Vision: To attain universal foundational literacy and numeracy skills for children in Std. 3 by 2025.
Year of launch: 2020
About the Project
The National Education Policy (2020) identifies the highest priority of the education system as achieving universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary schools by 2025. As the Chief Management Partners of the Tamil Nadu State Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Mission, we are working with Samagra Shiksha and the Department of School Education, Tamil Nadu to integrate multiple facets of our FLIP programme into the folds of the state education system, and thereby improve foundational learning skills across the state.
The core programme components of FLIP, including the multi-stakeholder and multi-pronged approach, have been absorbed and institutionalised into the state-led FLN Mission programme.
“The highest priority of the education system will be to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary schools by 2025.” (NEP 2020)
Vision: To reimagine school systems and eliminate the foundational learning crisis in Tamil Nadu by 2030.
Year of launch: 2019
Partner States:
About the Project
Identifying the foundational learning crisis in India as a key focus area, we are working towards improving critical learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy among children through our Foundational Learning Improvement Programme (FLIP). Through targeted interventions based on a 6T approach, FLIP supports the government in improving teaching learning materials, teacher training, and tracking of data by engaging with multiple facets of the issue and all levels of stakeholders in an integrated manner, leveraging technology to amplify reach and impact.
Teaching Learning Material (TLM): Skill based, culturally relevant, teaching learning material mapped to state syllabi and international standards
Training: Tech-enabled training courses to improve teacher competencies
Tracking: Collection and analyses of meaningful data to drive informed policy decisions
Tutoring at home: Empowering the parent community with information and tools to support their children’s early learning needs
Targeted communication: Communication and advocacy efforts designed to increase awareness about the criticality of foundational learning among all relevant stakeholders
Technology: Simple, contextual, and scalable tech tools are at the heart of what we build
Vision: To leverage technology to improve curricular transaction, coaching and collaboration towards improving foundational learning
Year of launch: 2020 (proposed)
About the Project
By addressing the needs of the various stakeholders in a school system through a single platform, the mobile application Edukit helps systems, institutions, and individuals look at educational development holistically, democratising the access to education.
Edukit supports teachers and students through the provision of customised learning tools and resources, while administrators and parents benefit from the access it provides to real-time data and integrated communication channels. Tailor-made bridge courses also equip pre-emergent adult learners to progress to advanced levels in foundational literacy and numeracy, thus stretching Edukit’s potential beyond the limits of the schooling system.
In its nascent stages now, Edukit will be rolling out its pilot programme in 2020. Watch this space for updates!
Foundational Learning Over WhatsApp (FLOW)
Objective: To provide daily educational content directly to students and parents in Tamil Nadu in the context of COVID-19 related school closures
Year of Launch: 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic
In response to a rising need for low contact education, Foundational Learning Over WhatsApp (FLOW) aims to deliver continued education on foundational learning skills to children of grades 1, 2 and 3 in Tamilnadu, while addressing the barriers to accessing technology in low income households of India. By leveraging simple and cost-efficient technology, the programme is designed to work with infrequent internet connectivity, in local languages, and for those unfamiliar with the technology used. By working with vastly used and familiar applications like WhatsApp and YouTube, FLOW reduces the delay in reaching stakeholders and their difficulty in benefiting from the programme.
State Educators and Executive Development Programme (SEED)
Objective: To empower educators and executives and equip them with the skills to meet the demands of virtual classrooms, online project delivery and administration
Year of Launch: 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic
SEED hopes to bridge a critical skill gap in delivering educational content in the age of virtual classrooms and the context of education in a post-COVID world. Designed as a 4-part workshop SEED delivers instruction to state and district level executives on Google suite, MS Office and project management tools, while educators and teacher coaches are provided tips on pedagogy, teaching online, effective classroom observation, and review. Participants are also introduced to free and ready to use resources like worksheets, and videos as well as peer learning forums. SEED emphasises experiential learning, offering participants the opportunity to submit their work and receive feedback. Each participant also receives a certificate recognising their effort towards honing their competencies.
Happy Learners
Objective: To ensure that every child, irrespective of access to internet or smartphones, is able to continue learning at home.
Year of Launch: 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic
In light of the ongoing school closures and lockdown, Madhi Foundation, in partnership with the Government of Tamil Nadu, and Katha on Ratha, is implementing this new low-cost tech-enabled programme to deliver daily learning content based on the facilities available for each child, thus ensuring equitable reach. Printed textbooks will be used to disseminate activity-based lessons, while Interactive Voice Response (IVR) based technology is used to reiterate the concepts learnt with the support of teachers. A digital tracker has been designed for the teachers to monitor the progress of their children on a weekly basis. Teachers are critical stakeholders of this program and help in closing the assessment and feedback loop. The programme is designed to ensure that all learners, irrespective of their access to internet connectivity and smartphones, will be able to learn, thus addressing the growing inequities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sandbox Schools
Objective: To set up 5 model schools that act as incubation centres for the latest research on foundational learning pedagogy
Year of launch: 2020 (proposed)
While Madhi works with the government to implement large-scale interventions, there are many ideas and experiments that need to be validated in a controlled sandbox environment before being set up for scale. With the aim of developing such laboratory schools, we will work with 5 government schools over the course of a year, and evaluate the proof of excellence of Madhi’s theory of change. The model schools will serve as the ideal learning environment for pedagogical and administrative initiatives, the outcomes of which will be relevant for typical under-resourced government schools in Tamil Nadu, and elsewhere in India. The Sandbox Schools pilot programme will feed valuable research and knowledge back into the larger ecosystem with the support of our Centre for Research and Innovation on Foundational Learning (CRIFL) team.