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India is at the edge of an education crisis of epic proportions. There are ~200 million students attending schools; however, data shows that 53% of fifth graders cannot read even a Grade 2 textbook.

For the 113 million students in government schools, the situation is particularly acute. These children are from the most disadvantaged, vulnerable communities, belonging to the poorest of the poor families in India. Government schools are plagued with issues, and so these children are being left behind, denied the high-quality education that they deserve.

Peepul is an education focused non-profit organisation based in New Delhi. Our belief is simple – every child in a government school should receive a high-quality education, regardless of background or circumstance, that allows them to realize their full potential. Good quality education should be a right and not a privilege.

 

We work with state and local governments to identify and bring on board declining government schools in areas of high disadvantage and put in place a high-quality teaching environment.

 

The schools we work with often begin with significant challenges. When our first school opened in July 2015, nine students were enrolled and only five attended school. Those who did attend had very low levels of learning. Within one year of becoming a Peepul led school, enrolment increased to 230, attendance reached 83% and 76% of pupils either met or exceeded expectations across English, Hindi and Mathematics.

 

Our objective was to create a proof-of-concept of a school that would be run within government premises in a sustainable manner but with greater autonomy, accountability and significantly improved learning outcomes.

To create transformative impact through whole-school intervention, we focus on five things we believe will have the highest impact: (i) an innovative curriculum, (ii) rigorous, practical and continuous teacher training, (iii) regular tracking of child-level assessments and school data, (iv) strong school routines, and (v) regular and intensive engagement with parents and the community.

As Roger Bannister broke the “four-minute mile” barrier, our schools show what is possible. They are lighthouses of excellence, shining as exemplars in the government school system using a replicable and scalable model to raise the expectations of government schools.

Every teacher is focused on teaching-learning so that children receive the best possible education they could possibly receive, and paralleling standards seen in elite private schools. We do this at a cost that is sustainable at ~Rs 20,000 per year – which is a huge challenge.

With a strong team in place, we have seen the following in our schools and they have become resource centres to train the wider system – we now train and coach 500 government teachers across 200 schools in South Delhi and seek to have broader, systemic impact. Your support for our work will go a long way to helping us grow.

• Enrolment jumped from 9 in one school in 2015 to 1300+ across three schools today
• 95% of the students were retained ensuring continuity of education
• 80% students meet/exceed grade-level expectations across English, Hindi & Maths
• Positive change in parent behaviour with more than 95% attendance at Parent-Teacher meetings
• 96% of the teachers trained by Peepul felt the training was relevant and very helpful in their classroom practices
• 97% of teachers showed evidence of implementing techniques in their classroom