Bharatiyam Vidya

Picture
Education is the most sustainable means of alleviating poverty in society. Every child has the right (and the necessity) to have at least 15 years (10+2+3) of education to become politically sensitized, economically independent, and socially aware. However in India, sufficient efforts are not being made to address primary schooling.

Alarming Facts

  • India's definition of literacy: the ability to read and write in any language. It does not define a highly economically valuable language such as English or Hindi.
  • Knowledge in mathematics is not accounted in determining literacy.
  • India has the world's largest illiterate population.
  • National literacy rate: 75.04%. Compare to world average of 88%.
  • Male literacy rate: 82.14%; Female literacy rate: 65.16%
  • Predicted year to reach universal literacy: 2060
  • Literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh: 67.7% (Male: 75.6% and Female: 59.7%)
  • Cumulative dropout rate by 10th Grade: 64%
Picture
Comparison of 2001 and 2011 data for % of children in Grades 2-5 who can't read of solve numerical sums.

Source: World Bank

The "Why" Factor

Political and Social

  • Government schools do not have adequate quality control standards
  • National schemes do not reached the grass roots level
  • Girls face domestic stereotypes against education
  • Child labor and early marriage conflict with educational opportunities
  • Caste disparity causes higher dropout rates and lower enrollment rates

Economic

  • Inadequate school infrastructure (such as improper facilities)
  • Inefficient teaching staff due to poorly funded teacher training programs
  • Improper sanitation - 41% of schools have drinking water and 11% have toilets
  • High student to teacher ratio of 42:1
  • Lack of career counseling and competence assessment
  • Livelihoods obligations i.e. agriculture
The bottom line is that many of the young children who do not attend school and those who drop out of school have the potential to compete with the best in the world. However, the opportunity to obtain knowledge is too far-fetched for them to do so. Many socio-economic factors are responsible for this devastating phenomenon, but they must be overcome in order to foster progress in the nation.

Intervention Strategy

Bharatiyam Vidyarthi


Bharatiyam Vidyarthi involves sponsoring and supporting individual students from poor backgrounds. These students are often from illiterate families with minimal exposure to the world of education as they enter school.

Click here to learn more.

Bharatiyam Vidyalayam


Bharatiyam Vidyalayam focuses on sponsoring existing schools and educational institutions, implementing Bharatiyam's innovative standards, revamping the curriculum, providing teacher training programs, and supporting student-focused programs that are both academic and non-academic.

Click here to learn more.

Bharatiyam Gurukulam

Bharatiyam Gurukulam is an accelerated program geared for exceptional students who have to potential to solve problems, express ideas, understand advanced academic material, and perform well on tests that go far beyond the average child's aptitude. 

Click here to learn more.

Donate to Bharatiyam Vidya

If you wish to donate to Bharatiyam Vidya, your contribution will go into a core fund. Bharatiyam's Board Members will allocate money to the areas with the greatest need for financial resources. These may include sponsoring school uniforms, paying for the mid-day meals, purchasing curricula, funding events such as science fairs, or funding a Gurukulum course. Please donate using the button on the right.

On the donation page, in the text field marked "For which program? In honor of..?", please specify "Bharatiyam Vidya" if you would like funds to be allocated to Vidya's corpus fund.