Copy of Akshara Foundation

8/8/2019 Copy of Akshara Foundation

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M.P.Birla Institute of Management

Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1

DECEMBER 24, 2003

AGASTYA VISWAMBHARA

ROLL : 02XQCM6001

COMPANY ; AKSHARA FOUNDATION


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COMPANY/PROMOTERS PROFILE

Roots of AKSHARA FOUNDATION:

UNICEF parented Pratham during the initial three years. In 1997, ICICI Bank, a

private sector bank in India, assumed the parental role. Today, Pratham

initiatives have spread all across India and local trusts have been established all

over the country.

Akshara draws its inspiration from

its Parent Organisation PRATHAM,which was first started in the slums

of Mumbai as early as the 90s.

Pratham was established as a

Public Charitable Trust by the

Commissioner of the Municipal

Corporation of Greater Mumbai,

UNICEF and several prominent

Citizens of the country in 1994.

The main goal of Pratham is to

ensure that every child is in schooland is learning well:

in an environment that is mentally

stimulating and physically attractive

with teachers who are committed,

dedicated, skilled and happy

able to teach children not only the

essentials of reading, writing and

arithmetic but also good living habits

including personal hygiene, clean and

healthy environment and respect forother people, their beliefs and their

properties

within a community that cherishes

children and provides its best to

children's care and development.


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What is Akshara?

Akshara Foundation is the coming together of the private sector, the

Government of Karnataka and the voluntary sector to ensure that every child in

Bangalore is in school and learning. This may be a tall order, but Akshara has

the fresh minds and fresh approach to make it happen.

Akshara has created the innovative concept of School Zones, which are

areas demarcating clear geographical responsibilities for each government

school in the city. All school children in that geographic area will be the

responsibility of this school. Volunteers work in close association with each

school to address issues of bridging the educational divide between Government

& private schools, ensuring quality time given to children, etc.

Corporate Sector

Voluntary OrganizationGovernmentAKSHARA FOUNDATION


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With some of Bangalore' s most influential people on its board- N. Vaghul,

(Chairman, ICICI), Commissioner of Public Instruction, Commissioner of the

Bangalore City Corporation, Chairman of the Pollution Control Board, Rohini

Nilekani, R. Dhirendra and C.V. Madhukar - Akshara has inspired thousands of

people from within the community to come forward to be the "ambassadors of

education". Working with local school bodies as well as Mahila Mandals

(community teachers forum), they spread the light of education and make a

difference in the lives of thousands of children, Giving them the confidence to

believe in their dreams.

As an icing on the top, the organization is blessed with services of

Lt.Col.Murthy Rajan , who is the Chief Operating Officer and who brings into play

all his past experiences to cope with any technical or management related grey

areas.


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Vision :

Every child in school and learning well.

Akshara visualizes every child in Bangalore in the age group of 4 to 11 years in

school and learning well.

Mission :

The mission of Akshara Foundation is to ensure Universal Primary

Education for every child below eleven years of age in Bangalore through a

three-pronged effort that involves the corporate sector, individual volunteers and

the government.

Akshara strives to achieve its mission by

enhancing collaboration between the

Government and the community for

participation, control and management of

school education. It works towards

promoting community responsibility for

sustainable universal education for

children by building its network with the

help of the community. Akshara believes

that it is only with the collective efforts of

all stakeholders that it will achieve the

goal of Universal Primary Education


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COO

CLC ZM 1ERC 1 2 3

ZM 2ERC 4 9

ZM 3ERC 5 6

ZM 4ERC 7

ZM 5ERC 8

ERC Mgr.

A.C

T.M.

S.Z.C

Bwd.

T.S

R.C

R.E

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

LEVEL 0

LEVEL 5

LEVEL 4

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 2

BASE LEVEL

PROGRAMMES

LEVEL 1

ORGANISATION HIERARCHY CHART OF AKSHARA FOUNDATION


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Sl.

