Main Barriers to Education
- Poverty
- Gender discrimination
- Overcrowded schools
- Lack of trained teachers
Interventions to Barriers
- Community mobilisation
- Teacher training and support
- School rehabilitation and construction
Since the adoption of the constitution in 1950, the goals of universal education have been a chief priority of India’s government and embodied in development planning. To demonstrate the country’s commitment to the EFA Framework for Action, India has attempted to link its national education agenda with those of EFA global targets. Concretely, the country produced a ‘National Plan of Action for Education for All’ in 2002, contextualizing EFA in India and elaborating policy strategies to that end.
Though progress has been made regarding the universalisation of elementary education, India’s education system still faces significant challenges. Specifically, the education sector is burdened by high dropout rates, low-level learning outcomes and outstanding gender disparities in literacy.
In an attempt to address the remaining gaps in India’s education sector, EAC has partnered with the Bharti Foundation, Educate Girls and Gyan Shala on multiple initiatives. Specific project strategies to increase access to quality-primary education include: supporting enrolment drives and community campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of education; enhancing teaching quality through training and support; augmenting the capacity of school management committees; building girl students’ motivation and self-esteem; and creating and relaunching single classroom elementary schools.
Geographic Location: South Asia
Languages: English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi and Sanskrit
SOURCE: UNESCO
Projects
Bihar-SCERT Program for OOSC in Bihar State
An estimated 1.6 million children in India remain out of school despite significant increases in access to primary schools through the government’s Education for All Movement. EAC and its partner Gyan Shala are working to decrease the number of OOSC in Bihar State, India by 226,664 through the implementation of the Bihar-SCERT Program for OOSC.
Educate Girls Program Expansion into Rajasthan Poorest Areas
With EAC support the Educate Girls Program Expansion project will enrol 102,000 out of school children to quality primary education programs Rajasthan, India. Educate Girls and EAC seek to narrow the gender disparity gap in education in Rajasthan where low quality of education and shortages of female teachers creates a disincentive for parents to send their daughters to school.
Expansion of Educate Girls Programme
The second EAC and Educate Girls (EG) project aims to support 126,000 out of school children (OOSC) in four states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar) with a particular focus on remote, rural tribal areas. In these areas EG will reach the most marginalized children in India who are systematically denied the advantages of autonomy, mobility, and economic opportunity.
Expansion of Educate Girls Programme II
In collaboration with EAC, Educate Girls seeks to reach an additional 232,500 OOSC in rural, tribal communities across the Indian States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh through the Expansion of Educate Girls Programme II project.
Gyan Shala Urban Slums Classrooms
With EAC support, the Gyan Shala Urban Slums Classrooms project is working to reach a substantial number of children in India’s urban slums who remain out of school despite significant increases in access to primary schools through the government’s Education for All Movement.
Satya Bharti Schools
In India, EAC is supporting the Bharti Foundation over four years to reach 48,200 out of school children in India through its flagship program, the Satya Bharti Schools Program.
Step-Up Centres for Out of School Children
Over the course of a three-year period, the Step-Up Centres for Out of School Children (SUC) project aims to enrol and mainstream 42,000 OOSC into formal government schools, primarily in the districts of Gurgaon and Mewat in the State of Haryana and other areas in the National Capital Region of Delhi. The principal areas of operations will be in urban slums and rural locales. Prior to being mainstreamed, students will attend the SUCs in preparation for successful transition to and full participation in the formal education system. Once mainstreamed, students will receive support so as to encourage retention.
Partners
Bharti Foundation
The Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises was established in 2000 with a vision to help underprivileged children and young people in India realize their potential. Currently, more than 42,000 students are enrolled across 254 Satya Bharti Schools in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Educate Girls
Together, EAC and Educate Girls have partnered to provide quality primary education to 460,500 out of school children (with a particular focus on girls students) throughout India. Educate Girls works to systematically challenge structural, cultural and socio-economic barriers through a combination of community mobilisation strategies and child-centred learning and teaching techniques.
Gyan Shala
EAC is a partner with Gyan Shala, an Indian development organization, to provide high quality education at a low cost to 68,200 out of school children in India’s urban slums.
