T
his
summer, I interned at Pratham Institute’s Mumbai office. I spent last summer in
Washington, D.C. learning about education policy and wanted to gain an
operations perspective to providing quality education. Working at Pratham was
exciting because it not only gave me an opportunity to work at one of the
largest high-impact organizations in India, but it also gave me a chance to do
it within the context of an unfamiliar culture. As someone who wants to work in
education policy upon graduation, I knew that the interactions and experiences
in India would hugely shape the ways I think about and treat communities that
are not necessarily my own.
My
main focus was to create and pilot a system to evaluate the quality and
understand the specific strengths and challenges of Pratham Institute’s
vocational skilling programs. Although quantitative data about the programs was
readily available, I had trouble finding answers about the quality and needs of
the program. Did students find their curriculum to be relevant and applicable
to their jobs? Were employers happy with the students’ preparation? What kind
of additional support did the individual centers need from the administrative
office? In order to answer questions like these, I created individual surveys
for different stakeholders within Pratham Institute.
Upon
creating a survey to evaluate the centers, I decided to pilot them on the
bedside assistance program. I visited the bedside assistance centers and
administered my surveys with a group of students, instructors, center-heads,
and employers. With a translator by my side, I learned much more than just the
quality of the programs. I learned about how mobilizers made more than five
points of contact with families in order to convince them to allow their
daughters to get educated and employers’ thoughts on the strengths and
weaknesses of hiring students who had taken the bedside assistance course. Most
astonishing was the adversity students fought in order to get their education
and the transformations they went through as a result. Women who were no older
than me moved hours away from home to get their education, despite it being a
social stigma. Other women were given a second chance at life through the
training programs. A woman who had lost her husband and never left her home was
able to become financially independent after taking the bedside assistance course
and getting employed.
Ultimately,
I was able to provide recommendations to strengthen approaches to retention,
curriculum development, and mobilization. Further, I was able to start turning
some of my recommendations into reality. Upon talking to one of the center
heads, I realized how crucial a male mobilizer was. One of the biggest
challenges in getting female students to enroll was convincing fathers to give
their permission for their daughters to enroll. Young females leaving home to
work are hugely stigmatized, and it is often difficult for young female
mobilizers to relate to and convince middle-aged fathers to allow their
daughters to receive an extended education and work. We worked with one of the
center heads to recruit a male mobilizer who could alleviate some of these
challenges. The opportunity to pursue an idea exemplified how Pratham Institute
is a quickly evolving organization, continuously changing to best meet the
needs of its students and stakeholders. I am certain the Pratham Institute I
know in a few years will be even more successful and far-reaching than the
Pratham Institute I know today.
From
taking 17-hour rides on a sleeper train to discussing the quality of courses
with an instructor at the Ellora Caves, I’ve had experiences in India that will
forever be engraved in my heart. I am grateful for the students who trusted me
with their stories, the co-workers who invested time to teach me about both
work and Indian culture, and the new friends who have made my experiences in
Mumbai an unforgettable one.
Janie Lee is a rising junior at
Princeton University and is pursuing a degree at the Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs. Prior to interning at Pratham Institute’s
Mumbai office, she worked at the U.S. Department of Education. She hopes to
continue pursuing her interest in education upon graduation.
Nikhil Kumar Tirupathi Uppula is a 20 year
old boy from a small village in the southern part of Maharashtra in the
district of Gadchiroli. Nikhil lost his father just 6 months after his birth.
He now lives with his mother and grandmother. His mother, being the sole bread
winner in the family, works as a labourer in a construction company near her
village earning Rs. 2000 a month for the family. Nikhil was always very
enthusiastic about his studies but he failed his 10th examinations due to the
burden of family responsibilities. Thus, he took a year off to work at a Border
Road Organization(BRO). Post this, he went back to study and passed his 10th
examination with flying colours. Though he wanted to study further, he knew that
his mother could no longer support him. He simultaneously worked as a carpenter
to finance his education.