No.Abbr. JOB TITLE JOB SUMMARY

1 BOT Board of Trustees These form the Leadership Team

2 COO Chief Operating OfficerHead of the Executive Team and

responsible for all the operational activities

3 CLCCurriculum Learning

CentreResponsible to train the Trainer Volunteers

4 ZM Zonal ManagersThese managing the ERC activities

pertaining to each zone

5 ERCMgr.

Educational ResourceCentre Managers

Responsible for coordinating with the ZMand take care of ERC activities

6 AC Area CoordinatorsResponsible for coordinating the activities

of the volunteers in an area

7 TM Trainer MonitorsTrain the volunteers and monitor their

activities

8 SZCSchool Zone

Coordinator

Responsible for all activities pertaining to

each school zone. Also responsible for all

sub-level programmes

9 BWD Balwadi programs For children between 3 5 years

10 RE Remedial EducationTuitions for academically weak children

studying in std 2,3,4 & 5

11 RCReading City

programmeEncouraging reading among children

12 TS

Transit School

programmes

For those who are supporting families

economically


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PEOPLE:

The AKSHARA team is mainly classified into 2

1. Leadership Team2. Executive Team

Board of Trustees

CHAIRPERSON: Rohini Nilekani, Author & Philanthropist

VICE CHAIRMAN: V P Baligar, (IAS) Commissioner, Public Instruction,

Department of Education, Government of Karnataka

MANAGING TRUSTEE: Ashok Kamath, Managing Director, Analog Devices

The Leadership Team

1. Srinivasa Murthy, (IAS) Commissioner, Bangalore Mahanagar Palike

2. Upendra Tripathy, (IAS) Managing Director, BMTC

3. N Vaghul, Chairman, ICICI Ltd

4. R Dhirendra, CEO, Eduquity

5. C V Madhukar, Executive Director, Azim Premji Foundation

6. Mohandas Pai, CFO, Infosys Technologies

7. Rekha M Menon, Director, Aditi Corporation

8. Vishal Kapoor, Vice President, Citibank

9. S R Chari, Managing Director, Linkers

The Executive Team

Akshara Foundation is managed by an able team of program coordinators

led by Lt.Col. Murthy Rajan, Chief Operating Officer (COO). This team is

supported by strong forces at the grass roots consisting of Area Coordinators,

Trainer-Monitors, School Zone Coordinators and Teachers. In addition, there are

a large number of community outreach teams and activists and thousands of

supportive parents.


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Partnerships

Akshara Foundation has received wide support from the following partners:

Funding: Operations:

Ms. Rohini Nilekani Round Table Bangalore

CitiBank Madhyam

Pratham USA National Law School of India University

Government of Karnataka The Promise Foundation

Azim Premji Foundation PROOF

BPL Innovision CWC

The George Foundation

Mindtree Consulting

Employees of Texas Instruments

AMCHAM & individual donours

Infrastructure is also an issue. We are working with Rotary institutions on

adoption of some schools. Bescom has agreed to provide electrical wiring free of

cost at five government schools and seven BMP primary schools where the

foundation will be imparting education, Lt Col Rajan said. He also said Akshara

Foundation may begin in Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Pratham already has its branches in the US and the UK.

Future has a smile in store for AKSHARA and its kids


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PROCESS:

How Akshara Works

At an organization level, Akshara works through the concept of private-

public partnership that is pivotal to the success of its programs. This partnership

involves the Government, the local community, the corporate sector and

individual partners.

With the Government, Akshara actively participates and provides inputs to

policy initiatives while gaining access to implement in-school/community

programs.

Akshara works closely with the local community to mobilize support and

get the community to take ownership and responsibility for the implementation

and success of the programs.

The corporate sector and individual partners are the constituency that

provides valuable financial and management support as well process orientation.

They also volunteer their time and resources to help Akshara with its programs.

At the grass-roots implementation level, Akshara uses a three-pronged

delivery mechanism frame work. This includes: SZ, EAG, and ERC.

(1) School Zone (SZ)

The School Zone offers an institution-centered approach for planning and

implementation of programs. The concept of school zone has been synchronized

with the Department of Public Instruction, Government of Karnataka to

demarcate clear geographical responsibilities for each government school in

Bangalore city.


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Every childs education in the specific geographic area will be the

responsibility of the school(s) situated in the school zone. The school zone

provides:

Easily manageable geographical units for universal coverage in all

education programmes.

Value-add Community Based Programmes connected to the nearest school.

A formal platform for increased interaction between the school and the

community.

Akshara works with the schools in each zone to implement the programs.

(2) Education Affinity Groups (EAG)

Members of the community constitute themselves into Education Affinity

Groups (EAG) and their objective is to see that every child is in school and

learning well. The EAGs are also involved in other activities that benefit their

communities. Akshara provides methodological support to the EAGs.

(3) Education Resource Centers (ERC)

The Education Resource Centers play a major role in decentralized

planning and implementation of various programs. They provide training ineducating children and creation of teaching materials. In simpler words ERCs

can be viewed as Libraries which the children and students can benefit from


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POLICIES:

At Akshara, they believe that they can achieve their vision by working in

collaboration with the local government to improve access to schools and its

current practices -- mainly pedagogical and managerial.

