Kusuma Year Book 2017

1. Kusuma Yearbook 2017
Improving quality and
attaining scale
Kusuma Foundation
A-21, Third Floor, Green Park Main,
Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi - 110 016
Phone: +91-41500321/22/24
info@kusumafoundation.co.in
www.kusumafoundation.co.in
Kusuma Resource Centre
Second Floor, Above Axis Bank,
Budharaja Road, Ainthapalli,
Sambalpur,
Odisha - 768004
Phone: +91-663-2540157
Kusuma Resource Centre
First Floor, Surendra Pal Pathak
Complex, Civil Lines,
Hardoi,
Uttar Pradesh - 241001
Phone: +91-5852-235010
Kusuma Trust UK
Fifth Floor
55 New Oxford Street
London WC1A 1BS
Phone: +44 (0)20 7420 0650
www.kusumatrust.org
Kusuma Foundation is a non-profit
organisation registered under Section 8 of
Companies Act 2013 (Corporate Identity
Number – U74900DL2007NPL240538)
and Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act
registration number 010230856
Board
Sanjay Patra
Sunisha Ahuja
Venu Madhav
Country Leader
Pankaj Vinayak Sharma
Donor
Kusuma Trust UK
Photo Credits: Kusuma Foundation
and Sam Strickland
Design: Ankit Sharma

2. Our Vision
The Kusuma Foundation enables children and young people to realise
their potential and break the cycle of poverty.
The Mission
The Foundation works to improve educational opportunities and
employment prospects for underprivileged children and young people
in India.
quality of teaching and learning,
and enhance the effectiveness
of school management and
governance.
Emerging evidence from our
work with 50 partner schools in
Sambalpur (Odisha) and Hardoi
(Uttar Pradesh) was reviewed and
endorsed by experts from State
governments. The Department
of Education in both States have
partnered with us to take our
programme models to scale. As
a result of these partnerships, we
have reached 105,309 students,
935 teachers, 1,988 schools and
head teachers and 15,933 School
Management and Development
Committee members in 75
districts in Uttar Pradesh and three
in Odisha.
Our work is aligned to the
National Education Policy of India.
We invest in learning from our
programme beneficiaries and
tailor programmes and resources
to meet their needs.
In 2017-2018, we will partner
with the government of Odisha
to scale-up programmes in
nine districts and continue our
partnership with the government
of Uttar Pradesh in 75 districts.
We will participate in research to
assess the effectiveness of our
programmes and will continue to
advocate for quality education for
all children based on evidence.
T
he Kusuma Foundation
believes that every child
has a right to education.
We believe that while access to
education is important, access
alone is insufficient to improve
student learning outcomes,
ensure successful transition to
secondary and higher education
and enable young people to
secure employment.
In 2016-2017, we continued
to develop and implement
interventions to improve the
2
Improving quality and
attaining scale
3
Contents
Improving quality and
attaining scale
2
Students 4
Teachers 8
Schools 12
Advocacy 16
Our reach 18

