Agrasar Bachpan
Our Approach
We run community based learning Centres where we enhance the education attainments of children who are out of the mainstream school system. The goal is to bring them up to age-appropriate levels so they can join the formal school system. Agrasar focusses on the holistic development of the children enrolled in its learning centres, building a strong foundation for life-long learning. The teachers facilitate skill development to enhance children's personalities, their academic performance, and their outlook towards the future. The centres work in close partnership with the parents, to ensure their support in encouraging their children and reinforcing learning at home.
Garima Sahni
Program Lead
garima@agrasar.org
Children from underprivileged communities do not go to schools due to lack of opportunity, accessibility or motivation. We are trying to create opportunities and instill a love for learning in them. With your support, we are determined to reach out and develop life skills and enhance learning attainments in children who are at risk.
Our Impact
How We Do It
Community Mobilization
Need- assessment is conducted to understand the optimum location for a centre.
Home visits, one to one counseling sessions, community meetings, street plays, etc. for spreading awareness
Interested and eligible children as well as their parents are invited to the centre to understand the systems and processes and fill up the application form.
Children in the age group of 5 to 12, who do not go to schools due to various reasons, with a household income of less than certain region-wise threshold are enrolled into the program.
Child-Centric Learning
A child stays at the centre for about a year (depending on the learning capability of the child),in which they are taught through a curriculum that focuses on experential and peer learning to reach their age- appropriate learning levels. It also includes Life skills like – personal hygiene, self awareness, social expression, cognitive ability, creative thinking, co-exist in collaboration, problem solving, managing emotions. We work towards development of foundational abilities and strong affinity for continuous formal education in students and their parents.
Curriculum Development and Teacher Training
The program has been designed to follow a ‘child-centric approach’. The teachers are trained in facilitation skills, group-learning theory, use of Teaching-Learning Materials, and other principles/methods of effective learning. There is an active involvement of parents in learning process.
Co-curricular initiatives
The program has been designed to follow a ‘child-centric approach’. The teachers are trained in facilitation skills, group-learning theory, use of Teaching-Learning Materials, and other principles/methods of effective learning. There is an active involvement of parents in learning process.
Community Engagement
Keeping parents involved in the process of education is one of the main pillars of Agrasar Bachpan. Parents being the influencer in quality as well as consistency of education are engaged at various stages through parent-teacher meeting, inviting them in the classrooms, participation in festivals and other events held at the centre.
Continuum of Support
- Govt.
- Pvt – RTE
- Fund (Crowdfunding, Individual donors/sponsors)
Consistent follow up system is created to support the students after mainstreaming. Children attending government schools face various issues on a regular basis which leads to dropping out eventually- counselling and support is done to tackle this.
Our Impact Philosophy
Even though we understand that designing scalable interventions is important, we do not believe in targeting numbers. Whenever being asked the question - "How is it going?", our team members would normally talk about students and people - successes achieved or challenges being faced in particular cases. We also try to be fair and objective in communicating about 'impact' to all stakeholders. e.g. you would often hear us mentioning that - "Around 20% of the youth who come to our Employability Centres would have gone in similar jobs had they not joined us. Therefore, we need to find even better avenues of placement." We would also talk about children who we were not able to mainstream. We share our successes as well as challenges so as to attract people and organizations in our journey who mean to make a "real impact".
Tidings from the field
In November, 2021 we organised a Sports Day at the community centre in Sikanderpur. It gave the children a much needed chance to take part in races and spend time playing together. We plan to have more such days with games and other activities in the coming weeks.
In light of the new normal brought about by Covid-19, we have adopted a hybrid model of learning-taking classes through online and in-person mediums to ensure learning continues uninterrupted. Zoom and Whatsapp are used to teach children while books and stationary are distributed depending on the need.
Online sessions held with parents at the beginning of the year in Islampur focused on how to download and use Zoom on phones to help their children log into online classes.
More than 20 children in Sikanderpur, Islampur and the Agrasar Bachpan Library Islampur participated and performed in an e-event organized by Raahgiri Foundation in January and February.
Our Students
Arman
Read Story
Anshika
Read Story
Chandni
Read Story
Arman
Arman is a 10 year old boy from West Bengal.His family has been living in Islampur for 3 years now and his mother and father work as a domestic helper and cleaner respectively.
During the third quarter P.T.M, Arman’s mother told us that he doesn't like going to school and his handwriting was unclear.
Gradually, as he started to come to Agrasar Bachpan regularly, he started liking it.The teachers helped him in his studies, put a lot of emphasis on improving his handwriting and he also worked very hard. Now his mother tells us that Arman is paying attention to his studies and his handwriting has also gotten better. She doesn't have to badger him to go to school anymore and he also participates in online classes regularly.
Anshika
Anshika, a 12 year old girl studies in the advanced C level of our education program. Her sister Anjila also studies at our centre.
Her mother mentioned during the P.T.M that before joining Agrasar Bachpan, Anshika didn't go to school or study regularly. However, she has been coming regularly to our centre since she joined.
When asked about the reason behind the change she and her mother both said that she is keen to study here because of the activity-based method of learning and since there are no punishments.
Chandni
7 year old Chandni was studying in a private school in Sikanderpur before Covid struck. During the lockdown, as all classes shifted online she could not learn very well. Hence, her mother enrolled her at our centre so that she could study regularly.
In the beginning, Chandni was enrolled in Level A but gradually, with her participation and improved performance, she was promoted to Level B. She actively seeks help, asks questions in the classroom, and attempts to do more than the given classwork and homework.