About EFA
The Challenge at hand — the WHY
Learning Poverty / Learning Loss threatens nation’s future 
 
“Without urgent action to reduce learning poverty, we face a learning and human capital catastrophe. If children do not acquire the basis of literacy together with numeracy and other foundatonal skills, the furtures of hundreds of millions of children around the world, and their societies, are at grave risk.”, says a recent joint report by UNESCO, UNICEF, FDCO, USAID AND BMGF.

Addressing learning poverty, improving the foundational literacy numeracy (FLN) skill among the vast number of children in rural areas, and in underprivileged urban/semi urban areas, is a critical task of the nation. The historical learning gap has further widened with Covid school closures and the digital gap.

Converted to an Opportunity — the HOW
A Unique innovative approach by empowering grassroot educators 
 
Nanritam, a nonprofit organization, operating from a rural corner — from Baradanga village in Para block, Purulia District, West Bengal took up the challenge. Nanritam runs four major initiatives or verticals: 
a) HealthCare – the Lokeshwarananda Eye Foundation
b) Education – Filix School of Education 
c) Agri based Livelihood – Nanritam Krishi Kendra and 
d) the Center for Developmentally Challenged Children UDBHAAS 
 
Under the Education Initiative, Nanritam runs a CBSE affliated English medium secondary school, Filix School of Education. The international award-winning, playful,  activity-based and demonstrative pedagogy of Filix School was leveraged to launch Nanritam’s most ambitious community out-reach program, Education for All. 
 
The launch of Education for All (EFA), a foundational Literacy and Numeracy program for children the ages of 3-8, was triggered by the catastrophic effects of the extended Covid school closures, in remote rural and underpriviledged communities. 

Nanritam through its deep-rooted network in the community (through its Eye Foundation and Covid Relief work), felt the need to urgently addess the learning loss experienced by these underpriviledged communities. It launched its Education for All (EFA) program, to identify, interate and empower various small/ large grassroot educators, from government, private and various NGO learning centers, including committed individuals and police community volunteers. At some of these remote locations, these unconventional eduators are often the first, if not only, educator resourse for first generation school-goers. Empowering these educators is an important objective of EFA. The program imparts a curriculum, a library of books and videos, and a comprehensive teachers training and empowerment program. All designed to be contextual, sustainable and effective for the children of remote areas. The program is conducted by in-person residential workshops, as well as continued online training, with a repeating cycle of mutual exchanges, mentoring and reiteration. And of course, all of this is provided FREE to the participants!!

The Impact — the WOW!
Significant impact is visible in remote locations across India that need fast scale up.


The program measures directly the skill improvement at the student level. So far, since its launch in Novemeber 2021, around 1400 teachers from more than 15 districts of West Bengal, Bihar and Ladakh, and Kashmir are empowered by this process. Nearly 50,000 children have been positively benefited by the program. An independent third party organization has completed a full and thorough impact study of the program, confirming the fast skill enhancement of the children, along with a high approval rating from the empowered teachers. A follow up report proposed this program as a potential and powerful model for alleviating learning poverty in the country. 

The program is expanding fast and aims to impact 100,000 children per year.

Principal findings from the Impact Assessment Study of Education for All conducted by Centre for Development Research, Sustainability and Technical Advancement (C- DRASTA) Kolkata, West Bengal. www.drasta.org 

  • Initial findings revela an overall positive impact of Nanritam’s Education For All programme on fundamental literacy and numeracy skills among children enrolled in the programme. 
  • The improvement is even more pronounced for slightly advanced numeracy and literacy skills like in case of vowels, words, sentences or subtraction with borrowing, multiplication and division. 
  • The teachers under the project confirmed that they had received sufficient training, objectives of training were explained clearly and the trainers were extremely encouraging. 
  • The helpfulness of English and Mathematics books designed by Nanritam for foundational literacy and numeracy is one of the strongest features of the EFA teacher training programme as an aid for teaching more effectively in class. The helpfulness of offline class was also mentioned. 
  • The training programme, its content, design and impact (in terms of its effectiveness in instilling confidence in participant teachers about the use of TLMs in class and actually teaching more effectively) has met with the expectations of the teachers.
  • Comparison of midterm assessment grades for treatment and control group schools also show a marked difference in terms of numeracy and literacy skills in favor of the treatment schools. 

EFA's Offering - see at a glance:

Books and Videos we have distributed...

Books & Videos made available to our Users

 

Conceptualized in Nov. 2021 Schools registering for this EFA program were provided multiple benefits, free downloadable e-books, Video instructions for teaching etc. See below a preview of books and videos that are available to them!

Full contents of these books, or the books themselves, are available after registering! Along with many other benefits such as videos, mentoring by experienced educators , follow ups, etc.