3. 5
Students
4
W
e raise the aspirations
of young people
to complete
their education and secure
employment. Our programmes
improve the quality and
accessibility of learning
opportunities to help students
attain learning levels appropriate
to their age.
Our Secondary School Readiness
Programme is a 69-day
programme for Class 9 students
to attain the learning level for
their age in English, Mathematics,
Science, Environmental Studies,
Hindi and Odia. In 2016-2017, 160
teachers and 8,167 students from
50 partner schools participated in
the programme.
We supported the government
of Uttar Pradesh to scale up the
programme to another 52 schools,
reaching 5,826 students in five
districts of the Lucknow Zone.
This included training for teachers,
providing high quality resources
for teachers and students and
monitoring visits by experts.
Each year, the Kusuma Excellence
Fellowship offers support to 200
new students from disadvantaged
backgrounds in Hardoi and
Sambalpur to complete secondary
education and pursue higher
education. The Fellowship includes
a stipend, help with English
language and computing, and
careers guidance. In 2016-2017,
the programme supported 656
Fellows.
The Kusuma Excellence Awards
recognise top students, teachers
and schools in Hardoi and
Sambalpur. In 2016-2017, four
schools, 23 teachers and 34
students were given a certificate
and cash prizes.
The Kusuma Resource Centres in
Hardoi and Sambalpur offer a wide
range of educational resources
and learning opportunities for
students, teachers, head teachers
and community members. The
Centres and affiliated block level
Satellite Resource Centres in
each district organise training,
competitions, clubs and other
activities for students to promote
use of computers, Science, English
speaking, reading and careers
guidance. During the year, 6,176
students participated in activities
at the Centres.
The Kusuma Mid-Day Meal
Programme was set up in 2012.
A grant was made to The Akshya
Patra Foundation to construct
a kitchen with the capacity to
cook and deliver 100,000 meals
each day for school children
to improve their nutrition and
school attendance. In 2016-2017,
the programme delivered more
than 2.5 million meals to 63,000
students in 415 schools in Cuttack
and Bhubaneshwar.
Research by the the London School of Economics in 2017 found that the Fellowship enables recipients to free
up time for studies: Compared to non-recipients, fellows spend on average 6.6 hours less per week on non-
academic work such as household chores or helping parents with work.

4. Roshni is a Class 9 student in
the Government Inter-College
Tandiyawan, Hardoi. She
struggled with her studies. Her
inability to read and write Hindi
had an impact on her learning in
class as well as her confidence.
Her teachers assumed she would
drop out.
Roshni’s school piloted the
Secondary School Readiness
Programme. Based on her
assessment, Roshni was selected
to participate in the foundation
camp for 18 days to develop
her understanding of basic
concepts in English, Mathematics,
Environmental Studies and Hindi.
Roshni enjoyed the activity-based
learning, participated in classes
and used the workbooks. Her
desire to learn became evident.
Roshni then embarked on the
45-day supported learning phase
to apply basic concepts. She
used the workbooks and built
her confidence to seek guidance
from teachers in areas where she
needed help.
In the past Roshni had been
afraid of exams. She didn’t
have guidance at home on
how to prepare and the results
often showed her in a bad
light amongst her peers. After
participating in the 6-day
consolidation camp to prepare for
the Class 9 examination, Roshni’s
confidence soared.
It was no surprise to her teachers
that her performance in the
assessment at the end of the
programme was good. Roshni
scored 95% in Hindi and she
demonstrated proficiency in
reading and writing. Roshni
went on to pass the Class 10
examination with a first division.
Roshni isn’t afraid to learn
6 7
“
”
An evaluation by the London School of Economics in June 2017 analysed assessment scores for students at
the start and end of the programme in 50 schools in Hardoi and Sambalpur. The research found large gains in
test scores on average. The highest gains were recorded for language – 13 percentage points for Hindi and 9
percentage points for Odia and the lowest gains were recorded in Science in Sambalpur (1.2 percentage points)
and Environmental Studies in Hardoi (3 percentage points). The study also established a positive correlation
between test score gains and participation in the programme.
I have improved my Hindi and
English considerably due to
the programme. I really enjoy
reading and that has helped
me learn all subjects better.
If I hadn’t participated in the
programme, I would have
discontinued my studies.
Roshni

