Digital Solutions for Educational Equity: VidyaSahyog's Role in Closing the Learning Gap

“I am very thankful to the teachers of Vidya Sahyog for helping me clear my doubts in the class. I look forward to attending the 40 minute online remedial classes which have assisted me in clarifying concepts.They make learning fun and interactive, and it helps me learn better at school too.”

Reena, a 5th Grade student of Shiva Montessori Public Sr Sec School

As the Lotus Petal Foundation expanded its reach, our goal shifted to bringing quality education to more children in underserved areas. This led us to develop a strategy focusing on both infrastructural and academic support for schools lacking resources. The pilot project, Vidya Sahyog, launched in 2019 at a government school in Lohatki, marked the beginning of this initiative. Initially, we concentrated on physical interventions and academic assistance. However, we soon realized that this approach was costly and not easily replicable in other schools.?

To create a more sustainable model, we brainstormed ways to provide quality education on a larger scale, recognizing the acute shortages of teachers in the country. Our solution involved utilizing a single teacher to instruct multiple classes, leveraging technology for remote learning. In 2019, we began shaping our vision by establishing sound proof hybrid rooms at our Silokhera campus (old campus), and equipped with necessary digital infrastructure to conduct online classes in a two way audio visual communication. However, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated our plans, pushing us to implement remote learning for our in-house students sooner than expected.

The World Economic Forum report states that during COVID 19 pandemic approximately 320 million students across India faced significant challenges, necessitating a shift to e-learning platforms. This group represents a vast network of 1.5 million educational institutions. According to a 2014 NSSO report, 32 million children were out of school prior to the pandemic, and the majority of these children hailed from socially marginalized backgrounds.?

Understanding the urgency of the situation, it was imperative to swiftly adapt our approach to ensure continuity in education for our students, especially since the majority are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thus, we initiated online classes for students of Vidyananda School and Pratisthan Learning Centre, leveraging our hybrid setups. Recognizing the digital divide, we provided smartphones and internet access to students lacking these resources, facilitating their participation in remote learning. Sound-proof acoustic classrooms were set up to facilitate e-learning. The teachers would impart live teaching to our students through platforms such as zoom which enabled two way audio visual communication.

Despite facing challenges such as low attendance and assessment issues initially, our persistence paid off. Witnessing our vision come to life, we expanded Vidya Sahyog to benefit students across India, especially those residing in remote areas. Our efforts began by assisting government schools in Gurgaon with English education, eventually extending support to non-governmental schools by providing infrastructure and academic support. Our efforts gained momentum and caught the attention of organizations in rural hinterlands of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Through these partnerships, Vidya Sahyog was able to forge new partnerships along similar lines, expanding its coverage to 16+ states as of May 2024.

Despite India being the second-largest internet user base, a considerable segment of the population, particularly marginalized communities and low-income groups, lacks access to the internet. This digital gap is especially evident in rural areas, exacerbating inequalities in education. To bridge this divide, a holistic strategy addressing infrastructure, connectivity, and digital literacy is essential. Vidya Sahyog effectively utilizes technology and quality teaching to reach underserved areas, playing a pivotal role in addressing this challenge through a two-pronged approach:

1. Digital Infrastructure: Providing schools with access to digital tools, including computers, tablets, and internet connectivity, to enhance learning and teaching experiences.

2. Necessary Infrastructure Support: Upgrading the physical infrastructure of schools, such as classrooms, libraries, and sanitation facilities, to create a conducive learning environment.

Vidya Sahyog Classes being delivered in partner schools with the necessary infrastructure.

Vidya Sahyog Teachers teaching from the hybrid classrooms at Lotus Petal Foundation campus

The ASER report 2023 states that only 25% of children aged 14-18 can read a standard 2 text, whereas over half of these children struggle to solve basic division problems. This clearly indicates that the Indian youth struggles with foundational numeracy and literacy skills, something that is expected at grade 2-3 levels. Compounded by challenges such as teacher shortages, infrastructure deficits, language barriers, poverty, and gender discrimination in rural schools, dropouts among children become common, necessitating effective educational intervention. Vidya Sahyog’s approach to providing quality education hinges on decreasing these learning gaps by connecting teacher availability with teacher shortages through digital medium and focusing on strengthening the foundational literacy and numeracy skills of the students thereby reducing the incidence of dropouts among children.?

Vidya Sahyog operates on a powerful theory of change: by equipping schools with digital tools and necessary infrastructure, educational outcomes can be significantly improved. This, in turn, will empower students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed, contributing to the overall development of their communities and the nation. The program focuses on foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), aiming to meet the goals set by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

How does this model work?

As already mentioned above, Vidya Sahyog extends assistance to a variety of educational institutions, including affordable private schools, remote learning centers, government schools, NGO schools, and feeder schools. This support spans across multiple domains such as e-learning, physical classes, and infrastructure improvements.?

In remote areas, where physical access to educational resources is limited, the program facilitates live lectures delivered by trained staff from our campus. This is executed through our specially designed acoustic hybrid classrooms present on the campus of Lotus Petal Foundation. It is pertinent to note that, when we use the term digital live interactive platform we refer to the fact that the teachers impart learning to students in real time via digital platform in an asynchronous manner. Our e-learning classrooms are equipped with laptops, mics, headphones, WACOM software and access to stable internet to facilitate classes on zoom for two-way live communication.?

