PRATHAM USA
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Pratham (which means first in Sanskrit) addresses the following problems related to education and vocational training in India: 1) Modern education in India is often criticized for encouraging rote learning, rather than comprehension, critical thinking, and problem solving. Despite having achieved 97% school enrollment, challenges remain on learning. It is estimated that a 100 million children in India lack foundational reading (second grade text) and arithmetic skills (a simple division problem). 2) Several million young men and women drop out of school for a variety of reasons and do not graduate. 3) India has one of the largest youth populations in the world and has the potential to realize a “demographic dividend.” Yet, studies show that only 2% of its current working age population has received any formal skills training. 4) During the pandemic, school closures have affected children in India who will face steep learning loss.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Literacy and Learning Programs
Our literacy and learning programs help children ages 6 - 14 build fundamental reading, writing and arithmetic skills.
Vocational Training
Pratham provides industry-specific vocational skills and job placement to youth in the hospitality, construction, bedside assistance, beauty, tailoring and automotive trades. Pratham also provides support to entrepreneurs.
Second Chance
Pratham's Second Chance program provides educational support to those who have dropped out of school (primarily females) to help them graduate and earn their diplomas.
Annual Status of Education Report
Conducted since 2005, Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is an annual survey that aims to provide reliable estimates of children's enrollment and basic learning levels for every rural district in India.
Early Childhood Education
Pratham believes that "Early Years" are the foundational period in a child's life in terms of laying the base for future growth and development. We work directly with children, villages and communities as well as in conjunction with the government to provide universal preschool access for toddlers.
Digital Learning Program
Pratham's edtech solutions empower students to use self-driven curricula to learn outside of the classroom.
In addition to providing tablets to rural communities, the digital initiative, PraDigi includes a learning app that offers children high-quality, interactive content to improve their basic literacy and numeracy skills, support their subject-specific competencies, and promote their ability to think critically and work collaboratively.
Where we work
Awards
4 Star Rating 2014
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4 Star Rating 2015
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4 Star Rating 2016
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4 Star Rating 2017
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4 Star Rating 2018
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4 Star Rating 2019
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4 Star Rating 2020
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External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students supported through literacy and learning programs through Government partnerships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metrics reflects the number of students each year that were reached to improve reading and arithmetic skills by Government schools and by their teachers using the Pratham methodologies.
Number of students directly supported through literacy and learning programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Learning Camps conducted over a 30 -50 day period and serve as the primary means for Pratham to evaluate innovation against target outcomes.
Number of youth trained through Vocational Training program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of youth equipped with skills via Vocational Training including electrical, hospitality, automotive, healthcare & beauty
Number of drop-outs re-enrolled through Second Chance Program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of youth (primarily girls and women) provided a chance to complete their secondary school education and earn their 10th grade diploma
Number of tablets distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Digital Learning Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Tablets distributed with preloaded Pratham content to children across India (from Jan 2018 - Jan 2019)
Number of communities reached
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Pratham's remote learning initiative helped ensure children continued learning during the pandemic
Reach of digital learning content online (subscribers)
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
For 26 years, our goal has been to improve the quality of education for children in India to enable them with foundational reading and arithmetic skills using innovative learning techniques.
In recent years, we have expanded our scope beyond primary education to tackle 2 issues:
-We enable young women and men who drop out before completing secondary school to complete secondary school.
-We provide employment skills to disadvantaged youth.
We collaborate with governments to increase the reach of our educational programs, and with corporations on our vocational training programs.
Over the years, Pratham's advocacy in the education sector has become well recognized and regarded, with our Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) study an important input in the education policies of both the Central and State Governments. ASER has also been significant in defining a education agenda, and is widely acknowledged in government and policy circles inside and outside of India.
Due to the pandemic, children who already face barriers to education have been affected by learning loss because of school closures. Pratham is ensuring that children in India continue to learn. Through its investments in edtech, Pratham teams were able to pivot and adapt in 2020 and began sharing learning content via phone with children in communities across in India. As schools reopen, Pratham's work is more critical than ever this year to rekindle education and learning for children and get them ready for school.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our guiding principles are:
INNOVATE: Create outcome driven low-cost and replicable solutions focused on results. e.g. We use Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) in our learning programs. We group students as per their learning level rather than age. Through focused attention and hands-on activities, we ensure that each child masters the fundamentals.
MEASURE RESULTS: We test and evaluate learning models rigorously so they can be easily replicated on a large scale. We also track gaps in children's learning nationwide through our Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), the largest citizen-led household survey. ASER findings also help advocate for quality education.
COLLABORATE & SCALE: We work in collaboration with India's governments to impact large populations of children. Additionally, for our vocational programs, we partner with industry for expertise on program design and job placement.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
INNOVATION - We redefine learning by moving beyond traditional models of how, where & when learning occurs.
ACCOUNTABILITY - We deliver evidence-based programs that have been rigorously scrutinized by internal & external evaluators.
ADAPTABILITY - We offer versatile, easy-to-use solutions that educators can apply to their communities.
COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS - We engage with community, government & industry to maximize impact.
RESOURCES - 6,000+ staff in India are trained to take any child 7 years+ & make sure they reading fluently & able to do basic arithmetic operations in 30-40 days.
GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP - Pratham has a strong governance structure with an active & engaged board & founders who are leaders in the field of education.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our Impact:
75 million children have been given an opportunity to learn since 1995.
125,000 youth have been equipped with relevant job skills since 2005.
3,200 entrepreneurs have been provided with support for micro-enterprises.
36,000 girls have been given a second chance to earn their secondary school diploma since 2011.
14 countries have adopted Pratham assessment methods.
OUR IMPACT: 2020–2021
We reach millions of children and youth in India each year through operations in 23 cities, 21 states,
and two union territories. The past 12 months have been like no other. Facing up to the challenges of Covid-19 we have:
• reached 500,000+ children directly with
learning opportunities suited to their own level
• served 20,000 communities
• helped 200,000+ children catch up on lost
learning due to school closures
• given 4,000+ women a “second chance” to
earn their second school certificate
• trained over 50,000 youth and placed 27,000
graduates in jobs
• equipped more than 700 partners with digital
learning content through Pradigi Pratham
Open Schools.
Our ASER survey has continued to inspire a
network of citizen-led assessments of children’s
learning in 14 countries on three continents.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
PRATHAM USA
Board of directorsas of 09/02/2022
Deepak Raj
Avinash Ahuja
Sudesh Arora
Jaideep Khanna
Marie Goradia
Swatantra Jain
Manoj Singh
Arvind Sanger
Paul Pandian
Dinyar (Dinny) Devitre
Suren Gupta
Deepak Raj
Adarsh Sarma
Rajesh (Raj) Shah
Fareed Zakaria
Victor Khosla
Pradeep Singh
Riaz Valani
Ila Paliwal
Jai Vardhan Saboo
Gagan Singh
Viral Acharya
Sheila Gulati
Sumeet Jaisinghani
Rattan L. Khosa
Neha Desai Shah
Dhiren Shethia
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data