1. Prepared by Sk Mosharaf Hossain
June, 2015
Project Brief: VIDYA an education intervention
Daltonganj Area Program

2. ABOUT THE PROJECT AREA
Daltonganj, where Child Fund India Area Office located, is headquarters of district Palamau and some 185
Kms (114 Mile) from state capital Ranchi. The area intervention covers three adjoining districts – Palamau,
Latehar, and Garwah – in the southwest part eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, covering 76 poorest
villages. The demography of the region is characterized by a predominantly tribal population (66%) from 7
major primitive tribal groups living in remote and relatively inaccessible areas. Majority of them earn their
livelihood from seasonal agriculture, hunting, daily-wage labor. As per latest estimate 54% of population
live below the Govt. fixed poverty line. Government of India’s Planning Commission has identified the
districts as among the poorest in the country.
Daltonganj Area Program started its ambitious journey in serving DEV children way back in 2007 and
continuously striving to bring in positivity in the lives of children in need of support. Today we have
reached remote and non-descript pockets and touched upon 76 villages of 3 districts with a range of need-
based and life-stage wise program responses. The current operational locus spread across three blocks-
Satbarwa, Balumath and Ranka. In serving needy children of this underserved area of Satbarwa and
Balumath we have joined hands with two local partners which have strong and commanding presence at
community level. Vedic Society at Satbarwa is with us since 2007 as local partner while at Ranka and
Balumath block we are directly implementing programmatic interventions.
GENESIS OF VIDYA
Though India has made great strides in the field of education in the past few years, many challenges
remain to be addressed. While the literacy rate of the country has reported a sharp increase from 18.39%
in 1950-51 to 74% in 2010 -2011, one-third of the population, or nearly 300 million people in the age
group 7 years and above are still illiterate in the country. More children than ever before are in school, but
there is a realization that many children actually leave primary school without learning the basic skills of
reading and writing. According to an education survey1
in 2012, 53.2% children in class V across India
could not read a class II text. Additionally 46.5% class V children could not solve a two digit subtraction
sum with borrowing. According to the organization2
which carried out this study these percentages have
been increasing over the years. This is a critical issue for the children and youth of the country as poor
learning levels lead to poor skills and poor preparedness to change existing patterns of poverty and
deprivation.
The state of Jharkhand was carved out from the state of Bihar in the year 2000. It is one of the poorer
and lesser developed states of India. According to the census of India 2011 its total literacy rate was
67.6%, significantly below the national average of 74%, and the literacy rate for women in Jharkhand is
much lower at only 55.4%. About 40% of the people live below the poverty line (BPL), the official criterion
of poverty adopted by the government of India based on per capita caloric intake and monthly income.
About 28% of the population of the state is comprised of tribal groups. More than 75% of the population
resides in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture for sustenance.
A team from ChildFund Delhi and Jharkhand offices carried out a brief assessment in Ranka block of Garwa
district. It also collected and analyzed information from Satbarwa block of Palamu district.
Facts to act….
 54% drop-out rate after 8th
standard.
 Low priority attached by community for girls’ education
 Child friendly environment with joyful learning opportunity is often missing.
 Poor school infrastructure in every school---a critical and key issue.
 Teacher-students learning and teaching environment has not been built up and often it is not
recognized by the teachers.
 Student-Teacher ratio is below the mandatory 40.
 Community participation in school governance is very minimal and often their participation is passive
in nature
 86% teachers work on contractual basis and not trained.
 Irregular attendance and drop out of children
 Little provision of special attention to academically poor children.
1
Annual Status of Education Report, 2012 www.asercentre.org
2
Pratham www.pratham.org

3. PROJECT FRAMEWORK
Goal: Children in Jharkhand enjoy quality primary education
Objective: Primary school children in 2 districts of western Jharkhand have achieved grade appropriate
learning levels in language and math at the end of 3 years
Outcome 1: Teachers in targeted schools are using improved teaching techniques to strengthen learning
levels of students
Outcome 2: Community is actively involved in promoting the education of children
Outputs:
1. Child friendly curriculum and methodology have been developed
2. Child Learning Centers are functional in 80 schools
3. 800 Government school teachers demonstrate knowledge and skills in child friendly teaching
methodologies
4. 800 School Management Committees (SMCs)members are aware of their roles and responsibilities
PROJECT STRATEGY
1. Strengthening the capacity of existing teachers to create an atmosphere conducive to learning in
the classrooms
2. Strengthening community involvement and participation in schools.
PROJECT LOCATION AND TARGET GROUP
This project has been rolled out across 80 select schools at Satbarwa and Ranka block of Palamu and
Garwaha district respectively. Selection of school was made on the basis of needs and resources available
with the organization.
Impact Group: Around 7000 children of grade 1 to 5 have been included in this project.
Target Group: Project focused approximately 800 SMC members and community people as target group to
achieve those objectives.

4. MAJOR COMPONENTS
Major Milestones reached
 Baseline studies to assess learning level of children and its determinants, engagement and capacity
deficit of Govt. teachers, teaching learning environment quality, community participation in school
management, have been undertaken successfully at the very outset of this year-long project.
 Each of 80 target schools has been supported with a trained CLC volunteer who was especially
skilled in dealing with and improving school performance of academically weak children.
 All the 80 target schools have been equipped with supporting materials and a range of appropriate
TLMs.
 Around 5000 children have been reached with this project and tangible positive results like
improved school enrollment and retention, reverse trend in drop out, enhanced learning skill
acquisition among children, better and proactive participation of SMC members are quite obvious.
 With a view to embolden community participation in school management 800 SMC members have
been thoroughly oriented on their roles and responsibilities of being members of this CBO.
VIDYA
Trained support
volunteer in each
school
Teaching capacity
enhancement of Govt
teachers
Increased
involvement of SMCs
and community in
school management
Capacity development
of SMCs thru series of
trainings and
orientations
Stimulating teaching
and learning materials
in each school
Facilities of recreation
and play for children