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STEM Education
Restoring agency in children from underserved communities
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Research evidentially proves the development of three critical 21st century skills through STEM:
Critical Thinking
Reasoning & Problem solving
Creativity
Innovating
Communication
Expressing & collaborating
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Mantra4Change leverages this insight into a well-crafted curriculum that transforms the learning experience of children through STEM education.
Children learn and exercise :
Enabling Voice
The ability to share ideas, opinions and reflections
Enabling Choice
The ability to choose what, when and how of their learning trajectories with freedom
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Rural -Urban Divide
Increasing gaps in access to quality learning in STEM
With 250 million school going children and 1.5 million schools, the Indian Public Education system is one of the largest in the world. What is alarming is that:
84% of these schools are in rural and tribal geographical areas with limited access to quality resources.
National Achievement Survey confirms that urban schools outperform most of the rural schools by a large margin in Science and Mathematics
Only 64% of total children enrolled in rural areas make it to secondary education in STEM subjects.
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76% Indian women have deeply embedded bias that men are better suited for careers in science and technology
2 / 5 Indian women consider gender suitability while applying for jobs
44% Indian women believe that they won’t be promoted over a contemporary male colleague at their respective workplace
40% of India’s STEM graduates are women yet only 14% are pursuing a career in STEM
Gender Divide
A patriarchal syndrome in STEM education
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Bridging the gap - Our Approach
None of the Indian states have a score above 60 on SDG-5 (Gender Equality) and stands at alarming score of 48
India is also one of the nations that have very low commitment scale to improving SDG-5
In India, the overall gender gap in literacy stands approximately at 21%
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG -5), Index - India 2020
What does this mean for the future of young girls from vulnerable communities of India?
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Our Program
Accelerating overall readiness in children, especially girls - beyond school
Setting up Maker’s Lab
Maker’s Mindset Activities
Design Thinking Exercises
Entrepreneurial support
Little Scientists of Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur is a city at the bank of river Ganga in Bihar. It is also the second largest city in the state of Bihar, India. Known for its rich cultural and intellectual heritage, the city today stands deficient in access to sustainable and quality resources especially with respect to technology.
Our STEM program in Bhagalpur is little more than a year old and the journey has only been inspiring. Here is a glimpse of little scientists of Bhagalpur.
Maker’s Mela
Maker’s Mela is an annual event that focuses on developing scientific temper within the students of Bhagalpur district of Bihar. A team of active volunteers conduct the three-day engagement with children of age group 10-18. Children from several villages in and around Bhagalpur attend the mela and leverage the opportunity to showcase different projects in the science exhibition.
In 2022 alone, a total of 16 independent projects came from the students. The two most innovative projects were:
Eye Blink Sensor:
Farmer's Laathi (Stick)
This model was developed for drivers who work round the clock and are prone to accidents due to fatigue and loss of sleep at night. The eye blink sensor illuminates the eye with infrared light and monitors the changes in the reflected light. The infrared light reflected from the eye is used to determine the results. If the eye is closed, the output is high and as a result the buzzer will ring, waking up the drowsy driver. After 1 min if the driver doesn't open his eyes the vehicle engine will automatically shut down preventing the driver from continuing further and reducing the risk of an accident.
India is a land of farmers with agriculture contributing to around 60% of the GDP. The occupation comes with many hazards like the risk of snake bite, poisoning due to scorpions and other insects etc. To reduce the risk, Manish (a student from Bhagalpur) designed a life-saving stick or laathi that emits heavy vibrations when pushed on the ground while walking. These vibrations alert the creatures like snakes and make them change their path. This cost-effective device is made from vibrators used in old cell phones. It also has an LED bulb that emits light on the path along with a cell phone charger.
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Building a Makerspace Movement in India - #OneSTEPatatime
What does it take to build a movement of Makers in Rural and Tribal India?
15000+
CHILDREN
70+
SCHOOLS
67
LABS
12
STATES
>20%
ACADEMIC GROWTH
Meet Our Team
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Shekhar Suman
Program Manager
Rupesh Jha
Curriculum & Training Lead
Resources
Media Gallery
Mantra4Change ensures teachers’ capacity is developed in the integration/embedding of technology into STEM activities, aligned to the curriculum, that prepare children, especially girls for rigorous career opportunities. The program encourages adoption of Coding & Computational thinking in the regular curriculum and enhances project-based learning.
Tinkering Laboratories are a major component of our flagship program - STEP (School Transformation and Empowerment Project) that is aimed at encouraging micro improvements at school, system and ecosystem levels. The interventions aims at restoring agency in students from underserved geographies through an activity-based STEM curriculum aligned with the directives of India’s Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All)
