Re-engaging Learners: Mitigating COVID-19 Disruption

For more than 20 months, 1.5 million schools have remained closed in India affecting 290 million children. Many of these students face the threat of dropping out and fall victims to early marriages and child labor. A mere 8.5% of the students could access online education as per UNICEF report. The threat of adverse effects is very high among the rural poor who are also from disadvantaged communities.

Our hybrid learning solutions are based on UNESCO's COVID-19 Response Toolkit; integrating digital solutions and community mobilization. Students access multi-directional participatory learning through SAAS solutions on shared or pooled devices like mobile phones or TV. Our solutions work on low-tech devices and low bandwidth.

Teacher fellows at the village level motivate parents and network with local bodies. We aim to retain rural poor in education and prevent threat of child labor and early marriages.

According to UNICEF 1.6 billion learners worldwide are at risk of falling out of learning opportunities due to COVID-19, of which 290 million are in India. The Annual Status of Education Report 2020 (ASER) has found that 30% of the learners could not access any form of remote learning. A bulk of these students are from villages and low-income families. There has been close to 90% key skills lost among students even with current solutions that are impersonal, according to the field study by Azim Premji University.

Out-of-school children are likely to double from 32.2 million in the aftermath of the pandemic. Most of them are first generation learners and have no one to guide them nor do they have any models of educational achievements. The vulnerable are likely to be coerced into child labor and girls are likely to be pushed to early marriages, wiping out decades of gains through education. There has been more than 33% increase in child marriages in 2020compared to previous years according Ministry of Women and Child Development (India).

This lost generation of children would accelerate the cycle of inter-generational poverty. In this context, Ignis  has launched a hybrid learning solutions that integrate remote learning with community level mobilization. We intend to scale it by offering low-cost educational solutions to low-cost private schools, helping them to adapt to post COVID educational scenario.

Ignis has been working with under-served communities on two fronts, a) low-cost private schools that cater to nearly 130 million learners in India and b) government run schools. Close to 80% of our students come from families that earn less than $6 a day.

Before COVID we worked through a B2B low-cost model with low-cost schools providing capacity building programs with intense support to ensure skills based learning. With government schools, we raised grants or collaborated with non-profits to provide learning support.

Facing the COVID disruption, we have launched hybrid models that integrating remote learning through ZOOM, WhatsApp and Google Classroom, and mobilizing students through local teachers who directly gather students and pool devices to access learning. Before the COVID disruption, Ignis promoted Life Skills and English and post-COVID disruption we have been supporting all subjects including STEM.

Our programs ensure access to learning to the most vulnerable. This has been preventing students from dropping out and also retaining their learning without regression. To a lot of these students that has been the only access to learning that they have had in the last one year.

We are currently developing a learning app and an Learning Management System to streamline the process.

Ignis has been working with low-income communities. 2 lean data studies by ACUMEN (60 Decibels) showed that 80% of the students we serve come from families that earn less than $5 a day. So far we have reached 310,000 students in the last 7 years. Since the COVID-19 disruption, we have reached 12,000 students through our hybrid learning solutions.

The Annual State of Education Report (ASER) has found that 38% of parents do not have a smart device at all and 11.8% have not received any kind of educational support since the COVID induced disruption. The number of students failing to enroll has gone up from 1.8% in 2018 to 5.3% in 2020. Dropout rates have doubled too.

All this is leading to an increase in children forced into child labor and child marriages as the studies by Action Aid India suggests.

We have been in touch with our clients, 200 low-cost private schools as well as 3 remote villages to understand the extent of distress. Many of the schools rolled out support through mobile applications like WhatsApp etc, but have found that 1/3rd of the students are not reachable.

We are facing multi-dimensional challenges,

1. Lack of access to learning opportunities, due to lack of devices or poor network.

2. Lack of educational awareness as most of the students are first generational learners and lack parental support or any form of institutional support.

3. Inability of schools and teachers to equip themselves with the skills to effectively use digital technology as well as devices.

4. Inability to connect learning to life, as there is an overwhelming belief that learning by rote is the only form of learning.

Since September 2020, Ignis has been reaching out to students and providing support in promoting life skills, STEM and English skills. Since December 2020, we have been working to incorporate STEM as well. Our research team designs culturally relevant learning ideas in life skills, STEM and English. We enroll teachers and volunteers in schools and villages who in turn mobilize students to join the learning process. We have been curating free to use resources and also building activities that students can participate and learn from. We have been interacting with students though live sessions on ZOOM or Google Meet and the teachers or teacher fellows follow-up and support students in applying their learning in real life activities that are easy to relate to.

We have been running training program for teachers and school managers on digital skills, and devices. That is an investment in sustainability as hybrid learning models are the future.