5. 9
988
Teachers
W
e support
improvements in the
quality and effectiveness
of teaching in government and
aided secondary schools. Our
Teacher Professional Development
programme focuses on English,
Mathematics and Science.
We train teachers on teaching
standards, assessment of student
learning, remediation and
effective teaching methods.
Training is delivered by
subject experts and focuses
on developing perspective,
knowledge and teaching skills.
A District Resource Group
consisting of of expert teachers
was trained to provide classroom
based coaching support and
observe teaching practices.
A framework is used to track
progress and practices in three
key areas – preparation, teaching
and assessment. Observations
of teachers are used by the
experts to support improvements
in specific areas of teaching.
Teachers are encouraged to set
up and participate in district wide
peer networks – Quality Circles.
Teaching resources have
been developed for English,
Mathematics, Science, Hindi and
Odia for Classes 9 and 10 and also
for remediation.
In 2016-2017, our work with
teachers included:
• Training 167 teachers from 50
partner schools on effective
teaching
• Quality Circles for English,
Mathematics and Science
teachers and Librarians
• Training 208 teachers to
scale-up our remediation
programme in five districts
of the Lucknow Zone of Uttar
Pradesh
• Training 20 members of a
support group for teachers
set up by the government of
Uttar Pradesh in five districts
of the Lucknow Zone

6. An evaluation of the Teacher Professional Development programme by New Concept Information Systems found
that teachers were very satisfied with the training provided, reporting an increase in confidence, motivation
and awareness of more innovative teaching strategies.Teachers were more competent in the use of questions to
promote student engagement than group work, peer learning or other participatory teaching practice. The study
found that improved teacher performance has a significant impact on student learning levels.
Sudarshan Raul teaches
Mathematics at Ghosramal High
School in Sambalpur. He was very
confident of his subject knowledge
but aware that it did not translate
into enhancing student interest
and learning. He signed up for
Teacher Professional Development
programme and received training,
high quality teaching materials and
coaching.
Bhabani Shankar Nayak, the coach
assigned to Sudarshan, reviewed
his teaching and rated him as a
proficient teacher. To improve
Sudarshan’s teaching, they decided
to focus on “collaborative learning”
amongst students in small groups
on assigned collective tasks.
Sudarshan focused on planning
and facilitating discussions
in the classroom, observing
group activities and achieving
planned learning objectives.
When Sudarshan didn’t have the
confidence to deliver an activity,
Bhabani co-facilitated the session.
Sudarshan went from delivering
lecture-based sessions to
promoting participatory learning.
Class participation and the learning
outcomes of students improved.
According to his coach, Sudarshan
had achieved the highest
proficiency level for a teacher.
Bhabani sums up the effect
that Sudarshan’s lessons had on
students:
Translating Sudarshan’s knowledge into practice
“
” 1110
Collaborative learning ensured
that students were able to
solve problems together, with
each student understanding
concepts. The classroom work
was participatory and students
displayed confidence in sharing
doubts, presenting their work
and communicating with the
teacher.

7. 1312
Schools
W
e promote effective
leadership and
governance in schools.
We do so by developing
resources to enable head
teachers to improve schools.
Head teachers are supported to
improve understanding of their
role, and their management
knowledge and skills. This includes
developing and implementing
annual school plans, providing
academic leadership, organising
and monitoring teaching and
engaging with the school
governing body.
Our model focuses on the School
Management and Development
Committee. Parents and
community representatives on
the committee are trained to
participate in developing annual
plans, mobilising resources and
supporting the delivery of plans.
In 2016-2017, our work on school
management and governance
included:
• Training 50 head teachers
from partner schools on
school annual planning,
academic leadership,
resource mobilisation and
advocacy
• Training 680 committee
members from 50 partner
schools on effective
governance
• Supporting an annual head
teacher leadership conference
at district level where 197
heads of secondary schools in
Sambalpur participated
• Supporting the government
of Uttar Pradesh to scale
up the school governance
programme in 1,285 schools,
including orientation of 75
District Inspectors of Schools,
training all head teachers
and 15,393 committee
members on their roles, school
annual planning and school
standards.
12 13

