Sahpathi

The deficit in the quality of learning among children attending public schools in India is now a well-chronicled problem. Legions of studies on learning outcomes in our schools have pointed out the glaring inadequacy among the children to acquire basic literacy and numeracy. This foundational deficit is compounded by the fact that most children do not get any supplementary learning support at their homes. The learning gap subsequently snowballs into a wide abyss, adversely impacting the productivity and quality of life at a national level.

Specific causes for the poor quality of education-

➢ Lack of accountability among government school teachers. A monitoring system exists largely on paper.

➢ Lack of parental awareness about parameters of quality education.

➢ High pupil-teacher ratio: The number of schools in a community is not mapped according to the population.

➢ No recourse to remedial/supplementary learning measures.

➢ The inadequacy of Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE). Increasing research-based evidence supports the observation that children who receive quality care and education at the pre-school stage (3 – 5 years) fare better than their counterparts who don’t. Provision of ECCE in underserved communities is virtually non-existent.

Sahpathi is a nonprofit education intervention, aimed at providing ongoing academic and extra-curricular support to children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The vision is to Bridge the Learning Deficit in India and for this Sahpathi focuses on a holistic development approach at early childhood and primary education level. It draws its strength from being rooted in its community of beneficiaries, and yet being connected to more ‘developed’ communities through a bridge-mentors.

The process starts by identifying children from the low-income community in the age group 3-14 years. A group of around 20 children is entrusted to a facilitator, who provides learning support to these children. This support transcends mere academic support and extends to include the overall development of the children – physical, cognitive, social, and psychological. The ultimate goal is cultivating a responsible and independent learning habit in the children so that by the time they reach early teenage, they have learned to take responsibility for their own learning.

Sahpathi has been providing learning support to the children of Silokhra, Gurugram since early 2015. Starting with just 15 children, this learning support now extends to over 250 children in Silokhra and Tigra villages of Gurugram. This support is provided at the Sahpathi Shiksha Kendras (Learning Centers) embedded within the communities they serve, hence enabling the community to actively participate and take ownership of the learning of their children.

In order to gauge the impact of the intervention, assessment of learning levels of children is in-built into the program design. The assessments are held thrice in a year and are based on the framework of competencies as defined by NCERT. Over the years, there has been a significant improvement in the learning levels of the Sahpathi children.

Along with studies, a lot of emphasis is given to co-curricular activities such as Sports, Arts, and Music. Every Saturday, for example, the children are taken to a community park for outdoor activities and games. Summer Camp and exposure visits are arranged for children every year. Children show great interest in sports and cultural activities and have won several accolades at various events.

The overall impact of Sahpathi is clearly visible in the confidence levels of our children, who - despite coming from impoverished backgrounds - have repeatedly demonstrated that they are second to none in any sphere of learning.