnataka government has instituted a progressive policy that allows organizations to adopt schools to improve the infrastructure and teaching methods.

The Solution: Sikshana adopts public schools to improve graduation rates.
Sikshana is a project created to ensure that more children benefit from education, and graduate from high school with basic livelihood skills. Sikshana started out by adopting three public schools in 2002 and as of January 2008, over 10,000 children are covered via 36 public schools. Using structured problem solving methods Sikshana has created a cost effective solution to address the shortcomings of individual schools, by spending about $12 per child per year to augment the government expense of $130 per child per year.

To view more details about this project and others that we support, please visit our projects page.

Door Step School

The Problem:
The real estate boom in India has resulted in numerous construction sites in every major city. In Pune alone, there are over 1500 such construction sites. Every such construction site demands a huge labor force which often comprises of illiterate villagers from neighboring states. These laborers and their families live close to the construction site in labor camps or slums. Lack of access to education for the children of these laborers is a huge problem. These children do not attend school due to factors such a poverty, accessibility and lack of motivation. This results in a large number of kids being out of the formal school system. In a survey conducted by Door Step School in parts of Pune, an estimated 40000 children at such construction sites had no access to education.

The Opportunity:
The government mandates that every construction site should have an onsite school for children of these construction workers. However, due to lack of enforcement, very few construction companies provide such a facility. Contractors and thekedaars at these sites do not want the additional responsibility of running these onsite schools and are happy to let someone else run these schools.

The Solution:
Door Step School believes that if a child cannot go to school, let’s take the school to the doorstep of the child. DSS seeks to educate illiterate children at these construction sites through their uniquely designed programs so that these children can have the opportunity to be a part of the formal education system. The goals of DSS are to conduct classes in basic literacy for children in the age group 5-15, educate children on basic hygiene, and provide mentorship in order to inculcate good values.

To view more details about this project and others that we support, please visit our projects page.

Jan Madhyam

Vibha supports Jan Madhyam’s Equal Opportunity Rural Technical Training and Education Center (EORTTEC) which focuses on providing education and technical vocational guidance to disabled children (Reaches out to “disabled girl-child from marginalized sections of society”).Vibha started funding this component since 2003 and currently supports 187 underprivileged children. Vocational training activities include fabric painting, embroidery and sewing. Most of the girls learn these skills and use them for home/household purposes as well as to earn income from these skills. Jan Madhyam’s work is invaluable to the special children in those locations. Not only do they provide a safe and fun place for these children but they also equip them with life skills and self-confidence.

To view more details about this project and others that we support, please visit our projects page.

Rachana

The Problem
Children in rural Maharashtra often do not often find education programs specifically suited to their situation. Several of these children have dropped out of government schools to work—either at home, caring for siblings, or in the field, helping their parents. Other children are attending the government schools, but many of them are not learning because of a variety of factors including inadequate community support for education.

The Opportunity
Grassroots organizations like Rachana have established themselves in rural communities in Maharashtra. They are well placed to mobilize the people and to facilitate improvements in these communities.

The Solution
Rachana uses several programs to help improve the quality of education programs in 150 villages of Pune District in Maharashtra. The programs consist of four main aspects * Non Formal Education for School Dropout girls * Integrated development for adolescent girls * Pre-primary education for children deprived from formal education * Supportive education for primary school-going children

These programs address the issues of poor education quality and school dropouts by using innovating learning techniques such as the use of educational games, frequent excursions etc. Children in higher secondary school also receive vocational training learning skills such as candle making and participate in workshops where they learn about topics which vary from entrepreneurship to the functioning of local government. In addition students and the community participate in campaigns that advocate improved quality education in government schools at the local and national level.

To view more details about this project and others that we support, please visit our projects page.