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Dil Se Open Project

COVERAGE

48,526 Children (3-16 years)
138 Government Schools (grade I-VIII)
141 Habitations
32,351 Households
25 gram panchayats
1 Block
1 District
1 State

Dhenkanal

Odisha

In November 2022, we expanded our education intervention into Odapada Block of Dhenkanal district in Odisha. Dhenkanal is one of the 101 aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog, ranked at a low position of 32. Approximately 30% of the population in Odapada belongs to SC and ST categories.

The male literacy rate of Odapada block is 58.73% and female literacy rate is 44.86%. The learning outcomes in the block are low as compared to the learning outcomes envisaged by the Government of Odisha.

Dil Se Open Project is funded by Axis Bank through Tata Steel Foundation.

Goal

To ensure equitable and quality school education for all.

Objectives

Bring out-of-school children back to schools

Address children’s learning deficit and bring them towards self-directed learning

Improve management of schools through strengthening School Management Committees and gram panchayats, and creating schooling for all, a norm in the community

Strategy

The project strategy is to cover the entire block and reach out to all key stakeholders in the schools education ecosystem. We address three critical aspects of education – Access, Learning, and Governance – simultaneously and at scale to bring about holistic and sustainable change.

The key components of the interventions are envisaged as follows:

ACCESS

The ACCESS vertical is focused on ensuring every child is in school, participating and moving towards completion of secondary school, in the following ways

Out-of-school children are identified through community contact and household surveys and reconnected to education through bridging programs and ‘back to school’ drives
All children tracked for attendance and retention using the Village Education Registers (VER) and voluntary community-wide child protection committees
All children supported in transition from primary to upper primary to secondary school

LEARNING

The LEARNING vertical is specially designed to:

Address the foundational learning deficit of children – their inability to read, write and do basic maths
Demonstrate an effective pedagogy and a vibrant classroom for first generation learners that ensures learning for all children
Eventually embed this pedagogy in government schools, starting with early grades, to eliminate the problem of learning deficit at its root
Incorporate transversal skills in teaching methods and content
Bridge the gap between home language and school language by focusing on adoption of technology and including local cultural practices, language and knowledge into the formal education system
Enhance the self-esteem and capacity of government school teachers, cluster resource coordinators, block resource coordinators and District Institutes of Education and Training staff

Governance

The GOVERNANCE vertical aims to build ownership of communities in the education agenda through

Empowering School Management Committees, Panchayat Raj Institutions, village committees, and the local community, especially the youth
Activating Parent Teacher Associations, Youth groups, women’s Self-Help Groups on child rights agenda, thereby raising awareness levels in the community
Training and orienting panchayats in their roles and responsibilities towards school management, India’s Right to Education framework, and child rights to ensure high performance of schools and increased budgetary spending on education