Union Government launches Vidyanjali Mobile App for volunteer work at government schools

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) on 16 June 2016 launched the Vidyanjali Mobile App  that can be used by anyone to register for volunteer work at government schools.

Vidyanjali initiative is in line with the Union HRD Ministry's ongoing efforts under Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat.

Highlights of Vidyanjali Scheme
• Vidyanjali is being launched in pilot phase across 2200 schools in 21 states by HRD Minister.
• Volunteers can easily register for Vidyanjali by logging on to the MyGov website or app @mygovindia.
• Volunteers, however, cannot supplement the work of teachers by aiding them in the classroom as the Right to Education Act does not permit this sort of teaching.
• They will only be allowed to help with non-scholastic activities such as reading and theatre.
• This will also afford an opportunity to NRIs to do something to help the cause of government school education while visiting India.
• The exercise is not aimed at assessing how these schools benefit from these lateral initiatives, it is hoped reading sessions helmed by volunteers would make a small difference.

Background
Government schools, where large numbers of poor and disadvantaged children study, often lag behind in terms of quality. Several studies have pointed to problems in learning levels among children in India.

As per NGO Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report 2015, under half of students in Class 5 were able to fluently read a text meant for Class 2 students.

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