India is set to have the largest youth population by 2020, with over 363 million children below the age of 15. But here’s the catch – a study, by the project team, of 9th grade students in 28 government schools yielded these disturbing statistics:

• 35% of them cannot read or write their first language
• 60% of them cannot add or subtract
• 65% of them are anaemic

What the Program Does?

Isha has created the Government School Adoption Program to reach out to these students in rural Tamil Nadu. The program features:

• Our experience, resources and methodology transferred to government schools
• Quality education through trained teachers, as well as remedial classes
• Extra-curricular activities like yoga, sports, arts and music
• Health supplements and hygienic conditions
• Above all, inducing a spirit of enthusiasm and joy in each child

What’s the Impact?

• Benefiting 28,000 students (boys and girls) in 31 schools in Tamil Nadu
• Achieved a 40:1 student to teacher ratio (down from 70:1) by employing 176 new teachers
• Mainstreamed 71% slow-learning students (3,548 students). A few of them are now among the top students in their class
• Creating confident and better-performing students who regularly attend school and are willing to contribute to society