Isha Vidhya Info Docket 2012 13 v9

8/22/2019 Isha Vidhya Info Docket 2012 13 v9

1/29

Isha Vidhya Schools Information Docket

Page 25 of 27


2/29

Name of Organization Isha Education

Office Address Isha Vidhya

No. 14, C A Thevar Layout,Kannapiran Mills Road, Udayampalayam

Coimbatore- 641 028.

Ph: 91-422-4272740.

Project Lead Vinod Hari (Project Director - Isha Vidhya)

Tel No: +91-9841048949, 9442228606

Email :[email protected]

Website: www.ishavidhya.org

Legal Status and

Registrations

Public Charitable Trust registered vide Trust Deed no. 102 of

2005 book 4 vol 30, dated 8-4-2005.

Registration under sec 12A(a) of IT Act:C.No.327(398)/2005-06/CIT-III/CBE dated 7-10-2005

Section 80G of IT Act: C.No.327(398)/2008-09/CIT-III/CBE

PAN (Permanent Account Number): AAATI4764K

FCRA Registration: No. 075850261 dated 12th November

2009

Who We Are

Isha Foundation, founded by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, is a non-profit NGO headquartered at

Coimbatore. For the last three decades, Isha has been propagating the science of yoga

throughout the world with the objective of bringing about holistic development that will allow

individuals to realize their true potential.

As a part ofIshas social outreach programs, Isha Vidhya rural schools have been started in

villages (under the umbrella ofIsha Education, established in 2005) to provide high quality

school education to underprivileged rural children who cannot otherwise access or afford it.

Page 25 of 27
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ishavidhya.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.ishavidhya.org/


3/29

Management

OurBoard of Trustees and Advisory Committee include eminent people who, as independent

appointees, actively participate in the activities of the schools.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES:

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Founder Trustee and Chairperson

Swami Nisarga,M.E, Managing Trustee

Ms. Bharathi Varadaraj, Correspondent- Isha Home School

Mr. Prahlad Kakkar,Advertising Guru

Mr. Deepak Satwalekar, Ex-MD, HDFC Ltd. and HDFC Standard Life Ltd.

Mr. Dorairaj, Senior Advocate

Mr. Sachin Gupta, Head- Legal: ILFS Group

Mr. H.Ramesh, Chairman, TSS Group, Hyderabad

Mr. C.Prabhakar, Director Gopalan Enterprises, Bangalore

ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Mr. Ravi Venkatesan, Ex-Chairman, Microsoft India

Mr. K. Kumaran, Industrialist

Mr. Armoogum Parsuramen, Former Head, UNESCO India

Mr. D.R.Karthikeyan, Former Director, CBI

Mr. M.P.Vijayakumar, Former Head- Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Tamilnadu

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:

This committee meets once a month to review and decide on critical policies / decisions

affecting the operations of the Isha Vidhya rural schools.

Mr. Vinod Hari, Project Director Isha Vidhya

Mr. C.P.Vishwanath, Academic Director (MD of Karadi Tales Company)

Mr. Gopi. V, Infrastructure Coordinator

Ms. Diana Price, Academic Coordinator

Mr. J. Balamurugan, IAS, Chairman of the Committee

Mr. K. Sekar, M.Tech, Head- Isha Outreach

Mr. L.K.Narayan, Chartered Accountant, CFO

The core Executive team of the Management Committee consists of the first 4 named above.

Page 25 of 27


4/29

Mr. Vinod Hari, theProject Director of Isha Vidhya, is a B.Tech. (Mech.) from IIT Madras and

holds a PGDM from IIM Bangalore. He is a full-time volunteer overseeing the project overall.All

members of the Management Committee, which comprises the core project team, are

full time volunteers except for C.P.Vishwanath, who is also Managing Director of the

Karadi Tales Company and volunteers part time.

Background

Despite considerable economic progress in India in the last couple of decades, poverty has

continued to pervade rural areas. However, with access to education, youth in rural areas can

be empowered towards wellbeing and contributing to the countrys development.

Unfortunately, children in rural areas have been denied access to a proper education, with

schools lacking basic facilities and teachers being unmotivated and frequently absent. Even

those who eventually make it through twelve years of schooling graduate lacking even basic

skills, making it impossible to seek gainful employment or pursue higher education.

According to Annual Status of Education Report, 2011 survey taken in Tamil Nadu schools - In Std III to

V, 50% children cannot even read beyond Std.1 text. In Std. 8.34% of children cant read beyond Std.2

text, 88% of children in Std V cant do division.

Isha Vidhyas English-medium schools open the door for rural children to successfully pursue

higher studies and gainful employment. The holistic, activity-based approach nurtures childrens

development beyond just academics, ensuring that students realize their full potential and learn

in a joyful manner.

Page 25 of 27


5/29

Mission

Isha Vidhya aims to provide high quality school education to rural children who cannot

otherwise afford it. Isha Vidhya schools

take education beyond literacy and rudimentary skills

strive to make children fluent in English and adept in computer skills

adopt a nurturing approach to education, helping children realize their full potential

actively promote education of female children

increase educational awareness in rural communities

preserve village identities and culture.

equip rural youth with skills to rise above the hopeless situation they often find themselves

in, empowering them to pursue higher studies or gainful employment

Progress So Far & Salient Features

The first Isha Vidhya school was set up in June 2006 in a village called

Sandegoundanpalayam about 30Km from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

Today there are 8 rural schools in the districts of Coimbatore, Erode, Nagercoil, Tuticorin,

Villipuram, Salem and Cuddalore in Tamilnadu and in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.

