Aspire - a Society for Promotion of Inclusive and Relevant Education

Aspire focuses on improving education in rural India through its Education Signature Program, spanning Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. With over 1.5 million schools and 250 million children in the public education system, the challenge lies in providing quality schooling, especially in rural areas. The Programme, launched in 2015 and expanded subsequently, aims to revitalize Government schools. Its strategy involves ensuring access, enhancing learning, and improving governance, employing principles like area saturation and decentralized governance. It identifies out-of-school children, supports their reintegration, and emphasizes foundational learning through innovative pedagogy. Moreover, it engages communities, empowers school committees, and trains local bodies to foster active participation and awareness in education. Activities include establishing bridge course centres, promoting foundational learning, teacher training, and engaging communities through resource centres.

Aspire expanded its educational efforts with the Jan Pahal Project in Pondiuproda block of Chhattisgarh's Korba district, a region marked by poverty and a predominantly tribal population. The project, funded by the Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) at The Hans Foundation, seeks overall development among children through equitable and quality education. It aims to reduce dropout rates, address learning deficits, and enhance school management by focusing on Access, Learning, and Governance aspects simultaneously. The strategy involves community engagement, local staff hiring, and a phased approach from understanding aspirations and challenges to training stakeholders and eventually transferring ownership to them. The project includes activities like establishing bridge course centres, promoting foundational learning, teacher training, and engaging communities in child rights protection.

Aspire, in collaboration with the Mérieux Foundation, launched a project in Ghatgaon Block, Odisha, to combat low literacy and limited digital access. They're establishing Community Education Resource Centres (CERCs) equipped with digital tools and educational resources. These centres aim to empower the community, bridge educational gaps, and enhance digital literacy. The project targets academic support, access to e-services, and social awareness. With plans to set up eight new CERCs and 16 sub-centres, it is expanding its reach in an area lacking such resources.

Aspire launched the "All Round School Improvement Programme" in semi-urban parts of Delhi in 2019, targeting the educational gaps of underprivileged children. Initially funded by TATA AIG and IGL in 2019-20, later solely by TATA AIG in 2020-21, and subsequently by Aspire, the project reached around 4039 children in its first year. However, in the second year, due to the pandemic-induced economic hardships, about 1879 children needed academic support as their parents faced job losses, heightening the risk of school dropouts. This led to increased migration within villages and cities. Presently, two community learning centres operate in the Shakurpur and Chirag Delhi areas, catering to these educational needs.

It focuses on the Dil Se Open Project, extending educational efforts into Odapada Block in Odisha's Dhenkanal district, an aspirational area with concerning literacy rates. Aimed at promoting equitable and quality education, it targets three main objectives: reintegrating out-of-school children, addressing learning gaps, and enhancing school management. Funded by Axis Bank via Tata Steel Foundation, the project adopts a comprehensive approach, targeting Access, Learning, and Governance aspects simultaneously at scale. The initiatives range from identifying and reconnecting out-of-school children to focusing on foundational learning deficits, embedding effective pedagogy in Government schools, and empowering communities for active participation in education. Key activities include establishing bridge course centres, enhancing foundational learning, and teacher development, and fostering stronger school governance through community engagement.