GyanSetu began in 2011 with 2 centers in Lucknow, and was formalized in 2012. At the time, it’s primary focus was on identifying out-of-school children from marginalized communities, helping them reach an age-appropriate academic level, and facilitating their enrollment in a formal school. Children of primary school age were the program’s target audience. Since then, the program has grown and expanded dramatically, not just in numbers but in scope. Much of this growth was organic, and occurred as a result of the identification of communities with high rates of children who were not enrolled in or attending school. Today, the program runs 65 centres and serves over 2000 children. Fifty are located within a distance of 40 kms radius from the SHEF head-office in Lucknow and 15 centres are in neighbouring districts (Barabanki, Unnao, Faizabad, Ayodhya, Sitapur and Pratapgarh). As the program has grown, it has expanded its focus to include age-appropriate learning for a wider range of age groups. The GyanSetu team also began to more actively engage parents and the wider community to address the issues that most deeply affect them, and frame the centers as sites of community transformation.
Because of SHEF’s prior experience working in marginalized communities, the GyanSetu team understood the importance of community engagement right from the start. In collaboration with Suraksha, a women’s rights and counselling center, the team regularly engaged the mothers of GyanSetu students in critical dialogues regarding gender-related issues that concerned them. With time, such meetings have expanded to include a wider variety of topics as well as the wider community, to address the issues that most affect them as a whole.
In 2019, GyanSetu established the Vidyasthali hub, a secondary headquarters running out of SHEF’s Vidyasthali Kanar Inter College that looks after a cluster of 21 centers operating in and around Malihabad. Many of the centers are run by Vidyasthali alum. GyanSetu Kanar, which operates in the school itself after hours, was also registered with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), to provide an opportunity for adolescents, especially girls, who were unable to complete their formal schooling for a variety of reasons. These students receive supplementary classes from the GyanSetu staff to bridge knowledge gaps and support them as they prepare for their NIOS exams. A total of 25 students have been enrolled for 10th and 12th grade to date.
In 2019, GyanSetu began giving focus to children ages 3 to 6 years through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme. Currently, 26 GyanSetu centers are dedicated to Early Childhood Development, with a strength of 628 children. The initiative aims to support the local Anganwadi* centers and prepare children for primary education.
*Anganwadi centers are government-run facilities that aim to address poor nutrition, improve maternal and child health outcomes, and provide non-formal pre-school education for children ages 3 to 6, particularly in rural areas.
In 2020, GyanSetu centers began offering digital literacy training to adolescents in the community, with the aim of bridging the digital divide and increasing their employability. The course consists of 4 modules that teach children basic computer functions, including how to type, create documents, make presentations, create spreadsheets, use video call software such as Zoom and Skype, use email, and perform internet searches. Upon successful completion of all four modules, participants receive a certificate of achievement.