Page 25 of 27
http://blog-cdn.isha.ws/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Isha-Vidhya-4.jpg


6/29

The first 7 currently have classes from Kindergarten to Class 8, while the Chittoor school

which was started in June 2012, has from LKG to Class 2.

Infrastructure by way of clean and spacious classrooms, science, maths and computer labs,

digital classroom, library, playground and play equipment, and adequate toilet facilitiesensures no compromise in the quality of facilities provided to the students.

The school infrastructure is funded out of individual and corporate donations. The operating

expenses are partly met through the fees charged and mainly through the sponsorship from

donors towards scholarships and food/ transport subsidies.

The schools have 4050 students, many of whom are first-generation learners and come

from economically backward families.

58% of these children are supported on full scholarships while the remaining pay a nominal

fee. The scholarships cover tuition, notebooks and textbooks.

The scholarships are funded by individual and corporate donations.

Special efforts are made to include the most economically and socially disadvantaged

children, including tribal children and female students.

There are presently 223 teachers and 170 staff in all schools and central office put together.

Day to day operations of the schools are managed by a team that is overseen by a

Management Committee comprised of highly qualified and experienced people. All of these

individuals are full or part-time volunteers who receive no remuneration for their services.

Each school has a Principal who deals with the academic aspects and also the recruitment

and training of teachers, and an Administrator who deals with the administrative aspects. A

group of volunteers assists each school in various ways.

Special methodologies, digital content and educational aids are used to augment the

curriculum, improve grasp of concepts and speed up learning of English.

Children are taught in English to equip them better for the future.

Page 25 of 27


7/29

Students acquire computer skills, have access to library facilities and are taken on field trips.

A nutritious mid-day meal is served with proteins and vegetables. The salt used is fortified

with 11 essential micronutrients. The meal is highly subsidized.

The schools have children living in about 20-25 villages within a radius of upto 15 or in

some cases, even 20 km from the school.

Transportation to and from the school is provided at cost, with deserving children getting

subsidy support from sponsors. Given the distances these children have to travel to school

and concerns of safety, this is a big incentive to get parents to send the children to school.

Annual medical camps monitor students hearing, vision, dental and general health.

Existing Facilities : At present, each school has between 20 to 24 classrooms and a toilet

block with separate toilets for boys and girls. In addition, there is an Admin block which has

the rooms for Principal, Vice Principal, Staff room & Store room. Of the classrooms, 1 is set

aside for the Library, 1 for the Maths lab, 1 for Science Lab, 1 for Computer Aided Learning

lab, 1 for DVD classroom and 2 for V-Sat Digital Classrooms. When fully completed, each

school will have 42 classrooms including all the labs.

School buses owned by the schools augment hired vans for providing necessary transport

to students and teachers.

Curriculum & Methodology

The schools follow the State Board syllabus.

English is the medium of instruction in all schools. The Karadi Path method and Power English

are two methodologies being used to achieve fluency in the language. There is extensive

exposure to edutainment in the English language this makes the children achieve

competency in English, on an average, within 3 years of schooling.

A Math lab is established at each school with several classroom educational aids to teach

children concepts in Maths more effectively and in a practical manner.

Page 25 of 27


8/29

Montessori materials and other classroom educational aids including digital content are

extensively used.

Classroom learning is augmented by field trips. Computer-aided learning is extensively used.

Slow learners are given extra attention with experienced teachers acting as resource teachers

to give special individual attention to them separate from the rest of the class.

Children learn in a stress-free environment. Discipline is enforced without physical punishment

or harsh words, mainly through positive reinforcement.

Basic hygiene is taught by the teachers; given the environments many of these children come

from, it is in school that many learn how to brush their teeth, keep themselves neat and clean,

and even how to use a toilet.

There is lot of focus on recruiting the right teachers, giving them adequate training and keeping

them motivated.

Major Donors Associated in the Past 3 Years:

Some of Isha Vidhyas major corporate donors during the last three years include Infosys

Foundation, Apollo Hospitals Group, LIC of India, Tata Motors, Agility Logistics, SBI Life, Ashok

Leyland, Jayabharatham Furniture Appliances, Cognizant Foundation, Chase Community

Giving, Barclays Capital, EID Parry, Ramaniyam Real Estate, Gaja Advisory Services, Lakhi

Foundation, Seahorse Trust, S.Kumars Nationwide, Asha Foundation, Cognizant Foundation,

Page 25 of 27


9/29

Tamilnadu Foundation, Yatra Foundation, the Indian Diamond industry, HP, IBM, India Infoline,

MyIris.com, Alok Industries, Tamilnadu Newsprint and Paper, ICICI Lombard, ICICI Pru Life,

etc. besides thousands of individual donors.

