Read about Vicky and his mother, Gita, who are both benefiting from the programme.
Caste discrimination in India traps Dalit communities in a cycle of poverty and exclusion, denying them their rights and barring children from education. Children on the Edge partners with NESWSD in Patna, Bihar, to facilitate 35 learning centres. These safe spaces offer supplementary education to 1,016 Dalit children, supporting them to understand their worth, re-enter mainstream education, and realise their potential.
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), is a support programme for older children who finish at our learning centres in Patna, India but can’t access state secondary schools.
Teachers support them to take formal Grade 8, 10 and 12 exams, for up to five years, giving them the credentials needed to apply to college or university.
Vicky is 17 years old and, before attending our learning centre he had never had any kind of formal education, due to his caste, and problems with his sight.
He tried to enrol in government school but teachers put him in classes with much younger children and made no effort to accommodate his disability. They constantly humiliated him, until he was pushed out.
Once he found out about our learning centre, which offers supplementary education for Dalit children who are forced out of government schools, he started attending as soon as he could.
His teacher supported him with extra care and encouragement and Vicky soon learned to read. He caught up so quickly that he became eligible to join the NIOS programme to take his secondary school exams.
Vicky’s mother Gita had a dream of going to school when she was a child, and becoming a teacher. She never had the opportunity and was delighted to see her son start to excel in his education.
Vicky's teacher told her that the opportunity was open to anyone, of any age, so Gita signed up too!
She is now working hard at her lessons, whilst helping Vicky with his progress too, and looking forward to a better future for them both.
In 2024, the NIOS programme expanded to primary level, ensuring that children who are excluded from mainstream schools are able to take formal exams and certification at our learning centres.
The subjects covered are Hindi, maths, environmental science (with modules on a large range of topics, including biology, physics, geography, politics and more), information technology (IT) and English.
This hard-won accreditation for primary children will make it possible for children from these communities to gain official education credentials, and either continue following the NIOS curricula at our centres, or - crucially - moreeasily access mainstream education at government or private schools.
As well as supporting individual children to fulfil their potential, this additional access to mainstream schools will increase Dalit integration and contribute to the erosion of caste discrimination.
