Educate Girls Audacious Project: Enrolment, Retention and Learning

  • P Project/Program

A Active

Key Information

Over the next 5 years, this investment will scale-up the approach that we tested during the Educate Girl’s Development Impact model, to enroll and retain out-of-school girls (OOSGs) into government schools, going from 13,000 villages to 35,000 and expanding to 4 of India’s biggest and most populated states. This will enroll 1.6 million OOSGs into school, aiming to reduce the gender gap in Indian education by 40%. They will create a sustainable pathway for girls’ education through a shift in societal and behavioural norms to break the inter-generational cycle of uneducated women not sending their girls to school. It will directly: Enroll 1.6 million girls aged 6-14 into primary (Grades 1-8) and pilot in secondary school (Grades 9-10; ages 15-16); Retain over 1.4 million girls, or 90% of enrolled girls; Improve learning outcomes for over 1 million children (550,000 girls & 450,000 boys) in primary (Grades 1-8; ages 6-14) at a scale and pilot in secondary school (Grades 9-10; ages 15-16); Develop life-skills for more than 100,000 adolescent girls; Improve school governance and infrastructure in over 40,000 government schools that serve over 15 million girls and boys. EG’s model is a comprehensive, community-driven model. It cost-effectively targets areas with the highest concentration of OOSGs. The key components of the model include finding the hot spots of out-of-school girls through predictive analytics (Machine Learning), improving enrollment, retention and learning outcomes for all OOSGs in intervention villages where they work by changing communities’ social norms and behaviour and reforming school systems to ensure provision of quality education for all children.


Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

South Asia

India

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2019 - 2024

Partner(s)

Foundation to Educate Girls Globally, Government of Rajasthan, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Government of Uttar Pradesh, 17 community based NGOs in Bihar

Ministry Affiliation

We work in partnership with the State Education Ministries through an MOU to work alongside, and in village primary schools. 

Funder(s)

The Audacious Project, The Skoll Foundation, Mulago Foundation, Cartier Philanthropy etc. 

COVID-19 Response

Adapted

Geographic Scope

National

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Primary enrollment
  • Primary to secondary transition

Other

  • Early childhood development

Other skills

  • Life skills/sexuality education
  • Social and emotional learning

Quality

  • Curricula/lesson plans
  • School facilities
  • School quality

Skills

  • Literacy
  • Numeracy

Cross-cutting areas

  • Adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Community sensitization
  • Early/child marriage
  • Empowerment
  • Gender equality
  • Masculinities/boys
  • Social and gender norms and beliefs
  • Violence (at home, in relationships)
  • WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Community leaders, Girls (both in school and out of school), Youth

Age

6 - 24

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Lower primary
  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary

Other populations reached

  • Parent-teacher associations/school management committees

Participants include

  • Other

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Community-based monitoring (e.g. school report cards)
  • Community mobilization
  • General awareness-raising/community engagement
  • School management committees
  • Technical assistance/capacity building to civil society organizations or governments

Curriculum/learning

  • Gender-sensitive curricula
  • Increased availability of learning materials
  • Remedial education/skills

Life skills education

  • Gender, rights and power
  • Negotiation skills
  • Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building

Mentoring/psychosocial support

  • Adult (non-teacher) mentors

Other

  • Other activities to address/end violence (not captured above)

School-related gender-based violence

  • Support in and around schools (e.g. peer counseling, adult-to-student counseling)

Social/gender norms change

  • Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Group activities with students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Work with community leaders

Tutoring/strengthening academic skills

  • Literacy - in the classroom
  • Literacy - outside the classroom
  • Numeracy - in the classroom
  • Numeracy - outside the classroom
  • Tutoring - general

Water and sanitation

  • Construction/improvement of sex-specific toilets

Women's empowerment programs

  • Empowerment training
  • Leadership training

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Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
  • Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets
  • Increased enrolment in primary school
  • Increased progression to secondary school
  • Increased years of schooling

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Increased agency and empowerment