Nurturing expression

Building Agency

Cultivating Informed Discourse

Upkram Educational Foundation is a non-profit organisation working to develop conducive spaces to strengthen the foundational language and literacy skills of children from underserved communities in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, to improve learning and life outcomes.

The Learning Crisis

The Indian school education system is one of the largest in the world with 84.71% of the 1.5 million schools in India being rural schools, the limited quality of education and lack of access to educational resources continue to remain a huge challenge.

In Uttar Pradesh, 26 million students at the primary level study in rural government schools where most of them come from underserved communities. Sonbhadra is the second largest district by area in Uttar Pradesh, which is also one of the bottom 20 districts on Education ranking on NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme and home to the highest tribal population in the state

The educational scenario in Sonbhadra is stated below

Three out of ten Schedule Tribe families have never been to school. [1]
Four out of ten students could identify fewer than 4 out of 5 letters of Hindi correctly. [Upkram survey]
Two out of ten students who passed 8th grade in 2020 did not study beyond elementary grade leaving 7.2 lakh students to drop out of school. [2]

Our Focus Area

Children from underserved communities face challenges with critical foundational skills, leading to poor learning and life outcomes. This also shows up in the later years, impacting their confidence to thrive. Realising the significance of the problem, we are working on a threefold approach by engaging children, youth and teachers.

Foundational Language & Literacy
Youth Development
Teacher Capacity Building

Our Work

Our engagement ensures we are building communities that drive community welfare and education in their villages and help transform how a government school is perceived in society.

Our Reach

We have collaborated with the Department of Education, Sonbhadra, and worked closely with colleges to reach

20000 Students
2000 Youth
1500 Teachers

Our Programs

We are developing the government primary schools and creating spaces in community as a conducive learning and discourse space for children and youth to bring systemic change in education.

Abhivyakti

A school learning program in collaboration with a government primary school, aimed at fostering a conducive environment where children can thrive as engaged learners and develop a sense of agency.

Padhne Ki Ghanti

A library program to establish a vibrant children's library in a government primary school to support the foundational literacy of children.

Tarunya

An experiential Youth leadership program that equips youth in Sonbhadra with essential skills in self-development, problem-solving, civic awareness, and digital literacy.

Testimonials

Dipak Sahni

Trustee, Bhartiya Vidya Mandir

In Sonbhadra, especially in the Hindi medium school, nothing was done so far for the children to make learning enjoyable. After Upkram came in, the activities have also turned into a medium to teach. In which most children enjoy engaging with new books and art. Children are learning a lot through the library. There is an increased enthusiasm among children and an urge to learn. New energy can also be seen in teachers due to these changes. We have worked on a year-long school plan with Upkram team to improve the school’s functioning.