Teach for India gets ₹22-crore grant, to help 15,000 students gain access to e-learning

Teach For India (TFI) on Tuesday said it has received a ₹22 crore grant from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF). The grant will help at least 15,000 students gain access to learning through technology. With the financial help, Teach For India will procure and distribute 3,000 tablets among students of grades 6 to 10 across Mumbai, Delhi and Pune. "TFI's immediate aim is to distribute the 3,000 gadgets to students who currently have no access to any digital infrastructure required for virtual learning. When schools reopen, these gadgets will be reallocated in a 'device library' format where each gadget can be shared by at least 5 students, expanding the impact to 15,000 students," the statement said.

"With blended learning, a mix of individualised online learning and traditional face-to-face learning, the programme will help students build 21st-century skills which are crucial," it added.

"At least 46% students do not have a reliable device to learn on," accroding Teach For India data collected from the 32,000 students. "Around 20% of the students have migrated while 35% of them required financial and food relief during the lockdown," the data showed. Teach For India Fellows made learning accessible for students with innovative teaching techniques and methodologies during COVID-19 pandemic.

"The funding from MSDF will also be used to support close to 80 fellows across Mumbai, Delhi and Pune over the next three years so that their students receive the excellent education they deserve," the statement said.

"The grant comes at a crucial time where many children are experiencing a loss in learning," Shaheen Mistri, founder and chief executive officer, Teach For India said.

"Over the last few months, the organisation has worked closely with its partners to ensure children do not experience a disruption in learning," Prachi Windlass, MSDF Director of India Programs mentioned.

"One key learning we've had is that lack of access to a device can be the biggest hindrance to e-learning. TFI's model of device sharing among neighbourhood children or helping children to borrow one from the library is the perfect model to continue the momentum of e-learning," she added.

Since the initial stages of lockdown, 32,000 Teach For India students have been utilising multiple forms of blended learning as a pilot.

With operations in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, Teach For India has over 900 fellows impacting more than 32,000 children across the country. Post fellowship, they join a growing movement of over 3,400 alumni working at all levels of the education sector.