Sharan Ahluwalia

A pre-COVID POV. Back in 2019, we had an invigorating discussion with the principal of a local government school in the Shamsabad block of rural UP. Deep-diving into this one particular encounter & establishment throws light on myriad challenges that mar the education and development space in the region - especially issues concerning truancy, skewed teacher-pupil ratios in classrooms, outpaced growth in teachers compared to growth in the number of schools, along with a weakening social composition of communities within classrooms as well as lack of motivated and educated youth.

Poetry

Movie Review

Some glimpses from Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh, where E&H is implementing an ongoing BMGF project to enhance COVID Awareness, social protection and psychosocial support.

Poetry

SharanXPapercult was a week-long collaborative series, looking at some of my visual-verbal works including photography, research and poetry. Trigger warning, we delved a bit too deep.

I happened to read the latest report by The 10to19: Dasra Adolescents Collaborative. The report titled ‘Lost in Lockdown: Chronicling the Impact of COVID-19 on India’s Adolescents’ highlights the ways in which the lockdown and pandemic have affected various dimensions of the lives of young people mainly education, livelihoods, social isolation, mental health, exposure to violence, reproductive health and child marriage, as well as access to food and health services.

Recipe of 'No-bake Cheesecake' for @mymealkit.in

Living my Nigella Lawson fantasy, courtesy My Meal Kit. This is not just a recipe video, it's a journey. This Blueberry Cheesecake has a miraculous flavour and is ridiculously easy to make. It is scented with vanilla and the richness of dairy. Super easy-to-follow steps give you a cake that will serve and savour your senses like no other. Go crazy!! 💗

A woman who stands her ground and pursues education, defying social constructs, not only inspires others but also bring about change in her own life and within the community. In conversation with one of the oldest teachers from the Gyan Shala program in Uttar Pradesh, Miss Zakra's Nikhat, who continues to inspire young girls in UP with her work. An interview for E&H Foundation

In the ‘Culture and Captivity’ chapter of his book, ‘Identity and Violence’, Amartya Sen writes: “Shakespeare gave voice to the concern that ‘some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.’ In the schooling of children, it is necessary to make sure that smallness is not thrust upon the young, whose lives lie ahead of them. Much is at stake here." Penning down some pending thoughts about education and development at the intersection of the Coronavirus.

As part of the E&H Foundation & in an attempt to understand the impact of our program, I followed the story of some of our first-generation learners who joined us at the beginning of the program in 2013. Meeting them has authenticated the impact of strong pedagogy & the importance of enabling quality education of underprivileged children at primary level through proven models. Watch this short film by me for E&H Foundation and support the education of more such first-generation learners by visiting my campaign on Give India - https://tinyurl.com/yd24ag6d

In the current scenario, a majority of underprivileged children are going to school but eventually dropping out !
This is often because of poor quality of education and learning levels among many children at the bottom of the pyramid-population. A lot of socio-economic and geographical externalities also contribute to this trend. Although, the sector has been making steady progress. With the Right To Education (RTE), enrolment percentage of students in schools has gone up. However, quality of...

A brief case-study of a duo of brother and sister who are enrolled in our primary educational program in Farrukahabad, where E&H Foundation is supporting quality education of first-generation learners in partnership with ESO's Gyan Shala model.