Every Child Deserves a Path from Classroom to Career.
We walk with the same students from Grade 5 through school, into higher education and on to a career, until they are empowered.
Photo: students and a young facilitator mid-lessonThe Crisis
Children Are in School. Too Many Are Not Learning Enough to Build a Future.
27%
Of Class 3 children in rural India can read a Class 2 level text.
ASER 2024, Pratham
37%
Is the average maths score of Class 9 students across India.
PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, Ministry of Education
29.1%
Of young graduates are unemployed, nine times the rate for youth who cannot read or write.
India Employment Report 2024, ILO and IHD
Our Solution
The Shiksha Path: One Student, All the Way to Empowerment.
Through the Shiksha Doot Program, our trained youth fellows and facilitators work with the same students year after year. Rigour rises with every phase, from discovery in Grade 5 to a first step into higher education and work. Choose a phase.
Phase 1: Grades 5 to 7
Foundation and Discovery
Hands-on sessions in arts, basic science and games help students find their voice, ask questions and work in teams. They begin building our eight core competencies.
Level of rigour: Foundational
Phase 2: Grades 8 to 10
Skill Mastery and Awareness
Rigour rises step by step. Students keep building the eight competencies, with a core focus on hands-on STEM, artificial intelligence and technical skills.
Level of rigour: Moderate, rising each year
Phase 3: Grades 11 and 12
Pathways to Higher Education
We make sure every student moves successfully into higher education: enrolling in reputed institutions and securing scholarships and accommodation, with our Higher Education Access Lab beside them.
Level of rigour: Advanced
Phase 4: After Grade 12
Careers and Empowerment
As students enter higher education, all our Access Labs work with each one individually on college navigation, internships, skilling, paid fellowships and placement.
Level of rigour: One-to-one
Students can join at any stage. Once they do, we stay with them until they are empowered.
Explore the full Shiksha PathSince 2017, One Classroom at a Time.
968
Students in our first year, 2020
750+
Students on the Shiksha Path, 2026-27
60
Shiksha Doot facilitators in our 2026-27 cohort
1M
Future-ready learners by 2050, our Mission
Where We Work
Rooted in Pune City but Growing Across Maharashtra.
Our Pune chapter runs the Shiksha Doot Program at present. We are now expanding to Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ahilyanagar, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Thane and Mumbai. Choose a place.
Operational Chapter
New Chapters
Operational Chapter
Pune City
Our Pune chapter runs Shiksha Doot Program, where youth fellows and facilitators work with the same students year after year.
4 schools, 750+ students and 60 Shiksha Doot facilitators in 2026-27
New Chapter
Pimpri-Chinchwad
We are expanding the Shiksha Doot Program to Pimpri-Chinchwad, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
New Chapter
Mumbai
We are expanding the Shiksha Path to Mumbai, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
New Chapter
Thane
We are expanding the Shiksha Path to Thane, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
New Chapter
Ahilyanagar
We are expanding the Shiksha Path to Ahilyanagar, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
New Chapter
Satara
We are expanding the Shiksha Path to Satara, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
New Chapter
Solapur
We are expanding the Shiksha Path to Solapur, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
New Chapter
Sangli
We are expanding the Shiksha Path to Sangli, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
New Chapter
Kolhapur
We are expanding the Shiksha Path to Kolhapur, building a local team and partner schools.
Pilot is underway
Beyond Maharashtra, our National Integration Program has reached Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Kerala, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
Photo: Ritu Jadhav (with her consent)Ritu’s Story
From Student to Empowered Youth
Ritu joined us as a school student in 2021. She got focused exposure in our virtual classrooms, and mentoring support after her senior secondary education. She is now completing her engineering degree at a reputed college in Pune. Along the way she joined us as a facilitator and later as a coordinator, and today she trains and supports our next group of mentors.
“Being student of Shikshanganga was the one of best experience for me to learn & empower”
This is the Shiksha Path working both ways: the young people who guide our students grow with them.
Read more storiesFour Ways to Walk with Us
Our Story
It Started with 30 Youth and One Community in Pune.
In 2017, under the leadership of Samrat, a group of colleges youth across Pune city began working with the children in the Vaiduwadi community, facing child marriage, addiction and a lack of good learning opportunities. That work grew into Shikshanganga Foundation later.
Photo: early volunteers with children, 2017 to 2020Our Vision
Every Indian youth leading change through meaningful socio-economic contribution to India and the world.
Our Mission
To cultivate one million future-ready learners by 2050 through holistic, skill-driven education that enables them to excel personally, socially and professionally.
