Realising aspirations

Earlier this year, Akanksha alumni Tejashree Jadhav and Om Gaikwad had the honour of addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York where they spoke about the transformative power of education. Tejashree and Om come from underserved communities in Pune, where they faced immense hardships early in life. Today, both are pursuing their interests in the US — Tejashree working as a Youth Advocate and Om studying Liberal Arts.

Another alum, Rohit Chavan, recently graduated from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in Nagpur, earning the highest grades across all engineering disciplines. He is now working as a data scientist. Suraj Gupta completed his graduation at IIT Kharagpur and has just been placed with a leading financial institution in Gurgaon.

The achievements of these alumni are a testament to the life-changing impact that education can have on those who need it most. These are not just success stories but also a reflection of Akanksha’s core mission: to empower children from under-served communities with opportunities that not only transform their lives but also create pathways for their families to break the cycle of poverty.

The gap Akanksha is addressing

According to a 2019 World Bank report, 55 per cent of 10-year olds in India are unable to read and understand simple text. Private schools in India are perceived as providing quality education, but because they charge a fee for enrolment, they lock out socio-economically weaker and disadvantaged families. Therefore, families that need benefits of a quality education are most likely to be denied. The stratification of India’s education system on the basis of access and quality further deepens inequities. Akanksha believes that when provided with a high-quality education and support, children from underserved communities can perform at par or even better than children from privileged backgrounds.

Inspired by the US charter school model, Akanksha Foundation pioneered the public-private partnership (PPP) to set up excellent schools in Maharashtra’s main cities. Today, Akanksha runs one of India’s largest PPP school networks with 26 schools in partnership with municipal corporations of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad & Nagpur.

Akanksha provides 14,000 students from underserved communities a high-quality, holistic, English-medium education at no cost — all the way from age 3 to 15 years.

There is a belief that a holistic education includes excellence in core academic skills, development of socio-emotional and 21st-century skills and values, active partnership with parents and integration with the community. Akansha’s multidisciplinary curriculum includes subjects like arts, sports, digital learning, and music, among others.

What sets Akansha apart?

● The schools are free to attend, with a lottery-based admission process to ensure equitable access.

● More than 2 times the number of applications are received against the number of seats available.

● Akanksha builds a 20-year partnership with students, their parents, and their community.

● Akanksha's parent engagement programme involves parents as partners in their child’s learning journey.

What makes the Akanksha model unique?

Depth of impact: Akanksha engages with children from the age of 3 to 15 years in an Akanksha school and from 15 years to 24-25 years through their Alumni Support and Engagement programme, allowing them to create an impact that’s unique in India. Deeper engagement allows it to track the students all the way to their first job and set them up for an empowered life.

Partnership with the government: The unique model allows Akanksha to focus spending on hiring and training educators and innovative pedagogy. Approximately 87 per cent to 90 per cent of the investment goes towards the programme costs, since the government bears recurring capital expenses. Akanksha has shifted the policy in 2 municipal corporations to secure up to 50 per cent cost per pupil from the government.

Best-in-class practices for partnership with parents and community: Akanksha invests heavily in partnering with the families of the children. Research demonstrates that family engagement has a significant correlation with a child's life outcomes. Akanksha’s family / community engagement practices have been highlighted by Brookings Institute in its playbook.

Excellent educators: Research by McREL, an education research development and service organisation, reveals that school-level and teacher-level factors account for approximately 20 per cent of the variance in student achievement. Each Akanksha school builds a team of excellent teachers, school leaders and a social worker who collaborate to run the school.

Innovative pedagogy and curriculum: Akanksha ensures that the methods and practices of teaching cater to the different ways students learn. The teachers and school leaders follow best practices in pedagogy. Akanksha has invested heavily in technology, infrastructure and training of its educators, making it one of the leading organisations to embrace the shift to the digital ecosystem.

Impact

In the last 33 years, Akanksha has directly impacted over 19,000 children from urban underserved communities, mostly comprising daily wage earners, skilled labourers, sanitation workers, factory workers, auto drivers etc. Many of 5,100 alumni have gone on to study at reputed Indian and international universities and are pursuing careers in sectors like finance, IT, education, hospitality, arts and sports.

Some highlights:

● 73 per cent of Akanksha students graduate high school with better performance (first class or distinction) than the Maharashtra state average of 70.3 per cent.

● Akanksha schools perform significantly better than government schools and affordable schools as per education initiatives bench-marking assessments done in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

● Alumni of Akanksha are enrolled in top Indian colleges and universities like IIT, Azim Premji, Ashoka, Krea and United World College

● 84 per cent Alumni are pursuing graduation courses across various academic streams

● 72 per cent Alumni are employed full time or part time

● Akanksha Alumni's average monthly income as of 2022-23 (~Rs 24,778) is more than double the national average as of 2023 (Rs 10,780) for individuals aged between 25-34.

● 35 per cent Akanksha alumni are contributing and volunteering towards social causes and giving back to the community

Scale initiative: taking its strengths beyond 26 schools

To support NEP’s vision and to impact public education at scale by leveraging Akanksha’s proven strengths, practices have been codified and, in 2022, it has joined forces with Nagpur Municipal Corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to take these practices to more than 200 public schools, 650 educators and ~74,000 students under 'Project Setu'.

In just two years, real shifts can be witnessed, with some of the core practices being implemented in these schools—libraries, managed by students, have been set up in 50 Pimpri Chinchwad schools; counsellors, art and sports teachers are appointed to foster students' holistic development; and School Management Committees are instituted to increase parents’ involvement in their child's education.

Akanksha deservedly won the 2024 Nexus of Good Annual Award for putting in place a model that is replicable and scalable through public-private partnerships.

Views expressed are personal