New Initiative:

Isha Vidhya is also taking a major step in bringing the Isha Vidhya learnings and methodology

into government schools. 31 Govt. schools in Coimbatore, Dharmapuri and Salem Districts have

been adopted to take up various initiatives aimed at improving quality in these schools.

The government of Tamil Nadu is building school infrastructure, but in terms of the capabilities,

we realized that Isha Vidhya has invested and developed a great deal of experience, which can

be translated into methodology, curriculum and teaching environment in government schools.

Since most rural children are still dependent on these schools for their education, this initiative

has been started to provide the badly needed support and upgradation of government school

education.

We plan to first tackle the two fundamental problems present in government schools

1) The very high student teacher ratio affects the effectiveness of the class and inability to

support slow learners, mainly on account of inadequate teachers. By hiring and training

additional teachers who are placed in these Govt. schools, Isha is able to make a big difference

in the quality of learning not only for the slow learners but also for the other children by bringing

the student-teacher ratio to 1:35, thus improving the effectiveness of the other existing classes

as well.

2) Lack of interest and lack of a well-rounded curriculum. Sports, arts and crafts, health,

environmental education, and music not only create an interest in children to attend school, but

are also very essential for the all-round development of the child. Additionally, we are

introducing English language interventions to effectively teach English as a second language in

these schools.

Our Isha Vidhya schools will also serve as demonstration and training centers to aid

government schools in their vicinity. We hope to document and digitize these training sessions

and make them available online, so that teachers will have access to this material more readily.

Page 25 of 27


10/29

We expect the training material to be available online in another year or so to address this

need.

We hope to make this project a robust and workable model in the long run. We realize a lot of

work needs to be done and of course, support is required from the government itself. Dealing

with absenteeism among teachers is another focus area. In our experience, over 80% of

teachers in government schools are extremely keen to do a good job, but the circumstances

frustrate them. We are looking at eliminating these frustrations and providing training to the

teachers. Once the children are motivated and the teachers better equipped, they will naturally

be interested to teach and care for the children.

Interventions in Government Schools have started with

1. Hiring teachers to reduce the student-teacher ratio

2. Hiring teachers for special teaching to slow-learners to mainstream them,

3. English language program intervention

4. Infusing hitherto neglected aspects like sports, yoga, arts and crafts, and health and

hygiene into school life.

5. Basic training teachers to maintain discipline without physical punishment, motivating

children, lesson planning, access and use of classroom educational aids and digital

content,

In future years, we may also look to adding desperately needed infrastructure like toilets,computers, library books, etc.

This is likely to result in several thousands of children benefitting from the transformation that is

achieved by a meaningful education.

Future Plans:

Isha Vidhyas future plans may be broadly classified under three areas:

1. Expansion of exisiting Schools and construction of new schools on the same model

2. Expanding the Government School Interventions

3. Virtual School Project

Existing Schools Expansion & Opening of New Schools:

Page 25 of 27


11/29

Each of the 7 existing schools has up to Class 7 for the academic year starting June 2011,

and a new grade will be added each year as the children progress to the next class.

A new school is starting in in 2012-13 at Aragonda village, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh,

the first Isha Vidhya school outside Tamilnadu, sponsored by Apollo Hospitals.

Another new school in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu will be ready for the academic year

2013-2014. The complete building for this school is being sponsored by Infosys Foundation.

It is planned to set up several more such schools, at least 1 in each of the 32 district of TN.

Each school will eventually cater to 1200 students.

A new school costs Rs. 5.6 crores (Rs. 56 million or US$ 1.16 million or 0.75mn) and

requires 5 acres of land @ approx. Rs. 50 lakhs ( Rs. 5 million or US$ 0.11 mn or 0.07mn)

Details of the Govt School Interventions and Virtual School Project are given in Annexure 3.

Current Funding Requirements & Estimates

The requirement of funds fall under three categories:

1. Infrastructure for existing Isha Vidhya schools

2. Student Sponsorships

3. Govt. School Intervention

Infrastructure for existing Isha Vidhya schools

The following are the Infrastructure priorities for the 7 existing Isha Vidhya Schools in TN for the

year 2012-13. The aggregate estimate for the same is Rs. 65.45 million ($ 1.36 mn / 0.87 mn).

69 Classrooms with furniture (each Rs. 0.75 mn /$ 15625 / 10000)

7 Toilet Blocks (each Rs. 1.3 mn/$ 27083 / 17333)

Math Lab Material for each school (Rs. 54,000/ $ 1,125/ 720)

Educational Aids for each school (Rs. 120,200 /$ 2,504 / 1,603)

Science Lab Material for each school (Rs. 18,800/ $ 392 / 251)

Sports Eqpt for each school (Rs. 35,000 / $ 729 / 467)

Kitchen Eqpt for each school (Rs. 67,500 / $ 1,406 / 900)

Office Eqpt for each school (Rs. 95,000 / $ 1,979 / 1,267)

Page 25 of 27


12/29

Display Boards & Creative Aids for each school (Rs.3,000 / $ 63 / 40)

Seedling Nursery Matl for each school (Rs.22000 / $ 458 / 293)

Detailed cost break-ups are given in Annexure 4.