The teachers and teacher fellows (volunteers/ paid interns) have also been facilitating device sharing as lack of devices is a major hindrance that they face.

The teachers and teacher fellows also motivate parents to let their children to continue learning. Often parents need reassurance on the benefits of education. The teachers and teacher fellows also become models of the benefits of education, as they also continue to learn.

This will facilitate learning, that is relevant to their local context and assist teachers and low-cost schools to facilitate meaningful learning along with life skills.

Ignis has also been partnering with non-profits like United Way of Hyderabad, Concern India, and Rainbow homes to support students.

We are looking to scale our program and are in the process of designing a mobile app that works on low-end smartphones, and weaker mobile networks. We are also developing a Learning Management System to integrate all the stakeholders. The LMS will also provide lesson plans for teachers / teacher fellows so that we scale efficiently with minimal training support.

We intend to provide smart television set ups that are networked so that students who are deprived of devices can learn at a community center. These centers will be managed by teacher fellows or low-cost schools. These community learning centers would train students in smaller groups ensuring personal safety against COVID.

Leadership Team: Ignis is led by Rennis Joseph, who has 18 years of experience in education, working across sectors, from kindergarten to higher education at the tertiary level. Our senior executives Bhargav Y., Manal Doshi, Rani Joseph, and Sonia Pippin have been training people across this spectrum. Sonia, who heads HR also brings in corporate expertise after her stint in Microsoft.

Research and Design Expertise: At the core of Ignis, is a research team that has been designing programs for different age groups and cultures.

Collaborations: We have worked in diverse cultural landscapes by partnering with non-profits like Naandi Foundation and Deshpande Foundation. We have also designed unique programs for adolescent girls, for the Naandi Foundation. We have adapted our programs to suit urban, rural and tribal communities incorporating their cultural dimensions.

Life Skills Focused: All our programs incorporate life skills as laid out by UNICEF and WHO.

Ignis has also been supporting organizations to design and implement hybrid models. We designed the hybrid model including digital integration for the state of Andhra Pradesh through our partnership with APSSDC.

Scale: Ignis currently working in 6 states of India
directly, and have offices in 9 cities.We have so far worked with nearly
12,000 schools training 8000 teachers and 310,000 students.

Proven Impact Model: We have been analyzing our impact model every year. Our investors like Acumen, Yunus Social Business and IIT-Kanpur have been guiding us in this regard. Our leadership team has been part of various training programs at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship.

We are currently pivoting to have technology enabled hybrid models to support low-income communities.

Building Tech Solutions: Our mobile apps and learning management systems are being developed by a third party. Going forward we would be building an in-house team. We are looking forward to support from Solve to guide us in setting up our digital solutions, in terms of technology partnerships and mentoring.

Access to Peer Network: Another aspect of being a Solver is the access to peer network from diverse cultural contexts. We have always actively sought out peer networks as we have get to learn from their experiences.

Raising Funds and Building a Robust Business Model: Being a social business, we find it difficult to raise funds in India. We hope to connect with impact investors to scale our work as a social
business.

Partnerships: We are also looking to explore partnerships in services and new geographies. Ignis solutions are relevant for under-developed and developing nations in Asia, Africa and South America. That would help us access larger markets and scale faster.

Measuring Impact: We are also trying to measure the long term impact in terms of learner outcomes like, improvement in learning,  improvement in life skills, enrollment in higher education, accessing employment opportunities etc. We look forward to collaborating with Solve in finding effective ways to measure these and the larger impact on communities.

COVID-19's disruption of education has wiped out decades of progress the most vulnerable had made in terms of education. A 3rd of the students who cannot access any learning options are mostly the rural poor and girls.

We propose a hybrid model, where Ignis mobilizes learners in villages through community based intervention and provides culturally relevant and participatory learning models to villages through technology. Teachers recruited from the community motivates and mobilizes learners to pool their own resources, as well as guide them through regular contact programs in small groups. The students learn by participating in learning activities and experiments conducted using their limited resources. The learning management system would connect teachers and students with experts who create these activities and guide them systematically at a very affordable cost.

None of the current market solutions, including not-for profit have a community based approach. We help students access technology and motivate parents about the importance of learning. Currently there are  expensive individual learning apps and Learning Management Systems which do not have culturally relevant learning content or guidance to teachers.

Partnerships with Low-Cost Private Schools: The hybrid learning models help low-cost schools as well as communities. The programs are decentralized and safe during COVID-19 and would prevent drop-outs and regression in skills.  Girls are the most vulnerable, who are likely to be pushed to domestic chores and early marriages.

Partnerships with Non-Profits and Governments: We aim to share the technology and ideas with non-profits and local governments in order to scale rapidly.

Our Impact Goals are aligned with UN SDGs:

1. Quality education:

One year: 220 students/ village, especially girls get access to learning and avoid drop out and limit regression of skills.

