PRAKASHAK ( Parent’s Remote Assistance and Knowledge Support for Holistic Advancement of Kids )

The National Education Policy 2020 in India highlights a concerning issue: over 50 million primary school students in the country perform two to three class levels below competency in language and maths. Providing high-quality education to underprivileged populations in India remains a significant challenge. 

A child's educational journey is heavily influenced by their early years. Unfortunately, children from low-income families often lack adequate early learning experiences, resulting in a weak educational foundation.

The National Sample Survey’s 75th Round report reveals that around 37 million children lack access to any form of early childhood education, placing them at a severe disadvantage and impeding their academic success. The National Education Policy underscores the importance of parental involvement in children's overall development. Numerous studies have shown that regular parental engagement significantly enhances adolescents' academic achievement, equating to an extra four months of growth annually on average. Recognizing parents' role in their children's education is crucial.

However, many parents from disadvantaged backgrounds in rural India are unaware of this critical role. Challenges are amplified in rural areas where parents themselves lack academic education or have incomplete education. They often lack confidence in their literacy skills and are unsure how to support their children's education.

PRAKASHAK uses free, low-cost technological solutions to engage parents regardless of their income in their children’s learning journey. Delivered via voice calls, SMS, and WhatsApp- the solution supports parents to work towards developing the foundational skills of their children by spending few minutes in a day via structured personalized learning content whose efficacy is backed by independent research. Our initiative advocates for integrating home learning into the school curriculum, as outlined in the NIPUN Bharat guidelines. We are partnering with the government to onboard school teachers, enabling them to provide valuable support to parents with minimal time investment, thereby leading to sustainability.

The content, aligned with prescribed learning outcomes, is accessible to families free of charge and has received government approval. While digital and mobile app-based solutions are prevalent globally, the use of low-tech solutions for scalable parent-teacher-student engagement is rare. 

The user-friendly modules accommodate parents of all literacy levels, leveraging daily-use home resources to explain concepts without additional material costs. Our solution fosters fun and engaging learning experiences while promoting language and arithmetic skill development. 

By empowering parents, supporting at-home learning, and advocating for policy change, the program has the potential to significantly impact educational outcomes and create a more inclusive and equitable education system for all.

Our solution is designed to directly and meaningfully improve the lives of a specific target population: children aged 3-10 enrolled in public schools and childcare centers, along with their parents from low-income backgrounds.

Additionally, we aim to support school teachers and members of school management committees within the community who serve as facilitators. The target population we are addressing is currently underserved due to various socio-economic challenges. 

Many families in low-income communities lack access to resources and opportunities that are crucial for optimal child development. Additionally, parental engagement in children's learning is often limited, either due to time constraints or a lack of awareness about the importance of their involvement. 

Our solution seeks to address these needs by aligning with India's National Education Policy and UNICEF's recommendation on the significance of parental engagement. By providing parents with the tools and support they need to actively participate in their children's learning journey, even through short interactions, we aim to bridge the gap between home and school environments. 

This approach not only fosters a supportive atmosphere for holistic child development but also strengthens the bond between parents and children. 

Furthermore, our solution emphasizes early intervention, recognizing the critical importance of shaping learning skills from an early age. By empowering parents to play an active role in their children's education, we are equipping them with the means to nurture and support their children's academic and personal growth, ultimately paving the way for a brighter future for the entire family. 

Our team is exceptionally well-equipped to deliver this solution, drawing on a wealth of experience and expertise across education, technology, skill development, and business development. With over 40 years of combined work experience in these fields, our leadership team possesses a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in delivering impactful solutions, particularly for underserved communities.

We have a proven track record in developing and implementing education technology (ed-tech) and Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) products specifically tailored to address the needs of marginalized populations.

The solution - PRAKASHAK - is deployed at scale and has been used by 100,000 parents and children. The solution deployed by the Mo School Abhiyan, Government of Odisha. Some of the District Education systems also implemented this in their respective districts. 

Our team comprises 33 interdisciplinary members spanning Program Design, Implementation, Monitoring, Technology, and Communications backgrounds. We closely work with local education stakeholders, including school teachers and community resource persons, providing invaluable insights into the unique challenges involved in deploying ed-tech solutions at the grassroots level. This deep understanding informs every aspect of our work, from solution design to implementation and ongoing support. Furthermore, our team excels in managing partnerships between schools and communities, fostering collaboration and ownership among all stakeholders.