Classrooms:

For every additional classroom built in our schools, 40 additional children can be educated. The

well ventilated and spacious classrooms are so designed that the children would love to come

and teachers feel happy to teach in. The labs will allow the curriculum to be supported fully with

practical learning. These will benefit the entire school, which, at full capacity will have 1200

students. The additional classes are to cater to the higher classes upto Class10 and additional

labs for physics, chemistry, math & computer aided learning. No. reqd.: 69

Toilet Blocks:

As the number of students increase, additional toilets are required for boys and girls. A block in

each school is proposed. No. reqd: 7

School Buses:

Many of our children come from considerable distances from the schools with limited access to

public transport. We provide a transport service at cost; which is either through hired vans or

owned school buses. However, even this is unaffordable for some parents, and has been the

reason for some children dropping out of school. In some cases, this has even been a deterrent

to prospective students. If we had our own buses, we would be able to offer this service at a

lower cost which would be more affordable to the students. We would also be able to shorten

their travel time by optimizing routes.

Sports Equipment:

Sports and other extra-curricular activities play a valuable role in socially integrating the tribal

children with our other students. Many of the tribal children excel in physical activities, and their

success in these areas has gained them the respect of their peers, leading to their social

integration. This in turn provides a strong motivation for continuing in school.

Games like Volleyball, throwball, football, tennekoit are proposed to be established.

Office Equipment & Miscellaneous:

Page 25 of 27


13/29

Equipment like photocopier, intercom, Public address system, boards for display of childrens

talent and for teaching, are some of the other requirements.

Kitchen Equipment:

It is proposed to add a vegetable cutting machine to improve cutting efficiency and ensure

timely completion of cooking, along with other balancing equipment including replacement of

cooking vessels and plates due to wear and tear.

Student Sponsorships

Need based scholarships and fee subsidies are provided to deserving students. A

comprehensive allocation process ensures only students truly in need receive scholarships/ fee

subsidies. Sponsors are matched with specific students and receive regular updates including

photos, letters and progress reports. Sponsors are encouraged to support a student for the

entire duration of education at Isha Vidhya. Donors can sponsor a child for any of the following

requirements for the Academic Year 2012-13:

Full Educational Supports (Rs. 20000 / $480 / BPS 300 / child/ Year). This covers all

requirements of the child including tuition, books, notebooks, uniforms, transport &

nutritious noon meals. Requirement: 245

Scholarships (Rs. 10000 / $240 / BPS 150 / child/ Yr.). Even nominal fees are too

much for some rural families. Recognizing this challenge, Isha Vidhya provides

scholarships which cover students tuition, notebooks, textbooks and nutritional health

snacks These would support tuition, books& notebooks, uniforms Requirement: 2000

Food Subsidy sponsorships (Rs. 3000 / $72 / BPS 45 / child/ Yr.). Many of our

children come from families where both parents are daily wagers, who need to leave for

work early. Usually, they cook just once a day and this is the dinner, a portion of which is

kept aside for the children as breakfast and lunch as well. In the absence of any

vegetables, fruit or proteins, the nutritional content of their food is very poor. This

severely impedes the physical and mental growth of the children. By providing at least

one tasty and nutritious meal to these kids, two issues are addressed health of the

children and incentivizing the parent to send their child to school. Requirement: 2580

Page 25 of 27


14/29

Transport Subsidy sponsorships (Rs. 5250 / $130 / BPS 80 / child/ Yr.) Many of our

children struggle to travel to our school due to the absence of low cost, dependable

public transport. Children sometimes come from surrounding villages as far as 5 to 20

km away in our school vans or buses. The transport cost is unaffordable to most

parents. As a result children end up dropping out of our schools or end up going to

poorly run Government schools nearer to their homes. School buses are run by Isha

Vidhya schools on a no-loss-no-profit basis. These provide safe and the most

economical means of transport for the children. Requirement: 150

Govt School Intervention:

The 31 Govt. schools which have been adopted now would require a total of Rs. 15 million per

annum for next 5 years to pay salaries for teachers hired to fill the gaps, provide English

language intervention and extra-curriculars support. Each additional Govt. school adopted

would require an average of Rs. 0.5 mn per annum.

Support Requirements from Donors:

We seek support to complete the necessary infrastructure for the coming year for the 7 Isha

Vidhya Matriculation Schools. Classrooms, blocks and school buses will be named after

sponsors. Sponsorship of students is also welcomed. You may also sponsor a Govt. School or

part thereof.

For online and offline donations and details of addresses, etc. please refer Annexure 5.

For queries related to donations please contact:

Email: [email protected], ph: 91-422-4272740 or 91-9442544458

Donations are eligible for 80G tax benefits in India & 501 in USA. Cheques may be made in

favour of Isha Education and sent to our office address as follows:

Isha Vidhya, 14, CA Theyvar Layout, Kannapiran Mills Road, Udayampalayam,

Coimbatore- 641028. Ph:+91- 0422- 4272740, +91-9442544458.

