The Fellowship Story

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About Us!

In 2018, Bhumi launched the School Transformation and Socio-Emotional Learning Programmes. These were facilitator-driven models with the intent of building reflection in teachers and school leaders and providing insights into pedagogical practices. The idea for the Bhumi Fellowship and whole-school transformation emerged with the realisation that it was essential to look beyond the classroom and work with other stakeholders to develop sustainable solutions.

Our mission is to instill a deep understanding of the education system in our Fellows so they can become leaders in the movement to create educational equity. In 2020, the Bhumi Fellowship welcomed its first cohort of five Fellows. Today, we have 16 Fellows working across corporation, government-aided, and low-income private schools across Chennai.

Vision

Achieving equitable education for all children through systemic change

Mission

To create a cadre of changemakers who transform schools in the short term and lead the next education movement in the long term.

What is the problem? (The ED Crisis)

Education is a fundamental right and all children are entitled to an excellent education. With the introduction of the Right to Education Act in 2009, India has achieved a Gross Enrolment Ratio of 99% at primary level. However, the quality of education still remains a challenge.

According to the Annual Status of Education Report (2018):
Only 44% of Grade V children could read a Grade II Level text
22.7% of Grade V children could do division

 At present, we have 96.96 lakh teachers across all levels for 26.44 crore children. We require efficient systems that enable HMs and invest parents to create an enabling learning environment for children. The Bhumi Fellowship aims to improve the quality of education by working with all the stakeholders in a school ecosystem through our whole-school transformation approach. We also envision our alumni becoming changemakers who lead the movement to transform the education system.

Our Approach

The Fellowship takes a whole-school transformation approach towards the short-term mission of transforming school. The key pillars of this approach are

  • Classroom Teaching

    Fellows are placed in a classroom between Grade 2-5 where they teach foundational literacy (English) and numeracy (Mathematics) to children.

  • Teacher Well-being and Development

    Our Fellows actively work with the HELO Team to create spaces for the wellbeing and the personal/ professional development of teachers.

  • Strategic Support to HMs

    The Fellows support the HMs with their vision for the school and co-create interventions to achieve the same.

  • Community Engagement

    A key component of the Fellowship is to build investment in the parents and collaborate with them to achieve student outcomes. Our Fellows do this through community visits, parent engagement spaces, and parent-teacher/school management committee meetings.

  • Enabling Resources of the School

    We work closely with the HM and other internal teams of Bhumi to improve the existing infrastructure and also provide access to computer labs, libraries, and play areas.

FELLOWS ENGAGED

SCHOOLS TRANSFORMED

CHILDREN BENEFITED

Meet our Fellows

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The Bhumi Fellowship has been an eye-opener in terms of understanding myself and the world around me. Despite the challenging times we find ourselves in, by being here, I feel that either I am a part of the solution, or actively working towards it. This is a wonderful start in understanding our education system better and working on improving it, together.
- Abhinaya Sridharan
Bhumi Fellow - Cohort 2020
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The Bhumi fellowship has been a multi-faceted experience and has helped me sharpen a plethora of my skills within a very short timeframe. It regularly poses challenges and enables individual growth and development. The journey, so far, has been immensely exciting and I am sure it will open a world of possibilities.
- Charlene Judith Pereira
Bhumi Fellow - Cohort 2020