District Education Empowerment Programme - An initiative by Vidhya Vidhai Foundation
DEEP's mission is to systemically empower stakeholders across a district’s education system to collaboratively cultivate, through innovative approaches, an equitable and inclusive learning environment that fosters student learning, school effectiveness, and celebrates the diversity of the student body transcending socio-economic barriers, including those related to caste.
A district-wide endeavor for students (ultimate beneficiaries) and all stakeholders within a district’s education system (teachers, administrators, community leaders, parents) working collaboratively to improve student learning. Low student engagement, high dropout rates, and a persistent caste divide were hindering educational opportunities for many children. In response to these challenges, we identified the need for a decentralized approach. We believe in empowering stakeholders - teachers, school leaders, parents, and community leaders - to work together for systemic changeTheir goals:
- Train 100% of teachers in Nagapattinam government schools on identifying and addressing caste bias in the classroom within three years.
- Increase parental participation in SMC meetings by 20% within 1 year.
- Reduce the number of Out of School Children (OoSC) in Nagapattinam district by 20% within 2 years.
- Reduce instances of caste-based discrimination in Nagapattinam schools.
Above mentioned are the goals of the pilot district Nagapattinam, DEEP is now scaled to two other districts Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. The project's impact goal is to ultimately improve the district's qualitative and quantitative educational parameters.
Ram Prakash K - Co-founder and Director, Vidhya Vidhai: Provides strategic vision and leadership, guiding the overall direction of DEEP.
Regila Marinus - Co-founder and CEO of Vidhya Vidhai : Champions the user-centered design approach, ensuring DEEP interventions are impactful and address student needs aligning to the principles of context, sustainability and innovation.
Iswarya Ganesh - Programme Design Lead: Designs programmes, translating vision into actionable frameworks by crafting effective interventions.
Rakshikha P - Programme Manager: Oversees the on-the-ground execution of DEEP initiatives in schools, ensuring smooth project rollout.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
