Kotak Education Foundation
Why Umang ?
Students from underprivileged communities rarely pursue a college degree. One of the primary reasons for not completing education is lack of requisite English language skills which results in low confidence levels. The Umang program acts as a catalyst for students from KEF partner schools in such communities to acquire the confidence to speak in English and thereby complete their secondary education.
Approches taken
Umang adopts a multi-pronged approach building English language competencies and
confidence among its students. This approach includes:
Impact created
In a span of 10 years, over 22,000 students have benefited from the program.
Why Guru ?
To strengthen the teaching learning practices of KEF partner school teachers, so as to improve students’ learning outcome. By doing so, we expect to anchor teachers’ orientation across the following:
Approches taken
We improve the teaching practices of teachers in the following areas:
Primary Year Program
A four-year intensive program which includes role modelling, classroom demonstration, observation and feedback, mentoring, exposure visits and workshops. It helps teachers to improve their knowledge of effective teaching and innovative teaching strategies.
Workshops
Updates teachers on the changing trends in education, in content knowledge, pedagogy and new teaching strategies.
Let’s teach/talk in English
It not only improves the teacher’s ability to teach but also improves his/her overall spoken English.
Observation & Feedback
This supports teachers to reflect on their educational practices consistently enabling habit formation.
Exposure Visits
Helps teachers to get first-hand knowledge through experiential learning and build interpersonal and pedagogical skills.
Professional Learning Communities
Helps teachers to collaborate and share their best practices, and understanding of appropriate pedagogies.
Impact created
Since inception Guru has worked with 400 teachers across 25 schools and has supported 2,331 students in 15 schools through its primary year program.
Why Lead ?
To develop the leadership and managerial practices of KEF partner school leaders to enable them lead, create and sustain a culture of academic and personal success for their students.
Approches taken
We adopt an inside-out approach wherein we first work on strengthening the personal practices of the school leaders. This is followed by team and instructional practices and practices for strengthening the culture by undertaking the following activities:
ICDI Sessions
The ICDI or ‘I can do it’ mentoring sessions are conducted to support school leaders to integrate their learning into their daily school routine.
Group Workshops
School Leaders are supported with Community Building and are sensitized on the themes related to school leadership, good governance and quality education.
Exposure Visits
To create ‘Global Citizens’ and to keep up with the pace of the changing world, Exposure Visits are conducted to encourage School Leaders to learn from the best local and global practices in education.
Impact created
In last six years, we have supported 147 school leaders across 30 schools. 17 of these schools have completed 3 years with us and improved their SSC results.
26 out of 30 School Headmasters have won the Innovation Fellowship Education Awards at Ed Leadership International Round Table Conference in Lucknow, over the years.
All the 30 schools have a structured system to address and improve Literacy and Numeracy at early years.
Why Excel ?
Excel recognizes and honours the achievements of students, who, despite their challenging circumstances have scored brilliantly in their 10th standard exam and supports them until they complete their graduation or professional studies. It aims to foster excellence among students and motivates them to pursue their career goals and aspirations by mentoring them, providing them with career guidance, job assistance, life skills and sponsoring their education.
Approches taken
The following are the ways in which Excel extends its support to students of KEF partner schools:
Financial Help
Students are given a monthly scholarship to cover their basic educational expenses till 12th standard. Students pursuing professional courses in graduation, (consistently scoring above 70%) are supported with college tuition fees.
Academic Support
Students are mentored through telephonic conversations by facilitators, guided to coaching centres and are funded with coaching class fees.
Career Counselling & Aptitude Tests
Students are provided with career counselling services and aptitude tests to help them make mindful career choices. Exposure visits based on their career preferences are organized to provide experiential understanding.
With the help of skilled volunteers, trainers and counsellors, our scholars are trained in getting good job placements in prestigious corporates and several renowned corporate organisations have been partnered with, to provide placement opportunities to them.