How We Got Here
- 2017Thirty young volunteers begin work with children in the Vaiduwadi community, Pune.
- 2020Our founder joins the Teach For India Fellowship. 80 youth volunteers reach 968 students in our first structured year.
- 2021Shikshanganga Foundation is formally registered as a Society and Trust officially , with mentorship from Teach For India, Eivolve and InnovatED.
- 2022Our National Integration Program started offcially in collaboration with Gyan-Setu, Jnnanaprabodhini, Pune and subsequenty it expanded to five states independently.
- 2026We become a Section 8 company and launch the four-phase Shiksha Doot Program, from Grade 5 to empowerment, with a cohort of 60 Shiksha Doot facilitators across Pune city chapter.
- NowOur Pune chapter runs the Shiksha Doot Program, and we are expanding to Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ahilyanagar, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Thane and Mumbai.
Our National Integration Program has reached Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Kerala, Meghalaya and Nagaland. - 2050Our goal: one million future-ready learners.
Why We Work in Fewer Schools
Preparing students for sustainable livelihoods requires a strong foundation built over time. We ensure deeper engagement, consistent mentoring, and meaningful learning experiences.
What We Value
The People Leading the Work
PhotoSamrat Pawar
Founder and CEO
PhotoShraddha Thorbole
Chief Operating Officer
PhotoTejaswini Gabhane
Chief People and Culture Officer
PhotoUma Khare
Lead, Strategic Planning
PhotoAkash Pawar
Lead, National Integration Program
PhotoShivam Jadhao
Lead, Shiksha Doot Program
PhotoSukanya Mahanta
Lead, Media and Communications
The Crisis
India Has Put Its Children in School. The Next Promise Is That School Leads Somewhere.
Nearly every child now enrols. But many move up grade after grade without the basics, leave school without skills for work, and join a job market that has little room for them.
1. Learning
Children Move Up the Grades, but the Basics Stay Behind.
27.1%
Of Class 3 children in rural India can read a Class 2 level text.
ASER 2024 (Rural), Pratham, released January 2025
30.7%
Of Class 5 children in rural India can solve a simple division sum.
ASER 2024 (Rural), Pratham, released January 2025
37%
Is the average mathematics score of Class 9 students in a national assessment.
PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, Ministry of Education and NCERT
2. Skills
Teenagers Stay in School, but Leave It Without Skills for Life and Work.
1 in 4
Rural youth aged 14 to 18 cannot fluently read a Class 2 level text in their own language.
ASER 2023 “Beyond Basics”, Pratham
43.3%
Of rural youth aged 14 to 18 can do a basic division sum, a Class 3 to 4 skill.
ASER 2023 “Beyond Basics”, Pratham
5.6%
Of rural youth aged 14 to 18 are taking any vocational training or skill course.
ASER 2023 “Beyond Basics”, Pratham
~45%
Of young graduates assessed are not yet considered job-ready by employers.
India Skills Report 2025 (54.81% employable), Wheebox with AICTE and CII
3. Work
More Education Has Not Meant More Jobs for Young People.
83%
Of India’s unemployed are young people.
India Employment Report 2024, ILO and Institute for Human Development
65.7%
Of unemployed youth have completed secondary education or more, up from 54.2% in 2000.
India Employment Report 2024, ILO and IHD (2022 data)
29.1%
Of young graduates are unemployed, nine times the 3.4% rate for youth who cannot read or write.
India Employment Report 2024, ILO and IHD (2022 data)
10.2%
Unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 29, against about 3% for all workers.
Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023–24, MoSPI
How the Gap Becomes a Spiral
Choose a cause to see where it leads.
Rote Learning Leads to Stunted Growth
When school means memorising for exams, children learn to repeat answers rather than ask questions. Curiosity and confidence fade just when they should be growing.
The Skills Gap Leads to Professional Paralysis
Students finish school without communication, collaboration or problem-solving skills. Degrees pile up, but employers still say young people are not ready for work.
No Exposure Leads to Social Hindrance
Without seeing careers, people or places beyond their own community, students cannot imagine options they have never met. First-generation learners feel this most.
Why We Exist
Every Number Here Points to the Same Gap: Years in School That Do Not Add Up to a Future.
We close it by staying with the same students from Grade 5 until they are empowered: building skills through school, then guiding them into higher education, internships, fellowships and jobs.
Sources
All figures are from the latest official or nationally recognised surveys. Last checked: [Month 2026].
- Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 and ASER 2023 “Beyond Basics”, Pratham Education Foundation
- PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, Ministry of Education and NCERT
- Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2023–24, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
- India Employment Report 2024, International Labour Organization and Institute for Human Development
- India Skills Report 2025, Wheebox with AICTE, AIU and CII
Our Path
From Grade 5 to Empowerment. One Student. One Continuous Journey.
Most programs meet a child for a few months. The Shiksha Path stays with the same students through school, into higher education and on to their first career step, with rigour rising at every phase.
Phase 1: Grades 5 to 7
Foundation and Discovery
Students learn to feel safe, speak up and work together. Regular sessions use arts, basic science and games to build curiosity, confidence and the eight core competencies.
Focus: belonging, teamwork, self-expression, the joy of learning.
Level of rigour: Foundational
Who walks with them: Shiksha Doot Fellows
Inside a Grade 5 Classroom
In “Balloons of Promises”, pairs of students write what they will bring to make their classroom a happy and safe space, such as kindness, listening or teamwork.
Phase 2: Grades 8 to 10
Skill Mastery and Awareness
Rigour rises gradually. Students keep nurturing the eight core competencies at a moderate level, while the core focus moves to hands-on STEM education, artificial intelligence and technical skills.
Focus: hands-on STEM, artificial intelligence, technical skills, the eight competencies.
Level of rigour: Moderate, rising each year
Who walks with them: Shiksha Doot Fellows
Inside a Classroom
Phase 3: Grades 11 and 12
Pathways to Higher Education
In higher secondary, we make sure every student moves successfully into higher education. We help them choose courses, get enrolled in reputed institutions, and secure scholarships and accommodation.
Focus: course and college choices, admissions, scholarships, accommodation.
Level of rigour: Advanced
Who walks with them: Shiksha Doot Fellows and the Higher Education Access Lab
What We Track
No of grade 10 students successfully admitted to senior secondary education, got scholarships, accomodation support provided throught the phase,
Phase 4: After Grade 12
Careers and Empowerment
As students complete senior secondary and enter higher education, all our Access Labs work with each student individually: navigating higher education, finding internships and skilling opportunities, securing paid fellowships and getting access to placement.
Focus: higher education navigation, internships, skilling, paid fellowships, placement.
Level of rigour: One-to-one
Who walks with them: All our Access Labs: Higher Education, Fellowship and Placement
What We Track
No of youth secured paid internship, fellowships and placement opportunities.
Join at Any Stage
Students Can Enter at Any Level. We Stay Until They Are Empowered.
A student might meet us in Grade 5, in Grade 9 or as they finish school. Wherever they start, they step onto the same path, and we walk with them to college, a skill, a fellowship or a job. We do not hand them over at the end of a grade or a project.
Walk with a studentTwo Versions of Shiksha Doot
Learning That Goes Beyond the Textbook
Co-curricular and extra-curricular education builds the skills exams leave out: communication, confidence, teamwork and problem-solving. It is essential to every student’s skills and holistic development. Shiksha Doot comes in two versions, and we choose the one that fits each school’s needs and the issue we are addressing.
Version 1
Shiksha Doot Fellowship
Our regular, year-long intervention. Fellows work in schools 5 days a week, with the same classrooms through the school year, and stay with students as they move up the grades.
Version 2
Shiksha Doot Facilitator Program
A weekly workshop model. Facilitators work with a classroom once a week for 3 to 4 months, built on the same curriculum and the same eight core competencies.
How Every Session Works
Every session, in the Fellowship or the Facilitator Program, follows the same three steps, so students learn to plan, act and reflect on their own.
- 1
Anticipate
Students look at a real situation and think about what could change. - 2
Act
In small groups they plan and carry out a hands-on activity or project. - 3
Reflect
They share what they learned, what worked and what they would try next.
Photo: Shiksha Doot facilitators in a classroomEvery Fellow Grows Too
Led by Young People, for Young People
Our Shiksha Doots are undergraduate and postgraduate students selected for the Shiksha Doot Fellowship. They stay with their classrooms year after year.
While they teach, we invest in them too. Every Fellow gets dedicated support for skilling and career readiness, so the young people who guide our students are building their own futures at the same time.
Our curriculum builds eight core competencies and draws on Finland’s transversal competencies and Norway’s LK20 core curriculum, adapted to Indian classrooms.
Beyond the Classroom
The journey does not stop at Grade 12. These programmes carry students, and our Fellows, into higher education, work and public life.