Page 25 of 27
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


15/29

Volunteering opportunities:

We also welcome volunteering engagement by individuals and corporate employees, besides

visits to the schools as convenient. Please contact:[email protected]

Main Area Description

Awareness &

Visibility Creation

Introduce friends to Isha Vidhya (Awareness Creation),

Develop content for Newsletter, Blog, Annual Report, Website pages

Design mailers, newsletter, posters, brochures & fund-raising webpages for various campaigns

Website re-design

Document student profiles & transformations

Video films: script, videograph, edit videos about Isha Vidhya.

Help prepare fund-raising proposals

Academics

Collect books, CDs, DVDs other educational aids which families have

but whose children have outgrown the use of Assisting with documentation & digitization of: Methodologies, lesson

plans, training modules. Providing talks/ demos on topics of interest to children (could be any

topic of interest, not just curriculum related) Identifying/helping slow learners (if suitably qualified)

Screen/ evaluate digital content already available for quality

Join as a Teacher

Fund Raising Start fund raising campaigns,

Provide leads and contacts for fund raising

Participate in Marathons for fund raising

Identify and link us to people who can supply materials required inschool at low / free of cost

Govt. School

Intervention Project

Research, Brainstorm & Design curriculum for non-academic areaslike Sports, Arts & Crafts, Health/Nutrition/Hygiene, Environment,Music, etc

Documentation & Digitisation of these

Training module creation for the above and other academic modules

Virtual School

Project

Research and identification of digital content from the netsupplement classroom teaching mapped to curriculum,

Screen / Rate content already available on the net and evaluatesuitability, quality

General Help develop IT systems for donor feedback, accounting, scholarship

management, student info, communications, etc.

Page 25 of 27


16/29

Annexure1 List of Isha Vidhya Schools & their Addresses

Coimbatore SchoolIsha Vidhya Matriculation School

SandegoundenpalayamIkkarai Booluvampatti Post

Coimbatore - 641 109

Nagercoil SchoolIsha Vidhya Matriculation School

Kurandi, TheroorDevakulam Post

Suchindrum - 629 704, Kanya Kumari District

Tuticorin SchoolIsha Vidhya Matriculation School

Kottampuli, Pudukottai PostTuticorin District 628 103

Erode SchoolIsha Vidhya Matriculation School

Perumapalayam, Kanagapuram PostVellodu (Via), Erode District 638 112

Villupuram SchoolIsha Vidhya Agility Matriculation School

Patthiyapettai, Thirunavalur PostVillupuram District 607 204

Cuddalore School

Isha Vidhya Matriculation SchoolMadavappallam, Samiyarpettai Post

Chidambaram Taluk, Cuddalore District 608 801

Salem SchoolIsha Vidhya Ramaniyam Matriculation School

Nangavally, Vanavasi PostMettur Taluk, Salem District 636 457

Chittoor SchoolApollo Isha Vidhya Rural School

Aragonda, Aragonda Main Road,

Chittoor District.Andhra Pradesh.

Page 25 of 27


17/29

Annexure 2: Impact of Isha Vidhya Schools

Educational impact:

Students learning outcomes in certain areas may take years to manifest, and the full benefit of

Isha Vidhya education will only be observable once students have graduated; however, a

number of steps are taken to measure immediate impact and estimate future impact. For the

purpose of measuring impact, the educational objectives of Isha Vidhya can be divided into two

categories:

1. Academic success related to finding gainful employment / pursuing higher education

2. Overall well being beyond academic or job-focused success

For the first point, the academic success of the child here includes the learning of factual

information as well as the development of cognitive skills, intuitive thinking, and a joy for

learning. Measurement of the these happens in the following ways:

1. School assessment of students: students are assessed by their teachers throughout the

term through observation and recording of their performance on: class work, home work,

class participation, projects, quizzes, speeches. Twice a term students from class 1 and up

are formally assessed through exams. Kindergarten students assessment takes place

solely through observation of their performance and participation in class activities,

worksheets and completion of individual activities. These assessments allow for comparison

of performance by a student from one year to the next and for between students within the

same school.

2. Once a year, the Isha Vidhya Academic team conducts a central assessment of students

from class 3 and up. This assessment is curriculum neutral, meaning that its not directly

linked to what may have been covered in class, and tests for overall skills and knowledge

expected at different learning levels. This assessment allows for comparison of student and

school performance from one year to the next and between Isha Vidhya schools.

3. 3rd Party Assessment: from the 2011-12 Academic Year onwards, a curriculum neutral

assessment developed by Education Initiatives (EI) is conducted in all schools from class 3

and up. EI conducts tests in a wide range of schools, and their assessment allows for the

benchmarking of Isha Vidhya student performance relative to students in private and

government schools. Their assessment also provides valuable insight into where directional

adjustments may be needed in the approach of Isha Vidhya academics. This assessment

Page 25 of 27


18/29

which was completed in Dec 2012, showed that Isha Vidhya students performed

substantially better than the Govt school children across the State of TN and also better

than children in other rural Private schools.

4. Assessment of teacher performance: Isha Vidhya Academic team assesses the type and

quality of education delivered by the its school teachers as a means for assessing

anticipated long term educational impact. Teachers are regularly observed against a set of

standards throughout the year and formally assessed once a term. Ongoing training for

teachers is designed and delivered based on the assessment results.