Strive towards building a working partnership in the field of education

between the people and the government

Create programs to supplement the municipal school system, rather than

supplant it

Seek to make governance of education more effective through people' s

democratic participation

Aim at a private-public partnership to address issues related to education

and arrive at solutions to be put into practice.


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PROJECT PROFILE:

Services undertaken by Akshara Foundation (Bangalore):

Balwadi Programme (BP)

Bridge Courses.

Remedial Education

Bridging the Digital divide.

Jnana Jyothi Programme (JJP)

Transit School Programme (TSP) Read in City Programme (RCP)


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PROGRAMS:

(1) BALWADI PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAM

Universalization of pre-school

education is an important strategy for

achieving universalization of primary

education. If every child can avail of some

kind of early childhood education, the

chances are high that the child will go on to

regular school. Moreover, the pre-school

exposure will enhance and strengthen the

child' s subsequent school performance, i

terms of achievement and attendance.

Targets pre-school children in the 3-5

years age group

Aims at exposing unreached children from

low-income families to early childhood

education

Located either at a municipal school,

community space, place of worship or a

teacher' s home

Each class has around 18 children with an

instructor from the local community and runs

for 2-3 hours a day

.


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In simpler words to describe a Balwadi , would be to assume it to be an

improvised version of the Montessori or Crche but with more specific purposes

than to just take care ,nurture prepare these infants psychologically to accept

education and learning in their future lives.

Set up to focus on early childhood

development (3-5 year olds) and thereby

prepare them to join school, Balwadis have

become the mainstay of Akshara' s progra

A typical Balwadi runs for 2 hours a day,

where the teacher is usually a local resident

of the community, trained to conduct

classes. In 2001-02 there were 1099 centers

covering 19,863 children spread over 300

slums in the city. Nearly 40,000 children will

be covered in 2002-03.

The program has covered over

20,000 children in the last 3 years of which

90% went on to enroll in schools. Over 1000

volunteers have been trained. There are

over 400 Balwadis operating in Bangalore

today covering about 8000 children


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(2) JNANA JYOTI PROGRAM (JJP)

A significant percentage of children do not

develop even basic literacy and mathematical skills,

in spite of reaching high school. The Jnana JyothiProgram helps these children achieve the basics by

making learning a joyful process. The program has

grown from 19 centers in 2000-2001 to 112 schools

today, and covers 5325 children.


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Block diagram showing how the Balwadi and the JJP work together in tandem to

strengthen the education system. Thus laying a strong foundation for the wards

to launch themselves into the education stream.

Balwadi plays a pivotal role in feeding the JJP which in turn feeds the

Govt.education system.

Indicates the strong network chain followed by one School zone

volunteer to another, hence rendering a complete coverage.


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(3) BRIDGE COURSE PROGRAM :

The Bridge Course program was

designed with the assumption that a "bridge"needs to be built to prepare and support out-

of-school children (of primary school age)

socially and academically to enter or re-enter

the formal school system.

Targets children in the 6-12 years age group

who have never attended school or have

dropped out

Aims at using informal methods of

education, gradually moving towards a

structured set-up and then placing the

children in a formal school

Classes generally start in the community and

move to the local municipal school building if

space is available

Comprises of around 15-20 children with a

teacher from the local community who has a

minimum Std X education

This program caters to children

between 7 and 11 years of age (including

drop-outs) to prepare them for school at the

levels appropriate to their ages. The 3-month

course rekindles their curiosity, motivates andequips them re-enter the formal schooling

system. The program has so far been

successful in bringing 729 children back into

the mainstream, and will work with nearly

10,000 children during 2002-03.


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(4) REMEDIAL EDUCATION :

This program is designed to help children whoare identified by their class teachers as lagging behind

academically. With a little extra help and

encouragement, children can make substantial

progress in basic math and language skills within two

months or less.

Targets municipal school children from Std II to IV

bordering on illiteracy

Aims at helping these students achieve literacy and

numeracy skills of Std II level

Normally works with 20-30 children identified by the

school teachers

These groups are sent to schools on the request of

the head masters and they work under the

supervision/ guidance of school teachers

This program is designed to address the issue of non-

learning in spite of attending school, by providing

supplementary educational inputs. Akshara volunteers

work with children who need extra attention. The head

teacher of the school is involved and the volunteer

(called Makkala Sangaati or Friend of the Child) works

with children who have been identified by the class

teacher.

This program has reached out to over 10,000

children across 212 government schools since its

inception in 2001. 90% of these children showed

varying degrees of improvement in learning levels in

mathematics and language skills.