5 years: To reach 400,000 rural students. Improve meta-learning skills and ensure 70% enrollment in higher education and find employment.

No poverty:

One year: Access to education will save children from child labor and early marriages.

5 years: Improved skills will ensure enrollment in higher education and access to wider job markets, helping the communities break the cycle of inter-generational poverty. It will create a culture of learning in communities also.

Gender Equality:

One year: No girl child should drop out of school and fall prey to domestic work or early marriages. We aim to ensure gender parity in access to education.

5 years: The average age at marriage should move to above 22 years, having ensured 70% enrollment of girls in higher education. Access to employment will empower girls and break gender barriers.

Reduced inequality:

One year: Ensuring that students from disadvantaged communities have access to learning, and to motivate parents to ensure their education.

5 years: Students from economically and socially backward communities as well as girls find financial prosperity and self-respect to challenge inequalities.

Partnerships for the Goals:

One year: Community level partnership with parents and local govt to ensure uninterrupted learning.

5 years: Connecting the community with govt and other non profits initiatives in education, employment and health. We also develop a healthy and sustainable culture of learning.

Third Party Lean Data Studies: Ignis uses lean data studies and longitudinal surveys to measure both short-term and long-term socio-economic impacts of our engagements. These impact studies may be conducted in-house or by independent organizations. We are currently discussing with school managers and parents about their current health as well as their plans to pivot in view of COVID-19 disruptions.

Short term impacts: For short-term impact among the beneficiaries, we focus on indicators like, over-all academic performance, gender distribution in school enrollments and school enrollment rates. We also monitor the improvement in academic performance in class 10 school leaving exams.

Parent Surveys: We measure learning outcomes in terms of academic performance 3 times a year. Parent surveys are conducted at the end of every academic year.

 Longitudinal studies help us gauge the socio-economic impact of our engagements in terms of gender parity in schools, rate of enrollment in higher education, rate of employment, quality of colleges that the students enroll in, and improvement in age at marriage of girls. These are compared with state and national averages.

We conducted lean data studies of parents and students in 2017 and 2018. This was conducted by 60_Decibels, and funded by Acumen. We are currently preparing for a survey among teachers, and this supported by Yunus Social Business.

Ignis regularly interact with our clients and stakeholders on the benefits and scope of improvement of our services.

Activities: Our solution connects vulnerable rural poor with educational resources through community network and SaaS based learning solutions.

a. Ignis research team and experts create locally relevant activities for participatory learning.

b. Community based teacher fellows motivate parents and mobilize students to learn in smaller groups.

c. Student are taught using pooled devices and through small group activities with interactive devices.

d. Mobile Apps connect the students with experts through regular interactions. The apps also train the community based teacher fellows to implement participatory activities through easy to follow steps, and educate them in fundamental concepts.

Output:

a. This ensures that at least 220 students per village can access learning and bridge the gap. We aim to reach about 200,000 students over 3 years.

b. The program would arrest the regression of skills of the students while also preventing them from dropping out of schools and preserving the communities' educational achievements earned over the last few decades. c. The communities are constantly educated about the need for education.

d. Life Skills and English skills improve their meta-learning skills and make them motivated learners, breaking the culture of learning by rote.

Outcome:

a. Re-engaging students would ensure that the most vulnerable would not drop out of the system.

b. It will also bridge the loss of skills due to COVID-19 disruption.

c. Keeping students in schools would save them from falling prey to child labor.

d. Girl students by pursuing  education would avoid the trap of early marriages.

Long Term Outcome: Community based intervention would sustain the communities progress through education as more and more students pursue higher education and find employment.

a. More students enrolling into higher education

b. Generational shift in communities' approach to learning and application, with sustained long term (at least 8 years) intervention.

More students accessing larger job market with access to information and markets with improved English skills.

c. Application of scientific approaches will also improve their traditional trades like agriculture.

d. Lifting the learners and communities out of poverty.

Hybrid Model: Our hybrid model has a technology part and a human intervention part. The technology is SAAS based, where our mobile app would connect students, teachers and communities through low-end mobile phones and network. While students get access to learning content, teacher will receive detailed and simplified guidance on carrying out activities in the community. We will integrate AI and machine based learning to help students interact with experts as well as to assess their skills. This will also help them access learning at the right level.The app is being developed by Frugal Innovation Hub of Santa Clara University.

Social Networking Apps and Shared Digital Resources: The community based teacher networks with families and students and help them pool their devices so that at least 220 student per village can access the learning solutions.We use WhatsApp, and Youtube along with ZOOM to reach the community.

Culturally Appropriate Learning Content: The research team designs learning activities in English, Life Skills and STEM that are relevant to local cultures and contexts. We would be designing participatory activities in science and mathematics. The expert team would also facilitate live interactions with students and will train teachers remotely. We would also be curating learning activities and videos that are free to use, and translating them into local languages.

