Empowering Through Education (142)

Empowering through Education

MIT IDEAS 2011

Apeksha Dave

David Tse

Li Ying Wu

The Vision

We believe that a rural student is more likely to build and pursue academic and professional dreams if she has guidance and a support network: With access to professionals, opportunities to

work outside of her rural community, and guidance through her high school education, she is more likely to have the passion, knowledge, and access to information required to navigate her future.

We aim to equip students with this much-needed information and teachers/ parents with the tools to provide effective career and academic advice.

Our project relies on two major programs: 1. A forum-based website that brings together

students, colleges, teachers, and professionals 2. A guidance book that provides all the

information a rural student needs to navigate India’s education system

The CommunityDue to the lack of knowledge and guidance, many talented youth in rural towns of India are unable to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.

The ProblemBased on our research, we found that many rural students do have aspirations to enter science and engineering fields, but lack the information on how to do so.

In India, upper caste Hindu youth are approximately four times more likely to graduate college than youth from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories. (Despande 2006)

India’s educational system and the processes through which a student enters the math and science streams are complicated to navigate with little easy-to-access information available. While upper class students have ample access to information, students from rural areas lack this knowledge and thus, don’t know how to get where they want to go.

HOWEVER, rural students do have opportunities that are unknown to them. Examples: Affirmative Action—the Indian government requires a minimum quota of 15% for SC

applicants (Article 15(4) of the Indian Constitution)

SC candidates are given a relaxation of marks from the minimum qualifying level Special tutoring, books, mid-day meals, stationery and uniforms to help SCs gain admission

to universities and technical institutions (National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes)

WE HOPE TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH AN EASY AND EFFECTIVE MEANS TO GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS

The Innovation

Status Quo: India does not have an organization that accredits

counselors and counseling programs. In India, classroom teachers provide counseling informally.

What makes us unique? We fill in the information void in a 2-pronged approach to

reach a wide audience and connect rural students to one another

We“…provide missing information to these young people and could, in turn, contribute to increasing their educational attainment in scientific fields.”—Sharon Barnhardt, Associated with MIT JPAL, Ass. Professor at Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai, India”

The Implementation and Sustainability

Information also gets disseminated by social practice

of open communication prevalent in rural India

Only professionals and college

admissions offi

cers have ability

to respond to questions—this

cuts down on inaccurate

information

The website becomes an

advertising platform for colleges and

NGOs