Enhancing and Ensuring Access to Quality Education among 545 Students in Solapur District, Maharashtra

Penetration of Digital Technologies in formal education is a daunting task for the State Government alone. These days, it has emerged as a basic need for every child for their holistic development. However, a majority of the schools in India fare poorly when it comes to even basic infrastructure. According to a Government survey, many schools—government and private—do not have a regular power supply, computers, or librarians, among other essentials. The survey report covered 1.52 million schools across 36 states and union territories in the financial year 2014-15 and was jointly conducted by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration and the Department of School Education and Literacy. The absence of basic infrastructure and amenities is a clear sign of the crisis that India’s education system is going through. There are also issues related to poor learning outcomes, high dropouts, teacher quality and absenteeism across the states. If specifically talking about the availability of computers, there are states where the proportion of schools with computers is below 12%. Many research studies have shown that lack of access to technology serves as a deterrent in delivering quality learning opportunities and creating high-quality content tailored to the needs of multiple ages, learning levels, languages, and cultures. With the availability of computers in schools, teaching and learning process has evolved from being a one-sided activity to an active process involving the exchange of ideas. However, it is clear from the above data that the majority of the children in India is not witnessing the same.

The project proposes to establish ICT- computer lab & science lab and up-gradation of classroom into smart classrooms and provide educational support to 545 poor students in the selected school run by Ratnatray Education Society, (RES) in Malshiras tehsil, Solapur district of Maharashtra. These selected 545 students come from weak socio-economic background and need someone to pay their school fees and education related expenses. The existing school has a constructed area of 60,000 Sq.ft. out of 4.5 acre available land. 8 more classrooms will be constructed so that the organization will benefit maximum number of children in the region. With the motto to provide children with quality education intervention, the organization will upgrade the existing classrooms into smart class rooms by installing smart board and digital learning equipment in the classrooms. RES will also establish a modern well equipped ICT - computer lab & science lab. The labs in the school shall be equipped with technologies like laptops, projector & screen, multi-purpose printer, smart board, and power backup so as to teach the students using informative audio-visual aids. It will be also be ensured that the ICT labs are equipped with high-speed broadband connectivity in order to access online content. The overall approach shall help around 545 children to learn & gain fast the basic concepts of English, Hindi, Maths, and Science. The interventions also comprise of teachers training so that they can plan educational activities and effectively using the ICT tools & learning resources. With the support of ICT, the students shall be able to think creatively, critically, and collaboratively, to master the basics of reading, Math, Science, and information literacy

1. Improved infrastructural development of the school and its surrounding.
2.  Enhanced quality of teaching and learning in the school.
3. Promoted holistic development of the children through a multi-dimensional approach