Bharat Education Fellowship 2023 - An Initiative by Bharat Education Foundation and Diksha Foundation

Bharat Education Foundation has partnered with Diksha Foundation to roll-out Bharat Education Scholarship for economically underprivileged high school students in Bihar, who aspire to attend college. Bharat Education Foundation has a mission to unlock the potential of underprivileged students in India by providing comprehensive scholarships that cover higher education, living expenses & subsidy to the families of such students.

To learn more about Bharat Education Foundation, please visit BharatEducation.info/ and to learn more about Diksha Foundation please visit dikshafoundation.org/ 

THE PROBLEM- Many high school (senior secondary school) students from underprivileged backgrounds in India do not pursue undergraduate (college) education because their parents cannot afford it, or worse still, the family needs to rely on wages from its children’s labor to run the household. This forces the children to seek pre-mature employment in the informal economy (eg. daily wage laborers in construction, rickshaw pullers, drivers and household help).

These children, once employed in the informal economy, can rarely exit, and decades later, they in turn cannot afford higher education for their own kids. Thus begins a vicious cycle that is hard to break, and keeps generations of such families in abject poverty. While myriad scholarships for underprivileged students are available in various forms, students are still reluctant to attend college, as they know that their families need financial support from their labor, leaving them with no choice but to join the informal economy. Such decision making is forced also by lack of role models and career guidance. Sample field research interview snapshots, conducted in conjunction with Diksha Foundation at their center in Patna, Bihar.

• Education ongoing but not sure if they can make it to college
• Lack of role models in extended family and social circle
• Low visibility into professional careers
• Aspirational but despair setting in
• Expect most likely outcome to do something similar as parents – joining the informal economy
• Family living under Rs. 15,000 per month income
• Precedent already or expectation by family to support financially now (part time) or soon (leaving education)
• Parents would like their children to study but don’t think they will be able to support.

THE SOLUTION- We hope to fix the route cause of the problem – the lifetime value of the student attending college should be greater than providing a source of income to the family in the short term. We will unlock this by providing the family a financial subsidy, in addition to paying for the college education, room & board, travel expenses for the student. We will fund the family & the student for the entirety of the college education time frame typically 3 – 4 years.

Our endeavor is also to ensure that the student can find suitable employment opportunities in the organized sector, in a professional setting so that she has a path towards sustainable employment and a shot at bringing her family out of poverty.

SCHOLARSHIP-

Our program has been kicked off in Bihar (one of the poorest states of India) with a dismal record of education continuity. The enrollment rates for Bihar start lagging versus rest of the country by senior secondary school and drops quite significantly by college, especially compared to urban states such as Delhi (14% versus 45%) but even versus the India average (25%). We plan to expand this program to other states over the next few years.

Bharat Education Scholarship (and family financial support) grant details:

• Scholarship for up to Rs. 6 Lakhs per year, will cover full costs for attending a nationally reputed college that would culminate in a Bachelors degree in 3 – 4 years:
• College fees, cost of boarding or lodging for the student
• Other student college attendance expenses including travel costs
• Up to Rs. 1,20,000 per year grant for the family
• Active mentoring of the student to ensure retention & launch professional career post-graduation

THE ASK-

We are targeting to fund at least 2 students & their families in the next academic year for 3-4 years, to be able to attend a top 100 university / college / engineering institute in India, as part of this pilot and need to raise INR 50,00,000 (US $60,000). Any excess funds will be used to sponsor more students. Your help in achieving our goal will help families break the vicious cycle of poverty through education. The urgency of the problem calls for immediate action.