Trying to make a difference

BPF is unique in its focus on philanthropic support for public education. It is an independent, non-profit organisation that strengthens public education by investing private monies (philanthropic and corporate) into primary and secondary schools. Our focus is educational excellence and equality of opportunity.

Every child, regardless of home circumstance, deserves the best possible education. Our vision is that every student is imbued with the confidence, creativity and imagination to seize every opportunity and to contribute productively to the nation’s future.

Our current Areas of Activity

1. Seeding Student Opportunities

   Socioeconomic background is the most important determinant of student achievement, more important even than what happens at school. Students from low socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to truant, have negative attitudes to school and leave school early. India has one of the widest achievement gaps between students from lower and higher socioeconomic backgrounds of all developing countries.

   The number of Indians living in poverty has grown by 30% over the past 3 decades. Improving young people’s educational prospects is the best way to reverse this trend, yet the cost of education and extra opportunities for children increasingly falls on families, creating a big problem for those already financially disadvantaged.

   Innovative and responsive teaching can also make an enormous difference to student learning and life outcomes. Funding teacher innovation builds the capacity of schools to cater for all students, especially the most disadvantaged.

2. Transforming Learning in the Middle Years

   The middle years 7 to 12 see a big drop out in student engagement in learning and school. If this is not addressed, students are at risk of leaving school early or switching off from learning. Conventional approaches to schooling - traditional classrooms, hierarchical teacher-student relationships and a rigid curriculum broken up into separate subjects – do not work for young people in the middle years. They need rich task learning in the real world that lets them explore their own interests and values. They need to be trusted and independent. Here ,the AIE s running the “Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan” will be addressed to provide quality education through trained and committed teachers. Co-curricular activities will be encouraged to bring out the potential of the students and engage them in learning through fun activities.

3. Creating Community Solutions

   Communities with high social capital are strong communities, able to overcome disadvantage and create opportunities for their members. Yet India is becoming a more isolated and less interrelated society, with weaker levels of community trust and reciprocity-there seem to be two Indias – the rich and the poor divide is strongly demarcated . Highly effective schools work closely with the local community in ways that have multiple benefits:

   • In a society where some young people lack trusting connections with adults, schools are bringing people together from across the community to support its youth. Community role models and volunteers can provide academic assistance, social and emotional support and positive role models for learning and life
   • Engaging the community in the school through corporate partnerships and other programs brings new resources to support school innovation and capability and reduces the isolation from which schools suffer
   • At the same time, government schools can be key agents for social cohesion and powerful conduits to community capacity-building.


4. Driving new policy: bold research for real change

   There are many historical and political reasons for the current structure and governance of school education in India. They explain, but do not justify, an education system that is producing growing regional disparities and entrenched disadvantage. The social and economic cost of continuing with this situation is too high. Debate about creative solutions to India’s education framework quickly gets bogged down in entrenched positions about public education versus choice, government versus non-government, public versus private and secular versus religious.

5. Integrated Child Development Scheme monitoring and research
   
   Pre-school education and healthcare of kids in Anganwaris run by the Govt. needs greater quality infusion as also study for creating model centers and improving the health and nutrition levels of the children of 3-6 years enrolled a these centers. We have started overseeing such centers and a monthly reporting system has been introduced to bring about desired changes and ensure effective running of these centers..