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(5) BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE:

Akshara has set up a computer

education center to empower their

volunteers to learn basic of PC

packages. The aim is to bring computers

and technology closer to everybody and

make the education process more

attractive to both children and theirparents.

The programme was launched by

the Akshara Foundation two years ago in

a partnership between some of the city'

leading software companies and the

government.


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(6) TRANSIT SCHOOL PROGRAM:

This program is directed at

children below 14 years of age who have

to work to earn a livelihood. The program

resulted from discussions between

Akshara and CWC (Concerned for

Working Children) who are partnering

with DPI for the implementation of the

transit school program in 8 pilot locations

in the city known to have a high child

worker population.

Transit schools are open from 8

am to 8 pm for the convenience of the

children. Yet, no child is to be allowed to

stay in the transit school for more than

six months, since the goal is to provide abridge to the mainstream school. Hence,

the program duration is 6 months.

Working children come to the centers

(mostly in government schools) at

convenient times during the day.

Children learn local language &mathematics & participate in various co-

curricular activities. Volunteers who

conduct the program are provided with

intensive training so that they understand

the academic as well as emotional needs

of transit school children


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The program was implemented

in January 2003 and at present 300

children enrolled in 7 pilot transit

schools. Initial results show that the

children are highly motivated to

continue their education and so far,

around a third of the children are informal schools with the rest also to be

mainstreamed.

The admission into the transit

school set up by the Department of

Public Instructions at the Government

Urdu Model Co-Education School, D

J Halli, near Tannery Road, on

August 01, 2003 saw women and

children enroll in large numbers. This

is a school, that will function from 8

am to 8 pm. It will immensely help all

those who wish to simultaneously

work and study here.


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(7) READING CITY PROGRAM :

Aksharas experience has indicated

that 40% of the children attending government

schools cannot read fluently hence this

program is directed towards 7 to 12 year olds

who have been through 3 to 4 years of

schooling but have poor reading skills. The

objective of the program is to accelerate

reading abilities to enable self-propelledlearning towards learn to read and read to

learn.

The program is activity-oriented and aimed

towards making learning fun

The centers are mostly run in govt school

premises during summer holidays/after

school hrs

Akshara volunteers aim to teach the

children to read a language in 21 to 60

days

Teaching aids include flashcards, large

print story books and charts

The pilot program with 700 children showed

that at the end of the 45 day project, the

number of the number of children who could

read sentences rose from 8% to 60%. The

summer program commenced in 2003 has

benefited 6200 children across 350 schools

and Akshara now plans to create content and

open new library centers for the children.


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Some Personal Experiences:

Gaddeyamma, 10 years, Thathguni Center"I have lived in so many places" Vijaynagar, Padmanagar , but nobody

asked me to come to school. When I went to Vijayanagar school, the teacher

asked me to go back, because I had my younger brother with me and he was not

allowed to sit in the class with me. I am coming to this school because the

teacher allows my brother also to come along with me. I might be here for

another two months more and may return to Gulbarga after that."

Pasamalar, 10 years, Bhavaninagar

"I like to come to this school because it is close to my house. The earlier

school was very far".

Bhavani, 8 years and Padma 10 years, Mathikere School

"We were selling flowers earlier. People used to cheat us. They never

used to pay us the full money. Hence, we stopped selling flowers and have now

joined school".

Khaleem, 11 years, Yarabnagar

"I was working as a mechanic earning Rs.10 per day. Teacher spoke to

my parents and brought me to school. I prefer studying to working and I like

coming to school."

Pushpanjali, 11 years, Mathikere

"I like coming to this school as they don' t hit me like in the other school.

They also teach me dance, song, stories"

Mother of Mahadeva, student of Muthurayanagara Govt. School


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"What can I do? I leave the house at the crack of dawn; I am unaware of

what my son does during the day? Look at me; I am a ' thumb-impression'

person? I am glad you came and are taking interest in my son' s learning?"

PROJECT AKS: AN IMPACT STUDY

AKS TEAM FORMED:

As a part of the problem solving exercise, an 8 member team was formed to

carry out the requirements of the organization.

Why AKS?

AKS means reflection, hence in this context it was the true reflection of our

conscience, commitment towards the needy and the underprivileged.

Incidently AKS could be derived from the word AKSHARA, hence the complete

circle.

It also underlines our self-satisfaction in our commitment towards societal

development and create awareness drive among the masses pertaining to the

importance of child education.

Thus AKS is justified in its vision.