8. 14 15
The Government Girls High
School Gopamau in Hardoi
had difficulty keeping students
in school because of a lack of
teachers, poor facilities and the
conservative attitude of parents.
Swati Shrivastava was appointed
head teacher in 2014. She is
committed to girls’education,
academic excellence and school
development. She found an ally in
our programme and its focus on
the whole school.
She participated in training on
school planning, community
engagement and academic
leadership, which she found
useful. She sought peer feedback
on her ideas. Swati convened a
meeting of the school governing
body to develop an ambitious
school plan. Improving the quality
of teaching, developing a library
and lab were identified as key
priorities. Together they identified
the resources to be mobilised from
local charities and government
departments for the plan.
Swati provided academic
support to teachers through
regular observation and
feedback. She requested
Volunteer Teachers from the
Foundation to address teacher
shortages, developed a model
library and organised sessions to
promote better health practices
amongst students. She ensured
active use of the Science and
computer labs and encouraged
students to run book and movie
clubs.
Student results in the school
have since improved. The pass
percentage in English increased
from 51.8% in 2014 to 91.3% in
2016; in Mathematics from 54.3%
to 73.3%; and in Science from
66.1% to 91.3%.
Swati believes there is much
still to be done - attendance
is still irregular and the school
needs a boundary wall and more
teachers. She remains committed
to resolving these issues, one at a
time.
School leadership matters
“
A review of the knowledge of 14,817 committee members trained using our model in 1,285 government schools
by the State Institute of Education Management and Training in Uttar Pradesh in March 2017. It found that the
knowledge on school standards increased from 35.9% to 71.9% and knowledge of the appropriate use of school
funds improved from 67% to 85%. The review also found that less than 50% of the committee members had the
correct knowledge about the timeline for submission of school annual plans.
Kusumatrainingand
guidancehavehelpedin
improvingmymanagement
skills.Ihavemultiplied
learningopportunitiesfor
studentsandsupported
teacherstomakeclasses
interactive.Studentresults
haveimprovedandmy
schoolisamodelforother
schoolsinthedistrict.
Swati Srivastava, Head
Teacher
”

9. 1716
Advocacy
W
e believe that every
child has a right
to education and
through the fulfillment of this
right children will unlock their
potential and transform their
lives. To support this we advocate
on:
• Teacherrecruitment,attendance
andeffectiveness
• Studentparticipationand
attainment
• Schoolmanagementand
governance
Our advocacy efforts in 2016-
2017 include:
• Analysis of teacher vacancies
in partner schools and
advocating government
intervention to address
teacher shortages
• Sharing the results of
learning level assessments
of Class 9 students with
State governments to seek
action on the learning
crisis in secondary schools
through remediation efforts
• Seeking improvements in
government teacher training
by recommending the
inclusion of remediation
• Promoting school annual
planning and the adoption
of school standards in Uttar
Pradesh and Odisha in
line with‘Shala Siddhi’ - a
national framework for
school standards developed
by the Ministry of Human
Resource and Development
• Sharing an analysis of
head teacher vacancies to
highlight the gap in school
leadership and promote
succession planning for
head teachers and capacity
development of teachers
with the potential to
become head teachers.
The School and Mass Education department in collaboration with Kusuma Foundation aims
to enhance the effectiveness of teaching in Odia, English, Mathematics and Science at the
secondary level. The support extended by Kusuma of teaching-learning resources, technical
guidance in implementation and training will help in achieving grade appropriate learning and
improving student learning outcomes in secondary schools.
Shri. Ratnakar Rout, IAS, State Project Director and Ex-Officio Additional Secretary,
School and Mass Education, Government of Odisha
“
”

10. 1918
Our reach 2013 2016
50Schools
Students
Teachers
Head Teachers
School Governing Committees
School Governing Committee Members
Fellows
1,998
386 719
School
50 1,321
670 15,933
216 935
9,469 1,05,309
50 1,998
Kusuma’s work with 25 schools in Uttar Pradesh and 25
Schools in Odisha led to the government of Uttar Pradesh
and Odisha requesting Kusuma’s support to replicate
these programmes across the two States leading to wider
impact of our work by reaching more students, teachers
and schools.
Uttar Pradesh
Odisha
A+
School