CONTACT PERSON: Ravi Dhanuka
COUNTRY : India
CONTACT : ravi.dhnk@gmail.com
WEBSITE : www.i-saksham.org
i-Saksham Education and Learning Foundation is a for-profit non-government company incorporated in March, 2015. It is an initiative of Prime Minister Rural Development Fellows (PMRDFs) which provides in-situ education, skill development, and information services in unreached areas through sustainable community learning centres run by locally skilled youth with the aid of digital technology and content.
i-Saksham trains youth from isolated, remote and backward areas to be digitally equipped community tutors. A tablet powered with content on elementary education and IT skills is shared with each tutor on lease basis. The tutor runs a financially sustainable community learning centre to tutor kids and youths.
The innovation is now being implemented in two districts of Bihar affected by Leftwing extremism – Munger and Jamui. As a service-based concept, i-Saksham provides the following benefits:
- Poor children get access to best quality education material. Backed with systematic lesson plans, quizzes and regular assessment tests, children aim to attain grade appropriate learning level.
- A skilled youth gets livelihood opportunity within his/her village by providing education.
- S/he also gets access to quality self-coaching to prepare for competitive examinations.
- Youths get access to lessons on various vocational courses.
- Communities get access to desired information.
In six months of operations till August,2015, i-Saksham obtained 75 tablets through crowd funding among friends and acquaintances and self-investment of Rs 2 lakh to cover around 4,000 children across schools and community tutors. In September, 2015, i-Saksham raised another Rs 5 lakh for 200 tablets which will cover around 8,000 children.
i-Saksham was selected among top 5 innovations in education and skilling by National Skill Development Agency headed by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Skilling and has also been presented to ministers and officials from other states as a model for providing learning in remote and unreached areas.