Through bootstrapping and agile pivoting, we have honed our ability to design cost-effective solutions that can be scaled effectively. Crucially, all our education solutions, including PRAKASHAK, have been conceptualized, developed, and implemented in-house by the ThinkZone team.

Our commitment to rigorous vetting processes, including validation from government education departments and extensive design thinking methodologies, ensures that our solutions are not only effective but also culturally and contextually relevant. We are poised to leverage our experience and expertise to further refine and expand our solution, leveraging feedback from government experts and continuously iterating based on real-world implementation.

By staying true to our principles of innovation, collaboration, and impact, we are confident in our ability to deliver meaningful change for the communities we serve."

The program has already been implemented in collaboration with education bodies of the Odisha state government, such as Mo School. It is currently being implemented with various district officials, positively impacting the lives of over 100,000 parents and children. Furthermore, independent impact evaluations have recognized the program's substantial influence on children's learning levels, demonstrating a 21% improvement in math and a 24% enhancement in Odia within just five months. 

Evaluations have also revealed that 77% of parents regularly receive calls, carry out at least 1 activity bi-weekly, and are in regular touch with educators. Out of these 77% actively involved parents, 81% of these were regularly doing activities with their children, these parents actively engaged with their children doing 2-3 activities out of 4 activities sent to them every week.

The statewide implementation of our program necessitates policy-level integration into the school curriculum, demanding substantial evidence to persuade the state government of our intervention's effectiveness and sustainability. To address this, we have applied to connect with potential partner teams through Solve for a financial partnership. This will enable us to implement our program within our current geographic scope and gather significant evidence to support its scalability within our state.

Recognizing Solve's influential network and extensive support, we acknowledge the need for professional guidance to refine our program structure and conduct outcome evaluations to measure its effectiveness. Leveraging Solve's networks will provide us with valuable feedback and suggestions as we work towards achieving our goals.

PRAKASHAK's approach is innovative in several ways:

1. Focus on Parental Involvement: PRAKASHAK places a strong emphasis on empowering parents to actively participate in their children's learning journey. By providing free learning resources and utilizing technology solutions, the program enables parents to support their children's education effectively.

2. Integration of Low-Tech and High-Tech Solutions: The program's use of both low-tech solutions (such as workshops and community-led interventions) and high-tech solutions (such as SMS, IVRS, automated calls, and a WhatsApp AI chatbot) ensures that parents from diverse backgrounds can access and benefit from the program.

3. Holistic Approach to Learning: PRAKASHAK's focus on supporting at-home learning for children aged 3-10 years demonstrates a holistic approach to education. By recognizing the importance of early childhood education and parental involvement, the program aims to create a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

4. Community Engagement: By involving communities in education and providing support beyond traditional classroom settings, PRAKASHAK fosters a sense of collective responsibility for children's education. This community-driven approach has the potential to create lasting change and improve educational outcomes.

5. Long-Term Impact: PRAKASHAK's emphasis on the long-term impact of parental involvement and at-home learning sets it apart. By investing in parents and children at an early age, the program aims to create sustainable change that will benefit future generations.

6. System-Level Change: PRAKASHAK collaborates with other projects to integrate parental engagement into review processes and PTM planning. This ensures parental involvement becomes a core part of school operations, leading to sustainable improvements in education quality.

7. School-Level Personalizing: At the school level, PRAKASHAK takes into account the school's present curriculum and then shares content tailored to parents. This personalized approach ensures that parents receive relevant and meaningful information to support their child's learning journey.

ThinkZone establishes formal collaborations with local government stakeholders to promote parental involvement in children’s learning at home. We onboard parents, teachers, and CRCs and launch PTMs in schools to sensitize parents regarding their role in children’s education and register their phone numbers. After registration parents receive personalized content on their phones according to their children’s grades and lessons covered in class. These learning contents are sent in image, audio, and video format via SMS, automated calls, and WhatsApp Chatbot. We also have a toll-free number with 2-way communication for parents to guide them through the learning contents and in case of any queries connect them with our education experts. Bringing more ownership to our intervention we identify active parents and in conjunction with these champion parents other parents receive support and motivation for continuous home-learning of children.