An 8 member AKS - Teamwas formed under the guidance of:

Lt.Col.Murthy Rajan COO AKSHARA FOUNDATION

Mr. Sunil Banur HR Manager INFOSYS

Prof.Muloi Banerjee Sr.Prof. IIM-B (Statistics)

The Aks Team consists of the following 8 people:

1. Mr. Vineeth Kumar V (Team Leader)

2. Ms. Tejal Arun Savur

3. Mr. Agastya Viswambhara

4. Ms. Archana Kumar

5. Mr. Arun G.

6. Ms. Sarala Agarwal


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7. Mr. B.R. Rajesh

8. Ms. Nagashree M.S.

PROJECT AKS: AN IMPACT STUDY

Objective: To conduct an IMPACT STUDY ON THE AKSHARA

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION IN BANGALORE CITY

Study the grey areas, where there is scope for improvement.

Commitment: To provide the primary and secondary data required for

(Team Job) analysis.

Methodology: Qualitative AnalysisSampling: Area sampling Random sampling.

Area covered: Bangalore city

Project Gist:

As a part of the Impact Study on the system followed by Akshara

Foundation, we divided Bangalore City into 2 parts North and South.

Akshara currently covers 92 out of the 100 blocks in the city.

The whole of Bangalore city is ideally divided into 2 main blocks

North Block

South Block

Under these zones the areas covered by the AKS team are as follows:

North block constituted:

N1 Mullathihalli

N2 - Ullapnagar

N3 - DJ Halli & Zia Street

South Block constituted:

S1 - Yarabnagar & Illiaznagar

NORTH BLOCK

SOUTH BLOCK


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S2 - P Pura & JJR Nagar

S3 - Bamanahalli

S4 - Vibhutipura & Banasandra

Team formation was an ideal 50-50 mix which could provide that extra

stability and smoothness to the entire project work.

This team was ideally formed with 4 boys-4 girls so as to ensure the

efficiency of data collection from the sample space. As it required interviewing

the parents of the wards, mostly women folk in their homes (slums) hence girls

could ease into the situation, whereas the boys could provide that extra bit of

stability with regards to communication, safety and handling any untoward

incidents in the slums.

Hence the team was ideally handpicked based on various aspects like:

Lingual familiarity

Effective communication skills

Soft spoken and interrogative skills.

Introduction:

In order to elucidate the effectiveness of the roles of the government and

founders, think tanks and volunteers of Akshara, an appropriate impact study

was carried out to typically outline the overall success of the Balwadi and JJP

programmes.

The impact study focused upon students aged between 2 years and 10

years, parents of the Balwadi children and the volunteers at the Balwadis.

Aim:


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The aim was to test whether Akshara Foundations education for the

under privilegedframework had been well in place or not.

Goal:

The goal of the study, in the first phase, was to obtain primary data by

conducting interviews with the students, parents and volunteers through sample

questionnaires.

To test for the success of Aksharas programmes, the study was

considered to be in line with:

Government - Balwadi programme in partnership with the

government

Founders & think tanks - Running the B-school education

Volunteers - General women in the slums

[Subjects involved for the study - Balwadi, JJP, volunteers, parents and students]

Instrument:

In order to obtain quality primary data, well designed questionnaires for

students, parents and volunteers were prepared by Mr. Sunil, IIMC graduate,

currently working with Infosys and Prof. Muloi Bannerjee, professor for statistics,

IIMB and the AKS team.

Instruments aim:

Students questionnaire To obtain data pertaining to the students:

1. regularity

2. learning capability

3. learning interest and desire

4. learning motive

5. ambitions and aspirations


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6. and also to test the parents role in the above

Parents questionnaire To obtain data regarding:

1. constraints under which the child is learning

2. parents awareness of Akshara and its programmes

3. driving force behind choosing Aksharas programmes

4. parent-perspect or Akshara-government schools divide

5. extent of the parents acceptability of Aksharas programmes

6. education from the parents point of view

7. parents perspective regarding private schools

Volunteers questionnaire To obtain data regarding:

1. extent of volunteers compliance with Aksharas goal

2. volunteers perspective of Akshara-government school divide

3. volunteers programme acceptability

4. reason for taking up the voluntary work

5. determination of volunteer-locality relationship

6. validity of volunteers teaching approaches

7. and the success of the same

8. volunteers beliefs in Aksharas initiatives

9. volunteers perspectives regarding private schools

10. trend in the respective volunteers locality; whether parents prefer Akshara

or government or private schools

Procedure:

The first step to the sample study was primary data collection by

randomization. This typically involved sample questionnaire interviews, pertaining

to the subjects aforesaid, by going to the slums of urban Bangalore.

