U.S. Supports National Conference to Educate India's Most Vulnerable

August 24, 2005

NEW DELHI -- The Government of India’s “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” (“Education for All”) initiative received further impetus today as Indian government officials, academics, educational specialists and others gathered to discuss ways to include India’s hardest-to-reach children in universal education.

The three-day conference, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development’s REACH (Reaching and Educating At-risk Children) project, brought together some of country’s foremost thinkers and practitioners in elementary education.

Inaugurating the conference in New Delhi this morning, George Deikun, Mission Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said “Education for all is a central development goal for India. Realizing universal education would unleash untold potential and dynamism in this country – particularly among girls and out-of-school youth.

“We are proud,” he added, “to complement the Government of India’s efforts by focusing on ways to marshal the collective promise of the country’s most vulnerable children through elementary education.” The conference is part of a four-year, $20 million (Rs.86.7 crores) effort by USAID to reach and educate at-risk children in India.

In his remarks, Deikun stressed the essential roles of teachers and communities in sustaining nationally supported education reform. Nongovernmental organizations, he explained, are critical partners in developing innovative, localized models for bringing hard-to-reach children to school settings.

Representatives from more than 50 NGOs across the country involved in implementing grassroots-level education programs are participating in the conference, together with senior government officials, distinguished educators and child rights advocates.

The REACH India project aims to bring out-of-school children back to formal classroom settings through specialized learning techniques – “bridging” them back to mainstream education through alternative education and other means. Partner NGOs address the basic educational needs of children who are either out of school or are in danger of dropping out. Initiatives are currently underway in Delhi, Kolkata, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Mumbai, and are due to start later this year in North Karnataka.