Impact created
It gives us immense pride to see that there are more 1000 recipients of Excel scholarship, out of which 271 students have graduated and 200 of them earn an annual remuneration of over 3 lakhs.
Excel has forward integrated with institutes in the higher education space and has exceeded over 80 freeships from these institutions.
Why Parvarish ?
Research shows that when parents are involved in their child’s life and school activities, there is a noticeable positive change in their academic performance.
Since parents in our communities often lack skills, knowledge, attitude or resources to raise children to their full potential, Parvarish aims to work in collaboration with teachers and parents towards the overall development of the child.
Approches taken
Through the following programs, Parvarish provides parents with hands-on parenting methods and practices.
Kilbil Parivar and Apulki
It is for the parents of children in pre-primary and primary classes. It motivates and equips parents with tools to facilitate developmental and learning outcomes of their children in the formative years through home visits and day-to-day quality interactions.
Teachers Parents Partnership
It is for the parents of children in primary classes. It develops a collaborative relationship between teachers and parents; helps teachers impart core parenting values to parents, thereby enhancing the cognitive, social and emotional well-being of the child.
Jagruti for Parents
It is for the parents of children in secondary classes. It creates awareness among parents about changes that occur during adolescent years and sensitizes them about parental role and responsibility in handling the same.
Impact created
Since inception, we have empowered over 27,000 families to build and strengthen parent-children relationships.
Why Health ?
Health, through awareness, preventive and corrective measures endeavors to improve the well-being of students and helps them inculcate healthy lifestyles leading to improved academic performance.
Approches taken
Health extends its support to the students of our partner schools through the following programs:
Eye Care
Vision impairments hinder academic performance, hence regular vision screenings in partnership with leading Eye care hospitals are conducted for students of our partner schools. Trendy spectacles are provided to students with refractive errors and in some cases, corrective eye surgeries like cataract, squint correction, etc. are performed.
Kishori Sehat Abhiyan
It aims to curb anaemia in adolescent girls and create awareness among students about menstrual health, hygiene, nutrition and changes that occur during adolescent years. Students are also sensitized on topics like decision making, career-goal setting and proper age for marriage.
Deworming
Poor hygiene and sanitation in the communities often cause serious problem and impacts a child’s academic performance. Deworming tablet are administrated to students to curb worm infestations.
Jagruti
It provides awareness sessions on the concept of ‘appropriate’ and ‘inappropriate’ touch, situations, interactions amongst children.
Majhi Swachh Shaala
This activity inculcates personal hygiene and healthy habits and the importance of cleanliness in daily life and school environment, since habit formation at an early age has a positive impact on students.
Impact created
Our various healthcare initiatives impact over 45,000 students every year.
Why Nourish ?
Keeping in mind the importance of a healthy meal and the role it plays in the development of a child, Nourish, a mid-day meal program, was designed to improve the nutritional intake of all school-going children. It ensures that children in our partner schools regularly consume nutritious meals.
Approches taken
Our program focuses on providing fresh, hygienic and hot meals (with appropriate calorific value and protein intake) to pre-primary, 9th and 10th standard students across our partner schools.
Impact created
Since inception, Nourish has served over 2 million meals across 23 partner schools and provides meals to over 11,000 students every day.
Why Nirmaan ?
It has been found that the physical conditions of school buildings have an impact on students’ interest in classroom studies. Nirmaan works to provide the best possible solutions to improve existing school infrastructure by making it safer, accessible and conducive to learning; thereby making conscious efforts to reduce the risk posed due to poor infrastructure to children and other school stakeholders in KEF partner schools.
Approches taken
We aim to accomplish our vision through the following methodologies:
Structural audits:
We carry out structural audits and implement the remedies suggested in the form of plastering, painting, tiling, replacement of roof, windows, doors, etc. making the schools sturdier and safer not only functionally but aesthetically.
