Education​

Shashwat works to strengthen education in rural Uttar Pradesh through a set of integrated interventions that focus on children, schools and adult women. Promoting girls’ education is a core priority. The organisation has been actively mainstreaming dropout and out-of-school girls into formal schooling by mobilising families and communities to prioritise education.

Improving the functioning of government schools is another key area. Although the Right to Education Act, 2009 gives School Management Committees important responsibilities, many members are unaware of their roles. Shashwat has addressed this gap by conducting baseline studies, organising RTE campaigns and delivering focused training and information sessions. Block and district level workshops have helped raise awareness and create safer, more supportive environments for girls.

Recognising that many women in self-help groups and community institutions are illiterate, Shashwat has also run literacy centres for adult women. These centres have enabled women to read, write and handle basic arithmetic, and have enhanced their confidence, participation in community groups and decision-making within their families and society.