Education Development Centre India (EDC India) runs the Minority Education for Growth & Advancement-Skills for Youth (MEGA-SkY) project, which aims to provide educational and skills opportunities for disadvantaged children and youth from minority Muslim communities in North India. The project conducts needs assessments, establishes community support groups and Taraqqi centers for coaching and vocational training, and partners with over 100 madrasas to train teachers and leaders. Key results include over 51,000 children reached, of which over 6,500 youth received vocational training, and 188 youth volunteers established as community change agents. The project emphasizes close community engagement, good quality education, and collaborative efforts to make a difference for disadv

1.  Education Development Centre India is a legacy organization set
up by EDC Inc.
06/12/12 1

2. Minority Education for Growth & Advancement-Skills for Youth
MEGA-SkY
Goal
Provide educational and skills development
opportunities to disadvantaged children and
youth especially from minority Muslim
community in North India, particularly girls for
getting them mainstreamed into the nation’s
formal education system.

3. Needs Assessment Study & Project
Strategy Development
ACCESS ENVIRONMENT
QUALITY SKILLS
 Questionnaire Survey- Teachers/
Heads/ Officials
 Focus Group Discussion- Youth/
Students/ Parents
 School/Madarsa Observation

4. ‘ACE’ APPROACH
Access (A)
• Community level enrolment drives
• Taraqqi (Progress) Center Activities:
Bridge Courses (out of school youth)
Supportive coaching
Vocational Training
Learning Camps
Communication (C)
• Needs Assessment Studies
• Consultations & Advocacy W’shops
• Household Survey
• Community Support Groups
• Youth Volunteers
Excellence (E)
• Madrasa Teacher training Program (MTTP)
• Madrasa Leaders Training program (MLDP)
• Urdu-English Interactive Audio Instruction
(IAI)

5. Community Support Local Implementing
Groups (CSG) Partners (LIP)
Community Meeting, Mallihabad, UP
Block Team,Varanasi, UP
11 LIP’s for 12 Blocks
Each Block Team:
•1 Block Co-ordinator
•2 Supervisors
•10-15 Youth Volunteers
Mothers Group Meeting,
Tonk, Rajasthan

6. Volunteers recruitment & enablement
188 Youth Volunteers Career Paths W’shop,
(81 Females, 107 Males) Jehangirpuri, Delhi
Training Workshops
Exposure Visits
Advocacy Workshops
‘ABLE’ Workshop Lucknow, UP
& Conferences

7. Youth Volunteers Activities
Household Survey Awareness Campaigns
Admission Campaigns Coaching / Guidance in Schools/Madarsas

8. Taraqqi (Progress) Centres
Supportive Coaching XX: Volunteer Hours Committed to MEGA-SkY
Bihar 46,176
Delhi 31,200
Rajasthan 84,864
Bridge Coaching Uttar Pradesh 76,128
Total 238,368 hrs
Vocational Training
56 Taraqqi Centres (TC)
Guidance

9. Inter Community Environment Building

10. Over 100 Madarsa’s partnered
Madarsa Leadership Development Programme (MLDP)
Madarsa Teacher Training Programme (MTTP )
‘Time for English’ Urdu to English Interactive Audio Interaction (IAI)
120 Heads (Leaders)
•Using Technology to improve learning
204 Teachers •Planned Lessons with measurable
Learning Outcomes
•Joyful and age appropriate pedagogy
using stories, games and activities
•Community/Parental Inclusion &
Support
•Resource mobilization & management
•Synergy with Govt & NGO’s

11. Results/Outputs
 51,580 children reached. 28,470 girls and 23,110 boys
 6,590 youth- 6,049 young women and 541 young men received
vocational training
 188 Youth (81 Females, 107 Males) enabled as community
change agents
 51 Community Support groups (CSG) and 56Tarraqi (Coaching
& Guidance) Centres established

12. Project Dissemination Workshops

13. Recognition & Appreciation
REAL HEROES 2012 AWARD to
MEGA-SkY Youth Volunteers
Tarannum,Tabassum and Rubina
all 18-year-olds hailing from a small town
near Varanasi, were forced to quit their
studies after class tenth. But this did not
deter them from educating others.
They revived a 17-year-old defunct
madrasa into a buzzing coaching,
training and guidance centre for children
and youth of their area.
Print Media:
Times of India,India Today, The Hindu
Hindi & Urdu Newspaper
TV: CNN-IBN, ETV-Urdu

14. Key learning
 Close engagement with the community is critical to
a qualitative and sustainable intervention
 Good quality education is valued by children and
their parents; good teaching and child friendly
environment leads to better participation and thereby
more learning.
 It is desirable and achievable to make a difference to
the educational status of the disadvantaged
children/youth through a collaborative effort

15. •Sense of Membership
•Bonding/Networking
•Mutual Responsibility
•Agreement on vision
•Identification of leaders and •Clarity of Goals
resources
•Passion for Action
•Informal / Formal •Leadership and Problem - solving
Capacity
Communication
•Wide participation and autonomy
•Behind - the - scenes support
•Visible performance

16. •Sense of Membership
•Bonding/Networking
•Mutual Responsibility
•Agreement on vision
•Identification of leaders and •Clarity of Goals
resources
•Passion for Action
•Informal / Formal •Leadership and Problem - solving
Capacity
Communication
•Wide participation and autonomy
•Behind - the - scenes support
•Visible performance

17. Their Right to Education
We will strive
to reach out
and not be
deterred even
if the flood
waters are
reaching…. Search for opportunity no matter how tough
the situation may seem…..
This cannot be their future.
WE HAVE TO ENSURE IT….

18. ….that every child gets the necessary support and
environment for good education…
..whether it is tin sheds..
Or under thatched roof….

19. ….all support has to be sought to do the
needful.
If we get stuck..then TOGETHER we will
strive to move forward.
Even floods won’t deter and if needed
will swim across.

20. …and do
whatever it
takes to light up
smiles with
EDUCATION.
TAKE ACTION
Be the
CHANGE
AGENT