While India has made remarkable strides in school enrolment, learning levels, especially in tribal and remote areas, remain alarmingly low. Recognizing this gap, CInI has been working intensively to focus on learning, especially for children from socio-economically marginalised and first-generation learner communities. CInI’s education programs are rooted in the belief that quality foundational learning is critical for long term educational success. CInI implements targeted interventions to improve classroom practices, teacher capacity, and community engagement. Through SCQuIP, CInI promotes child friendly, active teaching-learning approaches, capacity building of teachers, and regular learning assessments. Recognising that learning doesn’t happen in isolation, CInI also invests in strengthening the link between schools, families, and communities, empowering parents and community members to take an active role in their children’s education. Aligned with the goals of NIPUN Bharat and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, CInI’s efforts aim to ensure every child attains Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) by Grade 3. The organisations see FLN as a powerful equaliser- which helps open pathways to higher learning and build a more equitable society. By focusing on systemic change and grassroots participation, CInI is transforming education where it is most needed.
CInI, has spent over a decade working to improve the quality of education among marginalised, tribal and first-generation learner communities. We believe that foundational learning is important, and hence its work combines pedagogical improvement with strong community ownership, ensuring long term, sustainable transformation. In the tribal belts of Jharkhand and Odisha, many children attend school but struggle with basic literacy and numeracy. CInI’s education program addresses this challenge by focusing on foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), ensuring every child can read with understanding and solve basic mathematical problems by Grade 3. CInI’s approach is unique because it integrates community deeply into the learning process. Through the program, the organisation works with teachers, School Management Committees (SMCs), parents and local leaders to create a supportive learning ecosystem. The key strategies include: Capacity building of teachers to use localized activity-based methods for early grade learning, Establishment of schools and community libraries, sparking a reading culture beyond school walls, regular assessments to track foundational learning and adapt interventions, Intensive community mobilization, including home visits, reading melas, mother’s meetings and village learning festivals to reinforce learning at home, and SMC strengthening to institutionalize community accountability and decision making in education.
CInI’s education initiative is designed in a way that makes it both scalable and replicable. A key strength of the initiative lies in how it actively includes local communities in both planning and execution. This not only promotes ownership but also ensures that the efforts are sustainable over the long term.
The educational resources developed under the program are culturally relevant and translated into local languages, which significantly boosts community acceptance and facilitates smoother replication across regions. Moreover, the program emphasises the efficient use of existing infrastructure and resources, making it highly cost-effective.
The project's objectives are in sync with national education policies, which has helped it gain strong institutional support. For instance, in 2020, CInI was invited by the Lohardaga District Administration to help establish and strengthen two Block Resource Centres. Encouraged by its success, the program was later expanded to cover additional blocks within the district. In 2021, the Jharkhand Education Project Council also partnered with CInI to enhance the capacities of School Management Committees under the Chief Minister’s Schools of Excellence initiative. Further, the partnership with government has broadened to include eleven districts, reaching nearly 2.98 lakh children. CInI is regularly sought by the state and district-level authorities for its expertise in strengthening various components of public education systems.
CInI has a strong focus on creating culturally relevant and context-specific teaching and learning materials. CInI develops content in local languages and include familiar traditions, narratives, poems, and day-to-day relatable examples for more engaging and relevant learning. CInI has translated over more than 28 popular children’s storybooks in Mundari language, helping young readers from Jharkhand to connect more deeply with the material. In the case of Odisha, CInI has been promoting for translation and use of story books in Odiya.
Beyond language, CInI has also incorporated the indigenous knowledge and practices into the school curriculum. CInI has also encouraged in promoting kitchen gardens in schools, which not only teaches practical skills but also strengthens the connection between children’s home and school, as well as with the environment.
CInI actively involves the community members in the school for monitoring, sharing their knowledge and experiences with the students. It not only helps in preserving cultural heritage but also gives the students a sense of pride in their roots and identity.
CInI also works closely with School Management Committees and other community organisations to design and implement its educational programs that represent the needs and values of the community. This collaboration with the community builds trust, promotes local ownership, and ensures long-term success by making education both inclusive and culturally sensitive.
Many government schools, especially in marginalized communities, often struggles to deliver quality education due to deeply rooted challenges like a shortage of well-qualified teachers, limited use of interactive teaching methods, disengaged classrooms, less community involvement, and poor integration of digital tools. To address these issues, the main goal should be on improving the quality of education and student learning outcomes. One of the interventions is strengthening the education system by collaborating with the education officials at the State, district, and block levels to make Block Resource Centres (BRCs) functional and effective, meaning to support schools and teachers. To strengthen teachers' capacity building, regular teachers' training programs should be held for teachers' learning and continuous professional growth. To create engaging classrooms, print-rich classrooms can be developed, functional libraries, and platforms like children’s parliaments. Lessons can also being contextualized using local languages and examples that students can relate to. Importantly, the project can bring the wider community into the fold. Parents, School Management Committees (SMCs), and Panchayati Raj members can be actively involved in school development and monitoring learning progress. This inclusive approach is expected to lead to better student attendance, greater participation, and a stronger sense of accountability.