Youth Development Access Labs
The Higher Education, Fellowship and Placement Access Labs power Phases 3 and 4. They work with each student one-to-one on admissions, scholarships and accommodation, internships, skilling, paid fellowships and placement.
National Integration Program
Exchanges and journeys that connect young people across India. The program has reached six states and union territories
Nirmayee Magazine
A monthly youth-led magazine in Marathi and English where young people write about democracy, culture and their lives.
Read NirmayeeOur Impact
What Your Support Has Built
Every number on this page is dated and sourced from our own records. Last updated: [Month, Year].
10000+
Collective students reach since 2017
374
Youth facilitators trained since 2017
750+
Students for the 2026-27 year.
140
Operational facilitators for 2026-27 year.
Outcomes We Track Along the Path
Each phase has its own measure of success, so donors can see progress from Grade 5 to empowerment.
Phase 1, Grades 5 to 7
7000+
Of students showing growth in the eight core competencies
Phase 2, Grades 8 to 10
3000
Students completing hands-on STEM and AI projects
Phase 3, Grades 11 and 12
0
Students enrolled in higher education, with scholarships secured
Phase 4, After Grade 12
50+
Internships, paid fellowships and placements
Where We Work
| Chapter | Status | Schools | Students | Shiksha Doots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pune | Operational, since 2017 | 4 | 750+ | 60 |
| Pimpri-Chinchwad | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
| Mumbai | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
| Thane | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
| Ahilyanagar | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
| Satara | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
| Solapur | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
| Sangli | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
| Kolhapur | New chapter | 1 | 120 | 10 |
Pune runs the Shiksha Doot Program through two versions of Shiksha Doot: the Fellowship and, in some schools, the weekly Facilitator Program. New chapters will report figures once classrooms begin.
Stories from the Classroom
Photo: student (consent on file)“I am able to walk on my path due to my mentor didi at Shikshanganga ”
Pratiksha Rathod, Student, Virtual Learning Center
Photo: Ritu Jadhav (with her consent)“My mentors supported me at every stage of academic jounrey, I am always greatful”
Ritu J, with us since 2021 as a student, now a Alumni
Photo: a parent or teacher (consent on file)“ The people of organization are so caring and innovative”
Achuyt R & Pushpa R, Parents, Pune
We share stories only with written consent, use first names, and focus on strengths rather than hardship.
Give
Walk with a Student, All the Way to Empowerment.
Your gift pays for trained facilitators, hands-on STEM and AI learning, higher education support and career guidance on the Shiksha Path. You will get regular updates from the classroom you support.
Photo: facilitator with studentsThank You.
Next, you will finish your gift on our secure payment page. Your receipt will be sent to your email.
Continue to secure paymentJoin Shiksha Doot
Two Ways to Teach, Lead and Grow
We are a youth-led movement. Our Shiksha Doots are undergraduate and postgraduate students, and every one of them gets dedicated support for their own skilling and career readiness.
For a Year-Long Commitment
Shiksha Doot Fellowship
Work in schools 5 days a week part time for one year and empower students in your classrooms. This is a fully paid fellowship.
Apply in MayUnsure About Your Time?
Shiksha Doot Facilitator Program
Work with a classroom once a week for 3 to 4 months. We run two cohorts each year.
| Shiksha Doot Fellowship | Shiksha Doot Facilitator Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Time in school | 5 Days a week | Once a week |
| Duration | One year | 3 to 4 months |
| Applications | Once a year, in May | Winter and Monsoon cohorts, announced on social media |
| Best for | Those ready for a year-long engagement | Those unsure about time commitment and availability |
| Stipend | Fully paid | 1000/- INR per month subject to engagement in schools and training |
Partner with Us
Joining Collectively, Leading Change
This is the heart of every partnership we build. Whether you give as an individual, a foundation or a company, you join a shared effort to walk with students from Grade 5 to empowerment.
High-Net-Worth Individuals
Support a school, a cohort of Shiksha Doots or a phase of the Shiksha Path, and see its progress first-hand.
Institutional Grants
Fund programme growth, new chapters or research on outcomes, with clear milestones and regular reports.
CSR
Bring your company into a long-term education partnership in the communities where you work.
Questions Donors Ask
Where does my money go?
Donated money strictly goes towards the program related expenditure of Shiksha Doot Program & Youth Development Center
Will I hear how it is going?
Yes. Donors receive our newsletter with stories from the classroom, and our annual report by early of April each year.
Can I stop a monthly gift?
Yes, at any time. Email operations@shikshanganga.org and we will cancel it.