Roofing:
Nirmaan has replaced asbestos which are detrimental to health with PUF panels. The new roofs are leak-proof, have heat insulation properties that help to reduce temperatures, are fireproof and have a low maintenance cost.
Rainwater from the roof has also been channelized and discharged appropriately thereby avoiding the accumulation of water and breeding of mosquitoes.
Clean water and sanitation
Installation of water purifiers ensuring clean and pure drinking water and renovation of existing toilet blocks are two major activities undertaken by us.
Impact created
Over 4 years, Nirmaan has provided a conducive learning environment in 18 partner schools. Also, in its endeavour to offer a safe, healthy and functional environment, Nirmaan has provided furniture and electrical fixtures in 45 schools.
Why Unnati ?
Unnati is a short-term livelihood program meant for the unemployed urban youth between the ages of 18-25 years, from underprivileged families, who have dropped out of formal education. The per capita income of these families is less than Rs. 2,500 per month.
The program aims to support these individuals become contributing members of their community, thus helping their families rise above the vicious circle of poverty.
Approches taken
Unnati reaches out to all those youngsters who miss employment opportunities due to a lack of academic qualifications or formal training. The 55-day training program anchor several domains like Building technical skills, Hospitality, Retail, Customer Relations, Basic IT, Sales, Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Beauty and more.
The training anchors on the following outreaches: Domain-specific training, building soft skills, communicative English, personality development, life skills.
Impact created
More than 12,500 young girls and boys have already been trained. 7,695 have been placed and helped their families move out of poverty. Most of these youngsters have been successfully integrated into the hospitality or retail sectors across Mumbai and receive an average salary exceeding Rs. 10,000 per month. Unnati has a strong alumni association that keeps visiting our centres to motivate new aspirants.
Even though they are introduced to English at the primary level, students in these schools find it difficult to learn it because of inadequate teaching and lack of exposure.
Poor health is one of the main reasons behind children underperforming or dropping out of school. And very often, these health issues aren’t caught at an early stage.
The KEF works with students from its partner schools to address some of these problems. Our health initiatives include:
Vision check-up camps: All the students of our partner schools get regular eye check-ups. Those with poor vision receive spectacles, medication or surgery, if needed.
Kishori Sehat Abhiyan: An initiative that assesses adolescent girls to arrest anaemia, by offering nutritional support, awareness on nutrition and hygiene, sensitisation sessions for parents and teachers, and talks by medical experts.
Parvarish programme: An effort to address malnutrition issues among younger children studying at the pre-primary and primary level.
Deworming programme: Here, we deworm students from standards 5 to 10 by educating them through hygiene sessions, and distributing free deworming tablets.
SPARSH (Sensitisation Programme for Adolescents on Reproductive Sexual Health): Through this programme, we educate adolescents about sexual health, and equip them to handle the physical and psychological changes they undergo during their teens. We also create awareness of issues such as HIV/AIDS and substance abuse.
Mazhi Swatcha Shala: An effort that sensitises students and staff to maintain a clean school environment, by inculcating habits of personal hygiene and cleanliness in class, in toilets and on the premises at large.
Often, underprivileged students fall behind and lose out in life because they do not receive the right guidance on time. Through the KEF, we conduct two programmes to address this problem.
Kotak Udaan is a scholarship programme for students who’re facing extreme hardships in life, and whose academic performance is suffering as a result. Through this programme, we give them the support they need to improve their performance and continue their education.
Here are some highlights:
The KEF offers support to bright young people whose families fall below the poverty line.
With this integrated programme, the KEF creates opportunities for teachers in its partner schools to improve their teaching skills.
It involves:
Usually, the seniormost teacher in a school is promoted to the position of headmaster. And while he/she may be a good teacher, the skills needed to be a good leader and manager are often missing. Currently, there are no schools in India that train teachers for this role.
Often, parents who are below the poverty line (BPL) are unaware of the importance of education. Through this programme, we create awareness among them, so they can motivate their children to study further.