Students


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Students of various JJP schools were interviewed. These schools were

widespread across North and South Bangalore.

Parents

1. volunteers in each block were approached

2. with the help of these volunteers, the parents of every child, learning

under that volunteer, were approached

3. the parents were then interviewed

4. the parents generally involved the mothers of the children

Volunteers

1. each block in the respective zone was accessed with the help of block

volunteers

2. will the help of these volunteers, the balwadi volunteers in that block were

approached

3. these balwadi volunteers were then interviewed

At the end of the first phase, all responses, were sorted out block-wise

and in turn zonal-wise and were ready for use in statistical tests.

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE STUDY CONDUCTED

Students

The students interviewed, were in the age category of 2 years to 10 years.

These children were chosen randomly for interviewing.

Most children found it difficult to even pronounce their own names, leave

alone writing their own names or that of their parents.

While most children could afford tuitions, others just couldnt help it;

though most parents were not in a position to pay for tuition fee; some

being vegetable vendors while others meat vendors.


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Moreover, most children denied despising school. One amazing

observation was that of quite a few girls who aspired to be police officers.

This shows the changing dimension in the Indian societal strata.

Lastly, very few children faced resistance at home to going to school.

Parents

Education begins at homethis statement is utterly true to the essence

of a child being educated. And it must be highlighted here that every

parent, of the modern age, interviewed, was very supportive of the fact

that his/her child must go to school.

One father, only a hand cart wage earner, was very keen on seeing his

child being a better educated person in society. The most common

response being that their child must do good to society, come forward and

get out of the rut in which the parents themselves were in.

The aspirations of the parents about their children were very candid in

their eyes. Whether educated or not, the fact that every parent realized

how crucial education or going to school was in his/her childs life.

However, most parents interviewed, whose children attended the balwadi

programme, were not aware that the programme had been Aksharas

initiative. This probably indicates that Aksharas initiatives are in the right

direction.

But well only statistics can reveal the truth.

Volunteers

Whether it is Akshara or the parents, it is certainly the volunteers who are

key and play a pivotal role to making the educational programmes a

success. All that is being done and planned for is truly for the children, but

who are to execute it? The volunteers!


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When the volunteers in every block in both the zones were interviewed,

one response that commonly and quite persistently featured was I love

children and I want to do good to the society.

These volunteers are pretty much focused upon every child learning and

learning well.

However, quite a few volunteers, when interviewed, revealed that they

were doing the job only for an income. When blatantly told to them that

Akshara would be closing down in the near future, these volunteers were

shocked and left with no words to defend themselves.

Some other volunteers took up the job as a challenging one and

considered it to be one of competition as against the Anganwadis. These

volunteers fell in the age category of 17 years to 20 years.

Lastly, of these volunteers interviewed, few preferred private schools to

government schools, while most of them failed to understand that Akshara

Foundation itself was private and imparted education to the under

privileged. These were the ones who preferred government schools to

private schools based on the cost factor and facilities provided by both the

types. Also most of them complained about the facilities provided by

Akshara towards the Balwadis and compared them with the Anganwadis.

A salary Rs. 250 was also a matter of concern to them.

The data was collected from a sample of around 400 people, which was definitely

very encouraging and inspiring. These people were personally interviewed by us

over a course of twenty days between 20th August and 15th September 2003.


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The analysis of the primary data collected will be handled in the second phase of

the project where the the observations would be carefully studied and necessary

actions taken accordingly under the purview of entire AKSHARA management.

SILVER LINING FOR THE PROJECT AKS:

As a sense of commitment and gratitude towards Akshara Foundation,

which allowed us to work with them so closely, the AKS team arranged for a

Public seminar which covered various topics like

Free India Rural Education backlashes.

Role of Management institutes in such voluntary services.

AKSHARA and its commitment towards a better educated society.

The seminar was conducted on the Sept27th 2003,at 2pm in the famous

Khincha Hall,Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,Race course road Bangalore -01.

The seminar was presided over by:

Lt Col.Murthy Rajan (COO-AKSHARA FOUNDATION)

Dr, N.S.Malavalli (Principal M.P.B.IM.)

Shri.Thotadri (Director M.P.B.I.M)

And members of the Press.

The Aks Team is very happy that we were able to close the project on a

silver lining. With the support of our college, Sunshine Distributors and Universal

Book House, we were able to make a generous contribution of over 750 books

covering various topics like alphabets, numbers, computers, fairy tales, general

knowledge etc and also over 500 stationery items like charts, slates, chalk,

notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers etc, along with some cds and video cassettes


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towards Aksharas cause namely their new program ERC (Education

Resource Center) which will be launched in the first week of October 2003.