5. Observation and interaction with students: Isha Vidhya Academic team randomly conducts

non-formal interactions with students and classes to assess their cognitive and intuitive

abilities as well as their enthusiasm and involvement in school and learning.

The second objective by and large cannot be formally assessed; however, some quantitative

and qualitative assessment happens through the following means:

1. Medical checkups are conducted once a year to assess students overall health. For

students needing medical attention, guidance and in some cases financial support is

provided to the parents for the childrens follow up treatment.

2. Nutrition related progress of the children as a result of mid-day meals. Extent of prevalence

of mal-nutrition and anaemia are also measured during the annual check-ups.

3. Interaction with students by visitors from other schools and other parts of India has

consistently brought about the feedback that Isha Vidhya students are more enthusiastic,

joyful and healthy looking that similarly aged students in other schools in the surrounding

areas.

Other areas of impact:

Beyond the scope of education, the presence of the Isha Vidhya schools positively impacts the

local communities in a multitude of ways. Quantitatively measurable impacts include increased

land value around the school; paving of roads to and around the school; and laying of telephone

cables, pipes for drinking water & electricity links to homes in the surrounding villages.

Page 25 of 27


19/29

The schools also provide an increasing number of employment opportunities to the local

communities for construction work, teachers, administrators, and other school staff, resulting in

improved economic standing in the local communities.

Qualitative benefits though more difficult to measure are equally valuable and include the

building relations and understanding between people from different economic and social groups,

building awareness and pride in local traditions and culture, and generating good will and

motivation in the local community. These benefits occur in the seamless coming together of

volunteers (from the nearby cities, across India, and the around world), parents and local

community members in supporting Isha Vidhya and in participating in school events. From

before the school is built throughout the years, volunteers, parents and local community

members play an integral role in bringing about the success of the school, and also share in the

celebration with students during the various school functions and cultural programs.

Parent -Teacher meetings also provide indicators of the extent of positive change in parental

attitudes to education of their wards from indifference or helplessness to keen interest and pride

in their childs progress. This is indicative of the increasing importance given by the parents to

education of their children.

Page 25 of 27


20/29

Annexure -3: Future Plans

Govt. School Interventions:

With experience in setting up and running schools in rural districts of Tamil Nadu, Isha Vidhya is

only too aware of the challenges faced by government schools. These include:

Very high student-teacher ratio

Lack of basic facilities such as toilets, benches, library books, etc.

Lack of accountability, demotivated teachers and a high absenteeism rate

Demotivated students and a high drop-out rate

From the academic year 2013-14, the Isha Vidhya schools will leverage their experience, the

tools developed and facilities created to start interventions in Government Schools in the

vicinity. These interventions by Isha Vidhya schools acting as demonstration and training

centres, will aim to enhance the quality of education in Govt. schools. The interventions

envisaged include the following:

Hiring teachers to fill critical gaps and reduce the student-teacher ratio

Improve English language capabilities of students through other methodologies.

Train Govt. school teachers to access and use classroom educational aids and digital

content with computers and other technology that would improve their teaching abilities

while making classes more interesting.

Infusing hitherto neglected aspects like Sports, Yoga, Arts & Crafts, Health & Hygiene,Environmental education to bring all round development and sustain students interest in

coming to school.

Adding some badly needed infrastructure like toilets, computers, library books, etc.

The above are likely to enhance motivation of the Govt. school teachers and students to be

regular to school by making learning and teaching far more interesting and effective,

This is likely to result in several thousands of children benefitting from the transformation that is

achieved by a meaningful education. Isha Vidhya is presently building up its capacities for theabove interventions.

Page 25 of 27


21/29

Virtual School Project:

The vision of the endeavor is to create a platform that will support customized global education.

The initial goal is to categorize supplemental content for various curriculums like Tamil Nadu

State Board, CBSE, etc. To do this, we propose to working with a cloud-enabled platform to

create a social learning network. We look to the platform to initially help augment the existing

curriculum and eventually provide the basis for a holistic education that can be initiated,

supported and completed online. This exercise is a critical linchpin in connecting the dots across

various existing assets and capabilities, both online and offline.

NEEDFORTHE PROJECT

The internet today hosts a very large number of educational content available for free on

virtually any topic under the sun. Such content comes in the form of Audio, Video or Text.

However, for a lay user to access this content, the following problems come in the way:

Quality of content varies widely. So for a user to identify what is good would take

considerable research.

Content is not mapped to any fixed syllabus or curriculum. So appropriateness of level for

the users requirement is difficult to ascertain without going through the content first.

Content for a particular curriculum is not aggregated in a systematic manner, but is spread

all across.

With good quality teachers difficult to come by in rural areas and likely to remain a problem,

there is a need to provide support to these teachers and students, if quality of rural education

needs to be enhanced significantly.

If the content available freely on the net could be harnessed and aggregated, with mapping to

specific curricula, reviewed, rated and made easy to access, it could prove very useful to a wide

range of users, especially teachers and students from rural areas.The development of a virtualschool with use of technology, aims to fulfill this role.

If the project is taken to its fullest potential, and if technology access improves

significantly over the coming years, the Virtual School could benefit thousands of

underprivileged children across the world.

