After two decades and a host of diverse educational programs, basic education has been introduced to millions of children across India. However, many loopholes still remain. Out of 320 million children in schools, only 10 % pass school and go beyond. In a survey that Milaan completed in 2007, across 14 villages in Sitapur, U.P., it was revealed sub-standard that while on the one hand, the basic literacy rate was more than 92%, yet less than 1% of the population had completed secondary-level education. It was also noticed that the dropout rates increase alarmingly in class III to V (50% for boys, 58% for girls). This in turn meant that a significantly high ratio of children did not even make it past senior secondary education.

An interaction with the families revealed that they were willing to invest in their children’s future provided they were convinced about the quality of education being imparted in return. Since most of the families in this region fall within the agro-based BPL category, a high emphasis was laid upon the impartment of computer and English training since the villagers believed this would enable their children to stand up to the competitive scenario outside. Infrastructure and staff credentials were also important factors to be considered. Further analysis revealed that the main reason for the dropout was the non-availability of school premises within nearby areas (a point of inconvenience for girl students) as well as affordability issues. The areas where we carried out our research, for instance, does not have a Senior Secondary School within a radius of 15 km.

This is where MILAAN conceived “Swarachna”, an educational project dedicated towards providing quality and affordable senior secondary education and vocational training to at least 1000 students from the economically backward families. Initiated in 2007 from Kantain Village, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, and started the Swarachna Project with only 10 students, and one volunteer teacher. This journey has seen us through many ups and downs and today, we stand proud as a facilitator of informal education to more than 150 children through 9 facilitators.

The change is here to stay, and we are currently in the process of expanding our outreach by inspiring more and more children to join along with the participation of more families. It is time now for these children to reclaim their right to “dream” and broaden the scope of their capabilities. We wish to expand out reach to 1000 children by 2013 integrating formal education and employable skills training with in the same premises.