With the 2nd wave of Covid-19 hitting India, education continues to be online. The digital divide persists, even in metros like Mumbai and Pune. Access remains the key challenge.
Antarang conducted a School Reopening Survey across students, parents and teachers of BMC schools to understand their opinion and willingness about reopening of schools. While 80% of the sample had some sort of digital/ telecom device, only about 30-40% could actually receive online education. This gap is due to sharing of one device amongst all family members, lack of access to internet and low digital literacy.
Antarang continues to provide data recharges as per request to school students to sustain Career Guidance to government school students. We also conduct counseling and follow-up sessions over 1:1 or conference calls. A 24X7 Whatsapp Career Chatbot has been rolled out to ensure career and transition support at students' fingertips.Our School Reopening Survey shows clear need of data recharges, digital literacy and smart devices by the students. Antarang is also advocating for the provision of digital infrastructure by the government to all students.
Impact Outcomes of Antarang's Career Guidance program in the last quarter (April 2021 - June 2021):
1. Total students reached: 838
2. Percentage of students with clarity of career plan: 92%
3. Percentage of students who intend to study till 18 years of age: 92%
4. Percentage of students who have at least one self-aware career choice: 96%
Antarang has continued to ensure that students stay motivated to continue education in times of the pandemic. Thus enabling them to transition successfully to high school and higher education, leading towards their careers of choice. We have also run youth and community-driven Covid-19 vaccination awareness campaign to help build resilience in our students and their families.
As the new academic year begins in July 2021, Antarang has begun implementing 'Career Yatra' - an intensive, restructured, and seamless 4-year intervention that embeds career planning and employability development as part of the school curriculum across 300 schools and 30 colleges across Mumbai impacting more than 25,000 students.
While we are glad 2020-21 has ended, a year full of challenges, that tested our ability to think on our feet, pivot our model keeping the beneficiary at the centre of the work that Antarang does. Not only did we survive the year, we embraced technology as it became the backbone of the work we do. Virtual classrooms replaced the physical classrooms, which may have taken years otherwise.
Our partnership model came to our rescue as each of our stakeholders including donors like yourselves supported us through our food distribution projects in containment zones in Dharavi to reaching out to students to conduct virtual CareerAware & CareeReady programs.
In a very disruptive year, thanks to your support & encouragement, Antarang was able to impact lives of 27000 young adults & hoping 2021-22 will be a year where we are able to amplify out impact.
Suhana is a grade10th student of Mumbai Public School, Shastri Nagar. Before undergoing the CareerAware program, she wanted to be doctor as it seemed like a fruitful and steady career. However, through the counselling sessions, she was able to identify her interest, aptitude, reality and personality. She realized that being an actor was her true calling. She always had an affinity towards acting but never knew the pathway to achieve her dreams. Post the sessions, she felt confident as she now had the knowledge to put in the right kind of effort to fulfil her dream.
There are many others like Suhana who need your continued support for realizing and achieving their dreams. Your support will help us reach out to and impact more youth in the near future. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far which would not have been possible without your support. Thank you for the trust you have placed in us.
Antarang measures the program impact against the following indicators in line with its Theory of Change:
Saba is a student of Marol Municipal Urdu School, Mumbai. She is a first-generation learner, presently in Grade 10. She was unsure of what career path would be suitable for her. Through the little knowledge and ambiguous interests that she had, Saba was looking at and aspiring for various discrete professions like investment banking, journalism and entrepreneurship. CareerAware helped her gain clarity and streamline her plan according to the best fit for her in line with her interests, aptitude, reality and personality. She is now looking forward to recommending the program to her juniors who would be able to gain clarity regarding their career paths like she did.
There are many others like Saba who need your continued support for realizing and achieving their dreams. Your support will help us reach out to and impact more youth in the near future. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far which would not have been possible without your support. Thank you for the trust you have placed in us.
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