Category: Stories

Earlier this year, Pratham and J-Pal were among the recipients of funding from the philanthropic collaborative Co-Impact. The grant will allow us to aid governments and NGOs in the design and scaling of Pratham’s proven Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach in multiple countries across Africa, including Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Zambia. This multi-year initiative will help…

Twenty-two-year-old Dattatray Genbhau Pawar comes from a small village just outside of Pune. A once promising student, Dattatray was forced to drop out of school in the ninth grade to help support his family. For three years, he worked as an informal worker at a local garage, applying his drive and intelligence to cars rather…

Sunil Kumar was born in the tiny village of Khap on the India-Nepal border. His parents were landless laborers with no resources to raise him and his siblings. Seeking a chance at a better life, Sunil ran away from home to Mumbai, the city where dreams could become a reality. Instead, he found something much…

In the village of Harriyapur in Uttar Pradesh, 13-year-old Sumit was more likely to be getting into trouble than attending school. His penchant for mischief was renowned, and the community—including the boy’s parents—had given up on him. He was, as one teacher put it, “on the wrong track.” That was before educator Surendra Kumar invited…

“I want to be a scientist, the one who studies stars,” says 10-year-old Shivam, his eyes sparkling with the hope of pursuing his dreams. But the moment I ask him about school, his smile diminishes. “Acha nahi hai school.” He doesn’t like school. The teachers never have time for him, he explains. No one checks…

It is evening in the outskirts of Hyderabad, where I have come to observe an Urdu learning camp run by a young woman named Sherine. A group of local children and I sit in the small but comfortable room where class is being held. I watch as Sherine engages the kids with stories, discussions and…

Samita Patil is both nervous and excited. She is headed for a job interview with a group of other girls, all hoping to find employment as electricians—typically a man’s field. Three months ago, Samita was living at home with her aunt, uncle and brother in Shahabaz. She had a twelfth-grade education but no clear direction…

Imagine a 12-year-old girl in rural India. She gets up at 5:00 am each day to begin her household chores and finish her homework before school starts. She loves math but struggles with reading. Then, one day, she has to leave. Her father, who works as a laborer, moves his entire family to the city…

Kabita Nayaka, 39, and Lili Patra, 20, were students in the Second Chance program in the village of Rajendrapur. Both were studying to pass their tenth-grade exam, Kabita after an absence from school of over two decades. Despite their age difference, they shared a special bond: Kabita was Lili’s mother. Then, unexpectedly, Kabita’s husband—Lili’s father—passed…