Page 25 of 27


22/29

WHATTHEPROJECTENTAILS

Isha Vidhya will use a technology platform (various alternatives are being evaluated) to

aggregate and make available suitable content for schools, mapped to a curriculum and easy toaccess through the internet, free of cost to any student, teacher or parent. Eventually, the Virtual

School will serve as global, customized, on-line classrooms.

The aggregation is sought to be done by enlisting a large team of volunteers and over a period

of time by the student and teacher community that uses the Virtual School.

Volunteers will identify appropriate content already available on the internet and

aggregate it in Cloud-based virtual classrooms, with specific reference to identified

curricula such as the Tamilnadu State Board, CBSE, etc.

This content aggregation will be facilitated by an easy to use technology platform.

The content can be downloaded, reviewed, rated, commented upon and augmented by

users of the same, who would be volunteers, teachers, students or parents with access

to internet and registered to the platform.

All these users would have free registration and access to the Virtual School through the

platform.

The more the number of volunteers who register and use the platform to add content

and rate it, the faster the Virtual School will develop. Regular users like teachers, students and parents would then find it easier to access

content and also know the appropriateness and quality of the material aggregated as the

ratings would also be more reliable when there are more users rating the content.

In later phases of the project, the content could be translated into vernacular languages,

sub-titled, etc to make it available to a wider range of users.

EXPECTEDBENEFITS

School teachers have a wealth of resources (audio, video and text) to draw upon tosupplement their teaching

School students anywhere can access appropriate material to assist their studies

Private schools in the rural areas are, perhaps, likely to be the first users of the platform.

Government schools would follow, with availability of technology in the schools and

training on their usage, which this project will seek to provide.

Page 25 of 27


23/29

Annexure 4: Funding Priorities for all Isha Vidhya Schools

Sl#

Scholarship/SubsidyDescription

UnitRate(INR

)

UnitRate(USD)

UnitRat

e(GB

P)

TotalQty

Reqd.

Amount(Rs inMn.)

Amount

($ inMn.)

Amount

( inMn.)

1

Full Educational

Support/child/per year

Covering Tuition, books,notebooks, noon-meal,

transport & uniform

20,000

480 300 245 4.90 0.12 0.07

2 Scholarship/child/yearCovering Tuition, books &notebooks

10,000

240 150 2000 20.00 0.48 0.30

3TransportSubsidy/child/year

5,250

130 80 150 0.79 0.02 0.01

4Noon-Meal Subsidy/child/year

3,000

72 45 2580 7.74 0.19 0.12

Total 33.43 0.80 0.50

Sl#

Infrastructurerequirement

Unit Rate(INR)

UnitRate(USD)

UnitRate(GBP)

Qty required Tot.Qty

Amount

(Rs inMn.)

Amount

($ inMn.)

Amount

( inMn.)

SGP

ERD

VAN

VIL

CUD

TUT

NGK

1Classroom (incl. com.area) 690,000

14,375

9,200 10 10 10 11 8 10 10 69 47.61 0.99 0.63

2

Furniture & Electrical

Items 60,000

1,25

0 800 10 10 10 11 8 10 10 69 4.14 0.09 0.06

3 Toilet Block 1,300,00027,0

8317,3

33 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 9.10 0.19 0.12

4 Math Lab Materials 54,0001,12

5 720 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.38 0.01 0.01

5 Science Lab Materials 18,800 392 251 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.13 0.00 0.00

6 Educational Aids 120,2002,50

41,60

3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.84 0.02 0.01

7 Sports Equipment 35,000 729 467 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.25 0.01 0.00

8 Kitchen Equipments 67,5001,40

6 900 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.47 0.01 0.01

Page 25 of 27


24/29

9 Office Equipment 95,0001,97

91,26

7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.67 0.01 0.0110

Creativity Displayboard 3,000 63 40 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 12 0.04 0.00 0.00

11 Library Shelves 2,200 46 29 0 4 4 1 3 0 2 14 0.03 0.00 0.0012

Replace., Misc.Furniture

121,600(Avg.)

2,533

1,621 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.85 0.02 0.01

1

3

Computers, Elect.

Items

52,000

(Avg.) 1083 693 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.36 0.01 0.0014

Seedling NurseryMaterials 22,000 458 293 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.15 0.00 0.00

15 Other requirements

61,700(Avg.)

1,285 823 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0.43 0.01 0.01

Total 65.45 1.36 0.87

Page 25 of 27


25/29

Annexure 4 (A): Funding priorities for Govt. School AdoptionProgram

Government School Adoption Program - CoimbatoreDistrict requirements

S.No.