Also the AKS team ensured that such future contribution keep flowing by

placing a box in the college premises where any individual could drop in just

about anything which he feels could be of any possible use to the needy children

.

AKS team feels that,

The sole reason behind us inviting the media to cover this event was that we

wanted other management colleges also to take up similar future projects. In this

world of fierce competition especially between the management colleges, we are

hoping that the end consumers i.e. the underprivileged students and the needy

get the maximum benefit because the competition brings out the best for the

end customer.

We are happy that the Aks team could contribute something in this regard.

HOPE THIS SMALL STEP KINDLES THE LIGHT FOR A BETTER SOCIETY

------------Vineeth Kumar.V (Team Leader)

ACCOLADES FROM THE MEDIA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2003

THE TIMES OF INDIA

NGO KINDLES HOPE IN SLUM CHILDREN

Times News Network (SUNDAY, SEPT 27, 2003, 02:37:55PM)

A month-long project by students of M.P. Birla Institute of Management bore

fruit on Saturday. A team AKS has worked closely with Akshara Foundation,


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an NGO in 92 city wards to study if the NGOs objectives were being met. The

NGO focuses on providing education to economically backward children for

slums.

A report has been submitted to the Foundations Chief Operating Officer Lt. Col.

Murthy Rajan. The project has highlighted certain issues which we will have to

work on and analyze. Our main concern is the dropout rate which is now 35

percent he said.

AKSHARA FOUNDATION TO SET UP CHILDRENS LIBRARIES

DH News Service BANGALORE, Sept 27

With the aim of making learning simple and interesting for less privileged

children, the Akshara Foundation is setting up libraries and is in talks with

software companies to provide computers for its learning centers in Bangalore.

At a seminar on Free India, rural education, backlashes, organized by the M P

Birla Institute of Management here today, COO, Akshara Foundation, Lt. Col.

Murthy Rajan said, the libraries will be stocked with books, stationery materials,

CDs and cassettes, to help children sharpen their learning skills.

While second semester students of the institute today donated several books,

CDs and cassettes which they collected from people and publishers, they have

installed a box at their institute housed in the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan premises,

Race Course Road, for donations of childrens learning material from the public.

We hope to reduce the school dropout rate among less privileged children,

which is about 35 per cent at present and induce interest in them to study Lt. Col

Rajan told reporters later.

Studies in the recent past have helped Akshara Foundation to improve the Read

in City programme being implemented in 350 centers in government schools and

community centers and learning has increased from zero per cent to 54 per cent,

he said.

An eight-member student team of the institute conducted a study of

schools in 92 wards of the City and are in the process of submitting their

findings to the foundation.


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Infrastructure is also an issue. We are working with Rotary institutions on

adoption of some schools. Bescom has agreed to provide electrical wiring free of

cost at five government schools and seven BMP primary schools where the

foundation will be imparting education, Lt Col Rajan said. He also said Akshara

Foundation may beginning in Singapore and the United Kingdom. For details call

(080) 5544879/5485800 or log on to www.aksharafoundation.org

SWOT ANALYSIS

A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the

strategic planning process. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually

can be classified as strengths (S) or weaknesses (W), and those external to the

firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T). Such an analysis of

the strategic environment is referred to as a SWOT analysis.

The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm' s

resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates.

As such, it is instrumental in strategy formulation and selection. The following

diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into an environmental scan:

SWOT Analysis Framework

Environmental Scan

/\

Internal Analysis External Analysis

/ \ / \

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

|

SWOT Matrix

Strengths

A firm' s strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a

basis for developing a competitive advantage. Examples of such strengths

include:


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patents

strong brand names

good reputation among customers

cost advantages from proprietary know-how

exclusive access to high grade natural resources

favorable access to distribution networks

Weaknesses

The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. For example,

each of the following may be considered weaknesses:

a weak brand name

poor reputation among customers

high cost structure

lack of access to the best natural resources

lack of access to key distribution channels

In some cases, a weakness may be the flip side of a strength. Take the case in

which a firm has a large amount of manufacturing capacity. While this capacity

may be considered a strength that competitors do not share, it also may be a

considered a weakness if the large investment in manufacturing capacity

prevents the firm from reacting quickly to changes in the strategic environment.