(Foundational curriculum for Literacy and Numeracy for 3- to 8-year-old- up to class III)

We offered these colorful e-books and training instruction videos: 

Teaching English literacy from Alphabet recognition to story readings step by step.

page 1 book
page 2 book
page 3 book
page 4 book
page 5 book
page 6

Teaching mathematics from number recognition to multiplication, divisions, shapes, pattern recognition step by step.

M-1
M-2
M-3
M-4
M-5
M-6
M-7

Conceptualized in Nov. 2021 All foundational learning is taught through playful activity-based learning, using many hands-on activities with the children. For program participants, regular online teachers’ forum sessions and regular mentorship from experienced teachers, will help facilitate class room teaching. Recorded instruction videos provide further help.

5000 sets of printed books (the English and Maths course books) have been distributed free of cost.

At a glance -- with our network of grassroot teachers...

We love to hear feedback from our EFA Family members...

Our teachers/educators/ volunteers who have been learning and using the pedagogy, come back to us with feedback. And it is very insightful. Hear what they have to say about EFA, about the training, about the impact it is having in their classrooms… nothing like these to give us all the impetus we need to keep EFA striding further!

These wonderful teaching methods will be very useful for the children, this kind of education process will make children attentive. Children will be learning English conversation easily, and this topic was particularly helpful. This methodology will brighten the children’s future.
(translated from original in Bengali)

Sri Samaresh Rai, Sri Ma Sarada Shishu Niketan Hijaldiha, Bankura

I learnt how to teach students math and English through playful fun activities, and how to bring the kids slowly towards textbooks, even to things like LCM, HCF and learning English through a playful way.
(Translated from orignal in Bengali)

Sri Prasanjeet Mahato, Hathe Khodi Pathshala, Puncha, Purulia

As a teacher I learned that I have to mingle and know my students. Not by scolding them, but by playing, by surrounding them with dance, toys, pictures, songs... and by utilizing those, I can teach them.
(Translated from orignal in Bengali)

Sanjay Mahato, Khatchiri Shishu Bharati Vidya Mandir, Khatchiri, Purulia

Meet Our Amazing Team!

Great work requires  great people, working together, and also, playing together! We believe we have the very best team, who are dedicated, go above and beyond, and truly love what we’re doing together! Our team spirit, expertise, dedication and flexibility, enable us to meet the challenges head on — at every step!

Head Operations, Planning and Execution:

1. Sri. Sarada Prasad Namhata (Former Global R&D Innovation Vice President, Hunstman Corporation, USA)

2. Smt. Ranjana Sengupta (Secretary, Nanritam)

Curriculum, Training and Assessment:

1. Dr. Bharati Bakshi, (Working President, Nanritam)

2. Smt. Ruma Guha Neogi (Principal, Filix School of Education)

3. Smt. Priyanka Ghosh (Academic Co-ordinator, Filix School of Education)

4. Smt. Tanushree Patra (Co-ordinator, Kindergarten Section, Filix School of Education)

Curriculum Development Team:

1. Ms. Hilda Peacock (Former Principal, La Martiniere for Girls, Kolkata for 13 years)

2. Ms. Lena Garkman (Curricular Advisor and Tutor for Teacher and Students, Finland)

3. Sri. Samar Bagchi (Former Director, Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, under National Council of Science Museums, Eastern India) 

4. Dr. Biren Das (Former Professor of Physics, Presidency College, Vidyasagar College and Thakurpukur Vivekananda College, Kolkata) 

5. Sri. Partho Pratim Ray (Academic Consultant, South Point and Centre for Phhysics Education Research)

Trainers:

1. Sri. Debasish Roy (Teacher, Filix School of Education)

2. Smt. Susmita Saha (Teacher, Filix School of Education)

3. Smt. Aditi Mondol (Teacher, Filix School of Education)

4. Smt. Poulomi Mukhopadhyay (Teacher, Filix School of Education)

Public Relations:

Sri. Jagannath Goswami

Graphic Designer:

Sri. Gobinda Karmakar 

Website: 
Smt. Tapasi Ray (Former Global Director IT, Hunstman Corporation) 
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Filix School of Education

A high-quality education facility, Filix School of Education, established by Nanritam in its campus at Purulia, West Bengal, is a CBSE affiliated school, currently upto class X

Nanritam

Nanritam is a non-profit organization, working primarily in the domain of Health, Education, and Agriculture, in remote and neglected areas of WB

Hear from our network of educators

This short clip brings us the voices of the educators who have been through our Teacher’s Training program, and are implementing in their learning centers. So heartening to hear their feedback!

Contact Us!

Barandanga, Para Block,

Purulia, West Bengal 723155

 
email: nanritam.efa@gmail.com
mobile: +91-8335045428
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  • Your contribution would go towards providing Hope, Education and the chance of a brighter furture to some of the most underpriviledged students.
  • Your support would be vital to the cause, but in its giving you would also feel engaged and enriched  
  • “We can’t help everyone… But everyone can help someone” – Dr Loretta Scott 
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