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Agastya Runs the Largest Hands- On Learning Program in the World! Agastya International Foundation is a Bangalore based non- profit educational trust that seeks to transform and stimulate the thinking of economically disadvantaged children. Agastya does this by bringing innovative science education to the doorstep of Government schools in various states in India. Agastya wins the Google Impact Challenge , India 125 Mobile Science Vans which take science education to the village doorstep 45 Science Centers for disadvantaged children 260 Night Village Schools 108 Lab in Boxes 172-acre Creativity Lab campus in Andhra Pradesh (2.5 hours from Bangalore) Help millions of disadvantaged, vulnerable and at-risk children to escape the vicious cycle of ignorance and poverty! Make a donation to support our work! Transforming Attitudes to Learning 'Yes' to 'Why' 'Looking' to 'Observing' 'Passiveness' to 'Exploring' 'Textbook-bound' to 'Hands-on' 'Fear' to 'Confidence'

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Agastya Runs the Largest Hands-On Learning Program in the World!

Agastya International Foundation is a Bangalore based non-profit educational trust that seeks to transform and stimulate the thinking of economically disadvantaged children. Agastya does this  by bringing

innovative science education to the doorstep of Government schools in various states in India.

Agastya wins the Google Impact Challenge, India

125 Mobile Science Vans which take science education to the village doorstep 45 Science Centers for disadvantaged children 260 Night Village Schools  108 Lab in Boxes  172-acre Creativity Lab campus in Andhra Pradesh (2.5 hours from Bangalore) 

Help millions of disadvantaged, vulnerable and at-risk children to escape the vicious cycle of ignorance and poverty! Make a donation to support our work! 

Transforming Attitudes to Learning'Yes' to 'Why'

'Looking' to 'Observing''Passiveness' to 'Exploring'

'Textbook-bound' to 'Hands-on''Fear' to 'Confidence'

The lesson we derive out of [the Agastya] experience is that innovative and student friendly solutions are needed to enable scientific learning in the youth, especially those in rural and remote regions of the nations of the world.

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Former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, speaking at the 11th International Conference on Public Communication of Science and Technology

From Our Blog:1.National Science Day

Mar 23, 2015Every year, the 28th of February is celebrated as National Science Day in India. The da... Read more.

2.Abhivyakti- Create, Click & Express Mar 19, 2015The program ‘Abhivyakti’, meaning ‘Self Expression’ envisages t... Read more.

3.DIY Calendar for 2015 Dec 31, 2014At Agastya, the mantra has always been 'Hands-on'.Here is a Do-it-yourself calendar for... Read more.

HowTapping the valuable resource of bright but underprivileged children and teachers in rural India, we provide an environment in which they can create, tinker, seek solutions and find them. We encourage inquiry from children, who are inquisitive by nature!When you get to the HOW of Agastya, you reach the place where we roll up our sleeves and dig in, shoulder to shoulder. Whether globally or locally, training teachers or teaching children, raising funds or raising awareness - there is work to be done. Learn how!  

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HOW Do We Make It Work?

WhoWHO makes up Agastya? Many individuals and groups working together have brought life to the original concept of Agastya. Through the dedication and generosity of others, we have managed to grow and develop into a successful, replicable model. Here you are introduced to Agastya's partners, our trustees and management, our visitors, as well as to our teachers and the children we serve.

Who Benefits from Agastya?

Disadvantaged Children in the age group 6-18. Most of these children come from rural India. Their parents are small marginal farmers, carpenters, stone cutters, construction and menial white

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collar workers. A majority of them study in government schools and have no access to labs or other hands–on learning opportunities. Some of them are school dropouts.

Visitors from urban schools and institutions who come to experience Agastya's unique campus and learn about rural India.

Government officials and NGOs interested in replicating the Agastya model.

Government school teachers Village parents and communities reached by Agastya Mobile Lab

night community visits.

WhatThe WHAT of Agastya may be where the deepest questions are answered. Here we explain just what we do and map out our goals for the future. We report on what has been accomplished since we began. You might also be interested in what the press has had to say about Agastya and what the children themselves have to say.

WHAT is Agastya's Approach to Learning?

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WhereWHERE is Agastya now and where do we plan to be in the future? While focusing on developing our current campus and our fleet of mobile labs, interest in Agastya has future sites in the works. Learn about them and stay informed about future growth. WHERE Can the Agastya Model Work?As of date, the Agastya Model has positively impacted over 5 million children and 2,00,000 teachers in 12 states in India, and is poised to expand to more states. The model is scalable and replicable anywhere in the world.

