Donate for Poor Child Education
Education is fundamental for achieving full human potential, developing an equitable and just society, and promoting national development.
Every child, no matter who they are or where they come from, deserves access to quality learning opportunities – from the age of three years when they begin to acquire early learning skills to the end of their school education at age 18. Through several state-level programmes and national policy advocacy, Save the Children has supported the education of millions of children since 2008! We address children’s learning needs through an inclusive, equitable, safe learning environment for children between 3-18 years for an active, purposeful adult life.
We echo the thought of the Government of India wherein in we are collectively looking at nurturing an education system rooted in Indian ethos that contributes directly to transforming India, that is Bharat, sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society, by providing high-quality education to all, and thereby making India a global knowledge superpower
Come, Join Save the Children or Donate to Educate Every Child in India
Over the years we have created several innovative sustainable and scalable solutions in concurrence with the policies of the government of India that help us continue sharing the gift of education with underprivileged children.
Here, take a look at our key pillars of building a solid foundation for children!
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Early Childhood Care and Education (The foundation of learning)
Over 80% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs before age 6, indicating the critical importance of appropriate care and stimulation of the brain in the early years to ensure healthy brain development and growth. Strong investment in ECCE has the potential to give all young children such access, enabling them to participate and flourish in the educational system throughout their lives. Save the Children through its programmatic interventions is closely working with the government to support early learning of children.
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Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (An Urgent & Necessary Prerequisite to Learning)
The ability to read and write, and perform basic operations with numbers, is a necessary foundation and an indispensable prerequisite for all future schooling and lifelong learning. However, various government as well as non-governmental surveys indicate that we are currently in a learning crisis: a large proportion of children are enrolled in primary grades, and attaining foundational literacy and numeracy for all children is an urgent mission. We are working with 3 – 8 age group wherein in Anganwadi Centres, we support children to transition to the primary level with school readiness skills and for the 6 – 8 age groups we work with schools to further strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy skill of children.
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Equitable and Inclusive Education: Learning for AllEducation is the single greatest tool for achieving social justice and equality. Inclusive and equitable education – an essential goal in its own right – is also critical to achieving an inclusive and equitable society. While the Indian education system and successive government policies have made steady progress towards bridging gender and social category gaps in all levels of school education, significant disparities remain – especially at the elementary level. At Save the Children we bring in programmatic interventions to provide an inclusive and equitable environment in which every child thrives and no child loses any opportunity to learn.
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Holistic, Integrated, Enjoyable, and Engaging learning processAs per the National Education Policy 2020, the curricular and pedagogical structure of school education will be reconfigured to make it responsive and relevant to the developmental needs and interests of learners at different stages of their development, corresponding to the age ranges of 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years, respectively. Working on the same, Save the Children is working with children, teachers and the government so that education will not only mean cognitive development, but also building character and creating holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with the key 21st century skills.
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Safer School EnvironmentSave the Children has adopted an all hazards approach to keep children safe in and around school from natural and everyday hazards, and violence. It addresses the full spectrum of risks that children face in and around schools by adopting a ’whole school’ approach engaging stakeholders across all levels of the socioecological model (children, caregivers, teachers, school management, communities, civil society, and government authorities) to make both immediate and lasting improvements for children’s safety and protection in and around school. It uses a ‘collective impact’ approach to mobilize stakeholders for impacts at scale. Safe Schools programming has been adapted for both development and humanitarian contexts. We developed the Safe Back to School Guidelines for safe return of children in schools post the pandemic. We form and strengthen School Safety Committees, conduct mock drills and hazard hunt exercise in schools.
India has made significant strides in literacy since independence (National Statistical Commission Survey calculates literacy to be 77.7% in 2017–18). The United Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20 for School Education in India records the total children enrolled in schools from primary to higher secondary at 25.57 crore as compared to 25.38 crore enrolment in 2020-21, registering an increase of 19.36 lakh children. However, 1.45 % of children at the primary level and 12.61 % at the secondary level drop out. Gender Parity Index (GPI) is 1.02 at the elementary level and 1.00 at the secondary level.
Enhanced quality for accelerated learning support post the pandemic
The pandemic led to 92 percent children losing at least one specific language ability compared to their previous class. These abilities assist them in describing a picture or their experiences orally, reading familiar words, reading with comprehension and writing simple sentences. Similarly, 82 percent of children, on average, have lost at least one specific mathematical ability from the previous year (Azim Premji Foundation Study, 2022). Save the Children equips schools with supplementary teaching learning material, creates resource rich environment and supports children through Catch Up Clubs to attain grade appropriate language and mathematics skills. The pandemic has been challenging for children, teachers and caregivers alike making it imperative to focus on socioemotional learning of both adults (teachers and caregiver) and children. Recognizing the intrinsic link between learning and well-being Save the Children supports children and teachers safe and sustained return to schools. We support adults and children to establish and maintain supportive relationships, feel and show empathy for others, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals.