Aligning with India’s National Education Policy and UNICEF's recommendation on the importance of parental engagement in children’s learning, we aspire to witness the formal integration of parental engagement in the school curriculum. We seek to foster a cultural shift towards increased parent-child engagement in home learning and parents becoming a part of the school ecosystem.  

The success of our project in improving parental engagement can be measured by several key indicators. These include:

1. Increased time spent by parents with their children at home

2. Increase in the number of schools that conduct PTMs on a monthly basis
3. Increase in the number of/average number of parents who attend PTMs, on a month-on-month basis.
4. Discussion on the ThinkZone model in monthly meetings at the school ecosystem level (cluster, block, district)

5. Formal approval from local government officials to expand the project to other blocks or the entire district, indicating recognition of its effectiveness and potential impact.

6.  Institutionalization of the ThinkZone model within the school ecosystem
7. Improvement in FLN outcomes of children through increased parental engagement and proactive government education machinery

   
   

Through the strategic utilization of accessible technologies, PRAKASHAK is pioneering a paradigm shift in educational accessibility for parents. 

For parents lacking internet access, we have implemented solutions such as Automated Voice Calls and SMSes. These channels serve as conduits for disseminating pre-recorded, descriptive learning activities tailored to the individual learning levels of children. Leveraging the power of automation, we ensure that educational content reaches parents directly.

Furthermore, our program features a dedicated Toll-free Number, providing invaluable support for parents seeking access to activity-based learning content. By dialing into this service, parents can seamlessly connect with our team of education experts.

Recognizing the diverse technological landscape, we have also curated personalized and interactive content for parents with internet access. Through platforms such as WhatsApp Chatbot, we deliver dynamic resources such as animated stories, pictures, and instructional activities. 

To ensure the efficacy and impact of our program, we have developed a real-time dashboard tool. This monitoring system enables us to track program metrics, measure outcomes, and assess progress with unparalleled precision. 

The program team consists of 25 full-time and 8 part-time members, with 61% of them being female. The leadership team comprises:

1. Binayak Acharya: Awarded social entrepreneur by the World Bank & CEMEC-TEC(Mexico), Laureate Global Fellow, TEDx speaker, and MassChallenge Israel Alumnus. 

2. Itishree Behera: With multiple years of experience in early-grade content development, development communication, monitoring & evaluation, and teacher training. 

3. Nrusingha Nath Nayak: Brings expertise in Full-Stack & Open-source technologies and Machine Learning. 

6 years

Our team is committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion across all levels. With an interdisciplinary team comprising 33 members, including program managers, coordinators, communication experts, field monitors, software developers, backend developers, testers, and facilitators, we prioritize representation from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

We actively promote gender diversity, with 100% of our team members residing in the country where our solution is deployed, and 61% of them identifying as female. This not only reflects our commitment to gender equity but also ensures that our team reflects the communities we serve.

To ensure that our solutions are inclusive and responsive to community needs, we have conducted 374 focus group discussions (FGDs). These sessions have provided invaluable insights and opportunities for co-creation, involving community members, parents, teachers, and facilitators in the development process.

By prioritizing diversity in our team composition and actively engaging with stakeholders through participatory processes, we strive to create an inclusive environment where all team members feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued.

We secure funding from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), family foundations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and awards. These funds sustain the services we offer to governments without charge. Subsequently, governments utilize our services and implement our solutions to achieve widespread impact. Our donors require impact reports and primarily fund initiatives based on the impact they generate.

Additionally, we undertake contract-based projects with development partners. These partners seek to utilize tailored versions of our solutions.

The initiative receives financial support from the Edtech Accelerator program by Central Square Foundation, alongside backing from Tools competition. It operates seamlessly in collaboration with state bodies such as District Education Departments and has already been successfully integrated into the educational systems of the Districts. 

Looking ahead, we aim to implement the program in a mission-oriented manner, leveraging and strengthening existing government structures. We maintain ongoing partnerships with state departments to embed PRAKASHAK into established educational frameworks, particularly within parent-focused school programs. Central to our vision is driving systemic change within the educational landscape and paving the way for seamless scalability.