Help government school students lift themselves & their families out of poverty in a single generation

Avanti Fellows, is an academic partner to the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Education. NVS runs 661 rural residential government schools across India (Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas or JNVs). These schools attract the most academically gifted rural students with only 1-2% of all applicants being admitted into the schools in Grade 6. Once admitted, students receive free residential education till Class 12. 

More than 75% of the students studying in the JNVs are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Bright students from disadvantaged backgrounds choose to study in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya due to high-quality teaching at no cost. Though the teachers are good at teaching CBSE, they are not trained to teach for competitive exams. Students lack access in rural areas and can't afford expensive coaching classes provided in metros.

Unable to afford test preparation, most students from low-income families opt out of STEM-based careers. Students from Government Schools are >7x less likely to top 15% of STEM Courses (Source: JEE Advanced Statistical Analysis, 2018). In 2022, <10% of all students across JNV system cleared exams like the JEE Mains, which is very low in comparison to the CBSE board performance of students in the JNV system.

Avanti’s programs aim to create a level playing field for students from low-income communities studying in government schools and aspiring for careers in STEM by providing them coaching to be accepted into India’s top STEM programs and succeed during their years in college. In addition, Avanti provides intensive career mentorship allowing them to select pathways that match their academic learning level and interests to college courses they have a high chance of qualifying for.

Avanti is running three test preparation models across 200 JNV schools. 

• ENABLE: A low-touch online test preparation program. Top-performing students from each school participate in small online group classes run by Avanti master teachers every day with a focus on helping them clear STEM entrance examinations
• Nodal Schools: Avanti places 3-4 teachers in the top-performing JNVs. All students in the school receive in-person instruction for STEM entrance examinations 
• Centre of Excellence (COEs): “Magnet” programs where the top performing students in each state/region migrate to a single school and receive special in-person instruction from Avanti master teachers. Unlike the ENABLE and Nodal model, this program focuses on maximising the number of students qualifying for elite colleges like the IITs, NITs and Medical colleges.

Avanti’s programs have amongst the highest success rates at national competitive exams in India. 35% of all enrolled students qualified for India’s highly competitive entrance examination JEE (Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Exam) Main 2022, and 61 % of all our students who appeared for the NEET ( National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) qualified the exam in 2022.

Avanti Fellows is seeking funding support to continue providing a free entrance test preparation programs for most academically gifted rural students in grades 11 and 12 from disadvantaged backgrounds studying in JNV Schools and help them in building career pathways in STEM. The programs are run across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

At least 30% of all participants will qualify for admission to professional STEM colleges, offering placements with average monthly salaries of INR 25,000, thereby helping lift themselves & their families out of poverty in a single generation

Please note: We are not accepting donations from international donors for this campaign.