Quality lived and learning environment
Majority of government schools have near-universal lived facilities including 97 percent schools with girl’s toilet and drinking water facility. There are 83 percent schools with an electricity connection and 90 percent have handwashing facilities. 85 percent schools have libraries. We upgrade the learning environment in schools through low-cost quality teaching-learning material made from locally available resources. We set up smart classrooms and STEM laboratories to promote science and allied streams among children and especially girls.
HOW WE HELP INDIA’S CHILDREN LEARN BETTER
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS
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2009
- Facilitated formation of the Right to Education (RtE) Forum
- Developed minimum standards for quality education for the government of Andhra Pradesh
- Supported the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in assessing safety mechanisms in schools in Delhi
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2010
- Save the Children joins the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Committee on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) as a member
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2016
- Our Open Educational Resources (OERs), developed in partnership with Open University on ‘teachers to teach better’ is recognised by seven state governments of Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam,
Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and featured on their websites
- Our Open Educational Resources (OERs), developed in partnership with Open University on ‘teachers to teach better’ is recognised by seven state governments of Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam,
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2018
- Rajasthan government adopts the Jaipur Declaration for safe schools
- Government of Telangana adopted School Safety Model Code of Conduct
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2019
- Partnering with CARE and UNICEF Towards a 21st Century Skills Framework for GenU
- Our work on school readiness led to the signing of the ‘Statement of Intent’ with NITI Aayog to work on ECCE in five aspirational districts
- Our work and related evidence on school readiness influenced and informed the New Education Policy 2020
- Policy brief on ‘Humanitarian Crisis and Early Childhood Development: Towards a Comprehensive Approach’, prepared and shared with parliamentarians and National Disaster Management Authority
- “Safe School Policy” drafted by SCPCR, West Bengal was supported by Save the Children as one of the members. The policy has been handed over by SCPCR to the state Government
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2020
- We were a part of consultation & input team for The National Education Policy released in 2020
- Released Gulmohar (a digital curriculum to encourage home learning environment and the Standard Guidelines for COVID-19 resilient ICDS Centres) in collaboration with Women and Child Development Department,
Karnataka
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2021
- 35,000 children reached in Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal, and Jharkhand through Gulmohar learning modules.
- Over 35,000 Self Learning Kits for learning continuity shared in West Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, UP and Odisha.
- Over the years 120+ ECCE professionals were trained under Save the Children’s institutional partnership with Jamia Millia Islamia University
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2022
- Memorandum of Understanding for Learning Improvement Programme in Andhra Pradesh
- Comprehensive School Safety Curriculum (CSS) designed for all schools in Tamil Nadu which will benefit over 42,575 schools, 3.05 lakh Teachers and 69.37 lakh
- Peace Education e-learning module developed for all government teachers in Jammu & Kashmir
- Facilitated formation of the Right to Education (RtE) Forum
- Developed minimum standards for quality education for the government of Andhra Pradesh
- Supported the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in assessing safety mechanisms in schools in Delhi
- Save the Children joins the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Committee on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) as a member
- Our Open Educational Resources (OERs), developed in partnership with Open University on ‘teachers to teach better’ is recognised by seven state governments of Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam,
Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and featured on their websites
- Rajasthan government adopts the Jaipur Declaration for safe schools
- Government of Telangana adopted School Safety Model Code of Conduct
- Partnering with CARE and UNICEF Towards a 21st Century Skills Framework for GenU
- Our work on school readiness led to the signing of the ‘Statement of Intent’ with NITI Aayog to work on ECCE in five aspirational districts
- Our work and related evidence on school readiness influenced and informed the New Education Policy 2020
- Policy brief on ‘Humanitarian Crisis and Early Childhood Development: Towards a Comprehensive Approach’, prepared and shared with parliamentarians and National Disaster Management Authority
- “Safe School Policy” drafted by SCPCR, West Bengal was supported by Save the Children as one of the members. The policy has been handed over by SCPCR to the state Government
- We were a part of consultation & input team for The National Education Policy released in 2020
- Released Gulmohar (a digital curriculum to encourage home learning environment and the Standard Guidelines for COVID-19 resilient ICDS Centres) in collaboration with Women and Child Development Department,
Karnataka
- 35,000 children reached in Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal, and Jharkhand through Gulmohar learning modules.
- Over 35,000 Self Learning Kits for learning continuity shared in West Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, UP and Odisha.
- Over the years 120+ ECCE professionals were trained under Save the Children’s institutional partnership with Jamia Millia Islamia University
- Memorandum of Understanding for Learning Improvement Programme in Andhra Pradesh
- Comprehensive School Safety Curriculum (CSS) designed for all schools in Tamil Nadu which will benefit over 42,575 schools, 3.05 lakh Teachers and 69.37 lakh
- Peace Education e-learning module developed for all government teachers in Jammu & Kashmir
Through the consistency of our donors’ support, we have directly impacted the lives of 1,49,874 children in 15 states last year.
We are indebted to our supporters and donors who have helped touch the lives of many. You too can make a difference.