ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Pratigya's Access to Education program is a comprehensive initiative aimed at ensuring that every child in Jharkhand has access to quality education. Through various strategies, we have successfully improved school enrollment, enhanced learning outcomes, and empowered communities to take ownership of their children's education.
The programme is integrated with various activities related to providing access to education for children as well as retaining them in their schools. The outcomes of this programme are aligned to 3 Sustainable Development Goals which are:
Related Interventions
Scholarship Programme:
Pratigya believes that every child deserves access to quality education. Our scholarship program empowers disadvantaged children to pursue quality education in schools of their choice. So far, 1,800 disadvantaged children have received scholarships over 90 lakhs Rupees. Scholarship of upto Rs 6,000 per annum is provided to children from marginalized sections. If the child or parent is unsatisfied, they can change the school. It is a unique scholarship programme where the money follows the child, not the school. In case the fees of the school exceed the limit of scholarship, the rest amount is contributed by the parent.
Enabling Schools: Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Children run Library and Bal Sansad (Children's Parliament)
The program bridges the learning gap for children of class I to III (mainly from tribal and disadvantaged communities) by providing a 3-year activity-based curriculum focused on numeracy and language skills. Specially trained fellows support teachers with child engaging & activity-based teaching methodologies.
Students above Class VI are trained to run and manage their school libraries and participate in certain aspects of school management and decision-making through their innovative parliament "Bal Sansad". Presently, it is being implemented in 10 government schools covering over 1500 children, thereby improving their attendance and reducing dropout rates drastically.
Enabling Communities: Collective Ownership of School Education and Ensuring “No Child Left Out”
The program aims at mobilizing the entire community to take the collective ownership of school education of all children of the community and ensure that no child is left out. We engage with elected representatives of the Village Panchayat and Municipal Wards in the urban slums, Village Education Committee, School Management Committee, parents and community youth including Block Education Department and facilitate them to ensure that all children of the community upto the age of 16 are in the fold of school education. Dedicated and trained youth volunteers conduct surveys, counsel parents, facilitate admission of out of school children, monitor attendance of school going children and facilitate special Gram Sabha meetings & community meetings in villages and urban slums with children, elected representatives, community members and other stakeholders on “education”.
Presently, it is being executed in 10 villages and 6 urban slums covering over 2,000 children and the community population exceeding 15,000, through establishment of 15 “Community Child Rights Centre”.
E-Teachers
In a recent intervention, Pratigya has started providing e-Teachers to teachers’ scarce government schools and facilitate digital classes for children through online methods. A fellow facilitates the online classes in the schools with an online teacher connected through a projector in the class. It has been started in 7 government schools.
Right to Education: Advocacy and Facilitation
Pratigya advocated vehemently for the implementation of the Right to Education Act 2009 in Jharkhand with the State Government and also fought and won Public Interest Litigation in the Hon’ble Jharkhand High Court. The extensive research conducted on the abysmal status of implementation of the RTE in Jharkhand became the basis for the court’s direction to the government, thereby paving the way for better education for lakhs of children in the state. Along with various partners across the state, admission of over 6,000 children in various private schools have been facilitated since 2013 under 25% reservation for underprivileged children as per the Right to Education Act.
How Access to Education program of Pratigya bridges the learning gap of children through activity-based learning and empowers them.