Partner school campuses are also equipped with LED TV or Projectors, laptops, Webcam, conference mic and a stable Internet connection of (8 Mbps & above). Additionally, teachers from our partner schools play a crucial role in facilitating smooth online classes. They receive specialized training on initiating and supporting online sessions, managing attendance, addressing student inquiries, and facilitating collaboration among fellow educators. This collaborative approach ensures the effective implementation of the program's objectives and maximizes its impact on student learning outcomes.

Quality education being delivered through VidyaSahyog’s holistic approach

One of the key aspects for imparting learning through the Vidya Sahyog model is by conducting the baseline assessments of the beneficiaries before the intervention is implemented. Based on the baseline assessments of the students, they are assigned a learning level. Initial baseline assessments revealed that many of the students were assigned grade levels far below their learning levels. Secondly, the students faced challenges with language which led the team to focus on strengthening the language skills of the students and hence start with English. Consequent assessments revealed that basic computation was also a challenge, therefore math also became a part of the curriculum. At present, the program provides education in three subjects - math, science, and english - to students in grades 6 to 8 at partner schools. The learning materials are tailored to match the students' learning levels. Furthermore, remedial classes are also held to improve the students' educational outcomes.

Furthermore, the program also provides counseling support? to students through our in-house counselors, to promote student engagement and participation in the remote learning process. As we believe in bringing out the tangible impact of the intervention, we have devised a? comprehensive assessment framework, which conducts evaluations at key stages: baseline, midpoint, and endline. These assessments are thoughtfully crafted to measure the effectiveness of program interventions on individual learning outcomes. With designated assessment levels—BF1, BF2, BF3, ML1, ML2, and ML3 (the advanced level)—serving as milestones, Vidya Sahyog monitors and benchmarks students' progress and development throughout their academic journey.

Vidya Sahyog’s approach has significantly contributed to improving the academic outcomes of our children, and their stories are a testament to this. Sarika, a student of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, once struggled with math, and it only exacerbated due to her family’s socio-economic conditions. After joining Vidya Sahyog, she gained confidence and improved her math scores significantly, scoring 65%. Similarly, Rahul, came from a family fraught with economic hardships and would be required to support his siblings while balancing studies. He wished to excel in academics, and saw a remarkable improvement in his academic performance as his scores improved from 60% to 85% after enrolling in Vidya Sahyog. These success stories highlight how the program empowers students to overcome challenges and achieve academic excellence, regardless of their circumstances

The Salient features of the program are as follows:?

• Live two way Digital Interactive Platform: Acoustic hybrid classrooms which enable a two way audio-video live teaching to students sitting in different parts of the country
• Dedicated teachers :? Qualified and dedicated group of teachers who are specially trained and equipped to conduct e-learning?
• Remote Learning: Vidya Sahyog’s model facilitates digital learning for students sitting in their home or from a classroom
• Physical Infrastructure: Infrastructure support to schools such as providing necessary digital infrastructure to conduct e-learning classes,
• Teacher Training: Providing professional development for teachers to effectively use digital tools and modern teaching methods.
• Community Engagement: Involving parents and local communities in the educational process to create a supportive environment for students.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Regular assessment of program impact to ensure continuous improvement and effectiveness.
• Continuous Learning and Engagement: Online competitions are organized to encourage the students
• Tailored Pedagogy: Customized pedagogical approach that imparts learning-level based education to students?
• Child-Centric Learning Environment: The customized curriculum reflects sensitivity to student’s background factoring in the unique challenges faced by the rural students.

As Vidya Sahyog continues to expand its reach, having already impacted 5000+ students, across 16+ states and covering 95+ schools, our focus now is on scaling the program to a nationwide level at a more cost-effective rate. Despite our progress, we recognize the persistent challenge of the shortage of qualified teachers in the education sector, especially when considering the vast scale of this issue.

However, leveraging AI-enabled technology can address the challenge of scaling e-learning initiatives. Instead of traditional teachers, an AI-enabled avatar of the teacher can be utilized for this purpose. This avatar will offer customized answers to student queries, promoting self-learning among students. Initially, students will receive guidance from actual teachers and practitioners to ensure they use the system effectively. The program will focus on self-sustainability and include an exit strategy. This approach tackles the shortage of qualified teachers and empowers students to take charge of their learning process. By embracing AI, scalability can be achieved for e-learning initiatives.?

While this is one of the challenges we can think of when scaling, what are some other challenges or roadblocks that one may encounter while scaling digital learning initiatives? What are some ways to overcome those challenges and scale it to a nation-wide level??

Let us know about your thoughts in the comment section below.?

Resources Used:?

1. https://idronline.org/article/inequality/indias-digital-divide-from-bad-to-worse/
2. https://niua.in/blogs/digital-pandemic
3. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/how-covid-19-deepens-the-digital-education-divide-in-india/
4. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/time-to-move-beyond-1-2-3-4-what-the-aser-report-reveals-about-indian-education-system/articleshow/107034746.cms?from=mdr#