School Name Village NameTeachershonorariu

m & TA

SpokenEnglish

Sports

Total

1Govt.Hr.Sec.Scho

ol,Kuniamuthur 374,000 20,000 6,000

400,000

2 Govt.High School, Kulathupalayam 235,400 20,000 6,000261,40

0

3Govt.Hr.Sec.Scho

ol,Sundakamuthur 259,400 20,000 6,000

285,400

4 Govt.HighSchool, Semmedu, 185,000 20,000 6,000211,00

0

5Govt.Hr.Sec.Scho

ol,Madvaroyapura

m,191,000 20,000 6,000

217,000

6 Govt.High School, Madampatti 225,200 20,000 6,000251,20

0

7Govt.Hr.Sec.Scho

ol,Alandurai 132,800 20,000 6,000

158,800

8 Govt.GirlsHr.Sec.School,

Thondamuthur 213,200 20,000 6,000 239,200

9Govt.Boys

Hr.Sec.School,Thodamuthur 213,200 20,000 6,000

239,200

10Govt. High

School,Devarayapuram 150,800 20,000 6,000

176,800

11 Govt.High School, Narasipuram 201,200 20,000 6,000227,20

0

12Adi Dravider andTribal Welfare

High School,Muttathuvayal 108,800 20,000 6,000

134,800

13 Govt. HighSchool, Nathe GoundenPudur 167,000 20,000 6,000 193,000

14Govt.Hr.Sec.Scho

ol,Kalveerampalya

m247,400 20,000 6,000

273,400

Grand Total 2,904,400 280,00084,00

03,268,4

00

Page 25 of 27


26/29

Government School Adoption Program - DharmapuriDistrict requirements

S.No. School NameVillage

Name

Teachershonorariu

m & TA

Spoken

EnglishSports Total

1Govt. Boys Hr.

Sec. SchoolAthiyamankot

tai424,200 28,900 6,000

459,100

2Govt. Girls Hr.

Sec. SchoolAthiyamankot

tai305,400 28,900 6,000

340,300

3Govt. Hr. Sec.

schoolLaligam 355,800 28,900 6,000

390,700

4Govt. Hr.

Sec.SchoolPalayampudu

r482,400 28,900 6,000

517,300

5Govt. Hr. Sec.

School Pandahalli 631,200 28,900 6,000666,10

0

6Govt. Hr. Sec.

SchoolIndur 562,800 28,900 6,000

597,700

7Govt. Hr.

Sec.SchoolB. Agraharam 378,000 28,900 6,000

412,900

8Govt. Hr. Sec.

SchoolKullanur 384,000 28,900 6,000

418,900

9Govt. Boys Hr.

Sec. SchoolPennagaram 607,200 28,900 6,000

642,100

10Govt. Girls Hr.

Sec. School

Pennagaram 744,000 28,900 6,000778,90

011

Govt. Hr. Sec.School

Yeriyur 669,600 28,900 6,000704,50

0

12Govt. Hr. Sec.

SchoolNerupur 339,600 28,900 6,000

374,500

Grand Total 5,884,200 346,800 72,0006,303,0

00

Page 25 of 27


27/29

District: Salem District

S.No. School Name Village Name

1Govt. Hr. Sec.school Mallur

2 Govt. Hr. Sec.SchoolPanamarthupatti

3Govt. Hr. Sec.School

Kullappanickanur

4Govt. Hr. Sec.School Thirumanur

5 Govt. high SchoolGajjalnaikanpatti

In Salem District the funding requirements of Rs. 2 million,have been sponsored locally.

Page 25 of 27


28/29

Annexure 5: Donation Information

We seek your support by joining the campaign to gift an underprivileged rural child a future. You

can donate in various ways:

All donations made from India are eligible for tax benefits under Sec 80G &

All donations made from USA are eligible for tax benefits under Sec 501.

Online donations:

For donations in India/USA: Donate through Credit/Debit Card:www.ishavidhya.org/donate

For donations in the UK: Online Donations can be paid via our Just Giving website:

http://www.justgiving.com/ishainstitute

This will enable UK Tax Payers to claim tax benefits.

Offline Donations:

Cheque/DD in favor of: Isha Education [for India], Isha Foundation Inc.[for USA & Canada] and

Isha Institute of Inner Sciences for UK . Please send our Che ues to :India USA & CANADA UK

Isha Education,

14, CA Thevar Layout,

Kannaperan Mill Road,

Udayampalayam,Coimbatore, 641 028,

INDIA.

[email protected]

Ph: +91 94425-44458

+91-422-4272740

Isha Foundation Inc.,

Attn: Isha Vidhya

951 Isha Lane,McMinnville,

TN 37110, USA.

[email protected]

Ph: +1 813-434-3515

Isha Institute of Inner Sciences

Attn: Isha Vidhya

62, Clayton Avenue,

Wembley,

Middlesex HA04JT,

United Kingdom.

[email protected]

Ph: +44 7837060625

Besides details of your donation amount, date and mode of donation, please also email us

personal details including name, address, phone and email ID to [email protected], so

that we may confirm the receipt of funds and also provide feedback and updates regularly.

Page 25 of 27
http://www.ishavidhya.org/donatehttp://www.ishavidhya.org/donatehttp://www.justgiving.com/ishainstitutemailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ishavidhya.org/donatehttp://www.justgiving.com/ishainstitutemailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


29/29

Annexure 6- Additional Documents Available

1. Isha Vidhya Annual Review for 2010 (Isha Vidhya Chronicle 2010.pdf)

2. Trust Deed registered on 6th April 2005

3. Registration under Sec 12A(a) of the Income Tax Act dated 7th October 2005

4. PAN Card No.: AAATI4764K

5. Income Tax 80G Exemption Certificate

6. FCRA Approval dated 12th November 2009