Community Integration through Teacher Fellows: Apart from this, the community based teacher will also facilitate participatory activities in small groups, and connect students with expert trainers through interactive smart TVs at least twice a week. In case of extreme poverty we would provide these devices ourselves, and will encourage community to pool money, and/or use local government funded devices.

Ignis works with financially and culturally under-served communities. Our recruitment process is designed to hire people who are aligned to our mission. This includes gender sensitivity and understanding of caste and cultural marginalization.

The leadership team is a balanced mix of genders and we are conscious to have a diverse mix in terms of cultural background.The current leadership team of 6 has people from 4 states and has a balance of religious, caste and cultural contexts.

The leadership team has been trained by DASRA and Amani Institute, both organizations which actively promotes diversity and inclusion.

On the field, we recruit trainers and sales teams from the target communities and train them year-round. These team mates undergo about 40 days of training, which also emphasizes gender justice and social justice.

Community Centered Design of Programs: The proposed project is community based and will be implemented in partnership with community based teachers.

Curriculum that Reinforces Diversity and Equity: Our diversity and cultural sensitivity is manifested in our lesson plans and learning materials. The first step of any design is to map the local life style and cultures. We incorporate them into our design to be close to the lives of the students.

Ignis has a hybrid model of business. We work with low cost schools, Governments schools and Non-Profits. 80% of the students that Ignis support are from low-income families that earn less than $5 a day, according to the lean data study by Acumen.

1. Low-Cost Schools: These schools serve nearly 40% of the students in India. We have worked with 1250 schools (310,000 students) in the last 7 years. Our English and Life Skills Lab is a capacity building program that costs $10 per student/year.

We are currently developing mobile apps to deliver STEM along with English and life skills to help schools to equip teachers and train students through synchronous hybrid models. This will be offered at $15 per student/year. We aim to scale this to 2.2 million students by 2027. This will help them break the culture of learning by rote and move to skills based participatory learning.

2. Teacher Fellowship Program for Govt Schools: We have worked with 45 schools through our teacher fellowship model. This is supported by grants from funds like H T Parekh Foundation. This community based intervention (at $60 per student, $1200 per village) will be scaled to 920 villages/schools by 2027. Ignis is developing a separate division to explore more partnerships to scale this.

3. Non Profit and Government Partnerships: Ignis worked with the state of Andhra Pradesh to build a similar hybrid model. We have been working with United Way of Hyderabad and Delhi, and Deshpande Foundation to scale similar models.

4. Low-Income Learners: We are piloting a B2C model of training low-income learners from schools, colleges and also youth. This affordable solution will be scaled once the apps are developed.

Ignis is a social enterprise and our initial growth has been funded by impact funds like Acumen, Yunus Social Business and Gray Matters Capital. Our social commitment is part of our share holders agreements. We achieved break-even in FY 19, FY 20, and FY 22.Here are our various revenue streams;

Low-income clients: 80% of the students we cater to, come from families that earn less than $5 a day. They study in low-cost schools. Our programs cost between $10 to $15 per student per year. Ignis has so far worked with 1200 such schools, reaching 310,000 students.

Non-Profits and Govts: We have been working with state governments and local bodies to work with the most deprived, in govt schools. These organizations, bear the cost of research, capacity building, and technology support.We have also been raising grants to support govt. schools. We have been supporting research and development of Skill in Village by Deshpande Foundation.

Fee for Service: Ignis has been piloting remote learning solutions for low-income learners for the last 8 months and have reached 3000 learners. These hybrid models integrate online resources with live classes. These programs are aimed at students in schools and colleges as well as youth aspiring to improve their skills.

We are currently setting up a separate division to promote partnerships and to explore grant opportunities to support the extreme poor.

Raising Funds: We aim to raise $2 million in grants and investments in the next 24 months to reach 72 cities. We also aim to scale through franchising to reach smaller cities.

Ignis Careers Private Limited has received seed funding from,

• Acumen Fund ($250,000) Equity 2015
• Yunus Social Business ($120,000) debt 2017
• Gray Matters Capital ($100,000) Equity 2018
• SIIC IIT-K ($ 35,000) Equity 2018
• Navya Disha Foundation ($110,000) Grant 2020

Revenue Earned

• FY 2018 - $314,285 Sales
• FY 2019 - $485,714 (Sales) Achieved Breakeven.
• FY 2020 - $375,342 (Sales and Grant. Grant of $38,812 from HDFC SmartUp.) Achieved Breakeven
• FY 2021 - $128,378 (Sales and Grant. Received $97,297 as grant from Navya Disha Trust.)
• FY 2022: $138,157 (Sales mostly) Achieved Breakeven