Overview

Works with the aim of eliminating illiteracy and alleviating poverty by improving learning outcomes in education, ensuring retention of children in schools, teacher training, developing innovative educational methodologies, and training & mobilization of volunteers.

To achieve its objectives, it operates multiple programs in the field of education, advocacy, research, skill training, vocational education and rehabilitation divided into urban programs and rural programs. Urban programs focus on reducing the rate of school dropouts and increasing learning levels in individuals from urban slums. Rural programs focus on development of reading, writing and arithmetic skills in children aged 6 to 14 years in rural areas.

In the education sector, it operates Early Years and Elementary Years learning programs through direct implementation scheme and government partnerships.

The direct implementation scheme works with the aim of preparing children for school and is operated in direct collaboration with the community through learning centers called Balwadis managed by local women in a community-owned space.

In the government partnership scheme, the focus is on assisting government-run Anganwadi centers in training of Anganwadi instructors, mentoring, monitoring and providing on-site support, sharing of materials & methods, initiating effective assessment & measurement practices and mobilizing volunteers to assist with preschool activities.

Its Second Chance Program works with special focus on women and aims to provide opportunities for learning and completing secondary education to individuals who have not been able to complete their education.

Pratham Institute is its vocational training branch which works with the aim of training youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to provide them access to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. Courses offered are short-term residential programs in different areas including construction, hospitality, automotive, healthcare, beauty, wellness, English, computer literacy and life skills.

Through Pratham Council for Vulnerable Children (PCVC), it works for child rights and child protection by providing equal opportunities for education to children engaged in child labour, children with special needs, children in institutions, children suffering from substance abuse, children in conflict with law, children who are victims of sexual abuse and children from the most marginalized communities. The focus is on remediation, prevention, rehabilitation, policy advocacy, rescue operations for child labourers, interventions and documentation to undertake evidence based practices.

Autonomous Research and Awareness Unit (ASER) is the research & assessment branch of Pratham which works for generating evidence on impact of socially-focused programs to promote evidence based decision making and capacity building.

Its Read India initiative aims to improve reading, writing and basic arithmetic skills in children between the age of 6 and 14 through intensive learning camps which use the Combined Activities for Maximised Learning (CAMaL) technique for ensuring optimum learning outputs.

Pratham Books is its sister organization which works for developing reading habits in children by creating, illustrating and publishing low cost books which cater to different likes and interests of children with stories covering multiple genres.

Pratham Infotech is another venture by Pratham which works with the aim of delivering technology-assisted education to children as well as adults, providing digital literacy training to disadvantaged youth, integrating information technology in education and providing job-oriented skill training to unemployed youth.

Through its efforts, it has reached out to more than 86,000 children, provided vocational education and training to more than 25,000 children, rehabilitated more than 3,00,000 children per year through PCVC, reached 30 million children through Read India and covered 15,000 households through ASER.

To expand the outreach of its tablet-based learning initiative, it has also received funding of USD 6.7 million, (including 3.1 million for its education initiative and 3.6 million for its Storyweaver project) from Google.org as part of their funding project for promoting content creation and teacher training.

For its impact in the field of education, it has received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in 2013, AIMA Public Service Excellence Award in 2013, the Qimpro Award for Excellence in 2012, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2011, the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2010 and the EMPI-Indian Express Indian Innovation Award for Read India in 2009.