Gram Shiksha Programme - Education for Children

Nayara Energy Ltd. had partnered with CEE Ahmedabad to initiate the Project Gramshiksha in 2016. The Gramshiksha project focuses on the education and holistic development in schools and communities in 15 villages surrounding the refinery, touching all ages between 6-35 years through multiple interventions. Over the years, Gramshiksha has been carrying out multiple interventions in primary as well as secondary education.

The ultimate goal of Project Gramshiksha is to prepare a model of a ‘Literate Village’, where literacy does not mean only formal education, but goes beyond that. Project Gramshiksha’s major objectives were envisaged in a broad lifelong learning perspective that aims to empower people to realise their right to education, fulfil their personal expectations for a decent, healthy life and work, and contribute to the achievement of their societies’ socio-economic development objectives.

The following objectives were envisaged to guide the agenda

• 100% children of age 6-14 years will get free, equitable and quality primary education in schools
• 100% dropout children in the age group of 16 to 25 years will complete their Std. 10 & 12 exams
• 100% illiterate adults from age 25 to 35 years will acquire basic literacy in Reading, Writing and Calculating abilities
• 100% villagers above the age of 18 years will understand the importance of education in life.

The project involves the following components

• Primary/Elementary Education & ICT Education
• Secondary/Higher Education
• Open Schooling
• Adult Literacy
• Community Engagement

The major interventions and initiatives taken up under the project are

• Summer Camps
• Enrolment Drive (Praveshotsav)
• Bal (Anand) Melas (Learning by fun)
• Bharat Ek Khoj-II (Flagship event with experiential learning)
• Remedial Teaching (Quality Education)
• ICT Education
• Secondary/Higher Education
• Open Schooling
• Adult Literacy
• Community Engagement
• Gramshiksha Kendras
• Community Library

The following are the project achievements during 2018-19

Response to Primary Education activities was as follows

• Average attendance rate has increased from 77.8% to 83.3%.
• Teachers/Students participation has improved; over 1800 students and 100 teachers have been actively engaged in programmes like Bharat Ek Khoj and Balmela.
• Over 35 teachers from 18 schools have been trained in effective utilisation of ICT in the school.

Response to Secondary and Higher Education activities are as below

• Ensured 100% accessibility to secondary education through 16 NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) centres where 140 dropout students were enrolled and are continuing their education.
• Over 56 students completed their secondary education till date.
• 75 students are continuing their higher education through a scholarship programme.

Response to Community Engagement activities are as follows

• Mobilised and trained 16 community volunteers, who are actively engaged in community/school interventions.
• 16 Gramshiksha Centres have been established across 15 villages, which help to meet the learning needs of all the age groups, from 6-35 years.
• 67 adults are attending literacy classes on a regular basis.

A notable achievement during 2018-19 is that: Compared to the attendance for the month of August 2018, there has been an overall 12% increase in attendance in seven months, till March 2019, leading to an increase/addition of 25 learning days of children.