Opportunities

The external environmental analysis may reveal certain new opportunities for

profit and growth. Some examples of such opportunities include:

an unfulfilled customer need

arrival of new technologies

loosening of regulations

removal of international trade barriers

Threats

Changes in the external environmental also may present threats to the firm.

Some examples of such threats include:


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shifts in consumer tastes away from the firm' s products

emergence of substitute products

new regulations

increased trade barriers

The SWOT Matrix

A firm should not necessarily pursue the more lucrative opportunities. Rather,

it may have a better chance at developing a competitive advantage by identifying

a fit between the firm' s strengths and upcoming opportunities. In some cases,

the firm can overcome a weakness in order to prepare itself to pursue a

compelling opportunity.

To develop strategies that take into account the SWOT profile, a matrix of these

factors can be constructed. The SWOT matrix (also known as a TOWS Matrix) is

shown below:

SWOT / TOWS Matrix

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities S-O strategies W-O strategies

Threats S-T strategies W-T strategies

S-O strategies pursue opportunities that are a good fit to the companies

strengths.

W-O strategies overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities.

S-T strategies identify ways that the firm can use its strengths to reduce its

vulnerability to external threats.

W-T strategies establish a defensive plan to prevent the firm' s weaknesses

from making it highly susceptible to external threats.


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SWOT ANALYSIS ON THE AKSHARA SYSTEM:

STRENGTH

Programmes are well knit together and well thought-of by the organization

think-tank.

Efficient and committed group of Area volunteers, Zonal volunteers, trainer

volunteers etc.

The organization and its programmes have achieved a lot in a short span

of time. (3 years)

They have covered 92 blocks out of a total 100 blocks as on Aug 2003,

covering over 20000 wards (balwadi) and over 5000 (JJP) which is a

commendable job in itself.

The acceptance of the AKSHARA vision by the society, corporate and themedia alike have indicated that the revival process is taking its effect.

More & more institutions coming forward to serve the cause of AKSHARA

through contributions or activity involvement.

WEAKNESS

Some of the balwadi teachers may pursue the programme as a source of

income and hence more impetus on numbers than the commitment

towards education. Hence it may require some extra training for these

volunteers else they could hamper the AKSHARA mission.


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The dropout rate which stands at 35% is a cause of worry, if the rate is not

brought down as soon as possible it could influence other wards also to

follow suit, thus lending the entire AKSHARA operation blunt.

Many of the Volunteers are not very clear with the Goals and Vision of

AKSHARA, which underlines a weak internal communication amongst the

volunteers and the organization.

OPPURTUNITY

There are still some areas which are yet not tapped; hence potentiality of

growth is on the cards.

The idea of ERC is getting healthy response from corporate as well as

other institutions; hence the idea is well accepted in all circles.

Mass development with regards to child education has received has

received a positive fillip.

More and more organizations seem willing to come forward to join hands

with AKSHARA in their mission, rather than start all by themselves hence

strengthening the Foundations of the organization.

THREAT

Some of the balwadi teachers may shun their operations once the

supplies (assistance) from the main office stop coming.

The idea of self-balwadi where the teachers are encouraged to start off on

their own after initial training at the centres could back-fire as they may

concentrate on their own balwadi than the former ones.


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Some of the volunteers, balwadi teachers are not very keen (informed) on

the goal of the AKSHARA, but they however continue to do the good job

of teaching the wards- this small communication gap needs to be rectified

at the earliest as the goal of every programme should be communicated

to all its members aptly.

___________________________________________________________

SUGGESTIONS / RECOMMENDATIONS

Involve more and more management Institutions in the programmes, as

these are foundation bases for a future corporate societal commitment.

The foundation also has to work towards a more strengthened tie between

its volunteers, in other words the networking chain has to be strengthened

as these volunteers represent the organizational ideologies, especially in

the wake of the organization expanding its volunteer base.

Emphasis on the clarity of Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives of the

Organisation to its volunteers.

Conduct more awareness drives, seminars pertaining AKSHARA and its

vision not only among the corporates but also the common masses.

The above suggestions are a result of our personal

experiences during the IMPACT STUDY and are a true reflection of the entire

AKS team.


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We hope the above suggestions are looked into in its right

sense, and we heartfeltly hope all the best for this institution in its endeavors

towards a better educated society.

_______ AKS team

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Text Books referred

Indian Society - By Mr.Badi

Indian Society Mark of a new era

Magazines/Journals

Akshara Vahini

Pratham

Newspaper Articles

Times Of India

Deccan Herald

Internet References

www.aksharafoundation.org

www.pratham.com

www.google.com


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www.indianngos.com

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