Understanding the business models for educational institutions for the underprivileged In India and developing a strategic plan for strengthening Prayaas, an IIMA Initiative

Abstract

Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution, free and compulsory education is provided as a fundamental right to children between the ages of 6 and 14. The ratio of public schools to private schools in India is 7:5 showing a huge increase in private schools since independence owing to deteriorating quality of education at public schools.About 39 percent schools have less than 50 students while 21 per cent elementary school teachers are "untrained," and only 18 per cent teachers are able to avail annual in-service training. Founded in 2003, Prayaas is an initiative by IIM-Ahmedabad students to enable children of neighbouring areas to get access to quality education. It relies on collective crowd funding for its day-to-day operations. It is creating a change in life of children who live around the campus in poor conditions by providing them a more nurturing environment in which they can learn and develop their young minds. However, it is not bereft of operational challenges as they struggle to garner support from the student community and outside IIMA community. There are certain issues that Prayaas faces, some pertaining to its inability to register as an NGO, due to changing teams and the rest because of lack of a sustainable plan for the organization to survive.Through this project we have tried to study different kinds of supplementary educational initiatives for the underprivileged and their business models. This knowledge and information will be applied to develop a better understanding of the different issues that Prayaas faces and further attempt to create a sustainable strategy for Prayaas, as they face huge budget deficits year on year leading to all team energy being expended in funding.