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WhyThe WHY of Agastya answers the questions that help us to uncover the hidden value of India's rural population and the importance of providing them with a strong education from their early years. The benefits of what we do in the short run as well as for the long haul become evident as we analyze the current educational system. 

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WHY is Agastya So Important?

Why Agastya WorksLearning at Agastya is fun, useful and accessible to the poorest child.

Creative-thinking and hands-on science programs have reached over 5 million children and 120,000 teachers

More than 300 science experiments, using low-cost tools, make learning fun and illustrate a wide range of concepts and principles

Interactive science centers/labs foster creativity and deep learning Mobile Labs and Science Fairs take science to the village doorstep Interactive student-teacher workshops enhance learning Model-making workshops deepen hands-on skills

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Young Instructor Leader program emphasizes life skills and raises self esteem among children

Reforestation programs are transforming local ecosystems Rural art and dance workshops offer unique opportunities for

expression Creating "a knowledge bridge" between urban and rural communities

Why Rebuild Education in IndiaPrimary education is the foundation on which the intellectual capital of a country is built.

"Those developing countries that invested heavily in primary education have done much better than those that concentrated more on university education." - The Economist

Agastya - a Catalyst

Nalanda and Takshashila were great centers of world learning in India. They and their concept of integrated excellence are today extinct. Such centers can and should be recreated in the new context of the 21st century. Agastya hopes to sow the seeds of a revolution in education that leads to the creation of centers of learning in India.

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Why Agastya is Beneficialto State & Country

Infuse curiosity and creativity in schools Disseminate critical knowledge and upgrade local skills Increase inward funds and investment flows Enhanced management of ecology and environment. Accelerated development and growth of knowledge and skill based

employment 

to Individuals & Organizations

World class education for children and teachers Retain and grow high quality intellectual capital in India - a source of

creative and well-educated knowledge workers Increase two-way flow of intellectual capital between India and the rest

of the world Increase international awareness of Indian culture Create positive national and international perception

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Why in IndiaWith its large and diverse population, India represents a challenging, and therefore ideal, opportunity for generating transformative models in education. A model proven in India, can inspire global change and be replicated almost anywhere in the world.

Indians are a Global intellectual Resource

India is the land where the "guru-shishya" parampara ( teacher-student tradition) originated. Indians’ capacity to learn, grasp and adapt new techniques is perhaps unparalleled. Indians are the brain resource in major ventures all over the world - in Silicon Valley, Bell Labs, Wall Street, consulting, universities, schools and colleges Indians have made a major impact. 

Revitalising Indian Education - A Global Priority

With over 16% of the world's population, revitalizing education in India must be a national as well as global priority.

India lags behind in literacy.

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India – a World Leader?

Indians have produced many significant and successful insights, inventions and thoughts known to humanity. Vedic philosophy, the Upanishads, Ayurveda, Yoga, the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, Sanskrit, Tamil, zero, the number system, algebra, arithmetic, astronomy, astrology, temple architecture, metallurgy and chess are just a few examples of India's prodigious contribution. More than a thousand years before Copernicus, 23-year-old Aryabhata wrote in his famous Aryabhatia that the earth rotates round its axis. Chanakya’s Arthashastra was the oldest and most comprehensive treatise on the economy and statecraft. The genius Ramanujan reinvented European mathematics working on his own. Mahatma Gandhi humbled a colonial power through nonviolence.

Reinventing the Genius of a Nation

These unique achievements demonstrate that India's contributions spring from her innate intellectual, cultural, philosophical and spritual

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genius.

Agastya believes that this dormant genius needs to be reenergized for India to play a leading role in the 21st century.

The Gurukul System

Much of Indian discovery and learning can be attributed to the metaphysical "gurukul" system of education, which encouraged observation, questioning, dialogue, investigation, respect for teachers and the environment.

Despite a tradition of excellence and innovation Indian innovation and invention has fallen behind many countries of the world. The growth of the Indian IT industry, and India's achievements in space and atomic energy suggest that the tide may be turning.

Agastya International Foundation believes that engaging India's neglected 700 million rural citizens is a necessary condition for India to reemerge as a world leader in ideas and action. This can happen by transforming the existing rote-based education system into one that fosters creativity and encourages experimentation, and leveraging the dormant strengths of Indian culture and philosophy. 

Imagine the explosion in innovation and creativity if India unleashes the untapped potential of its huge and gifted population!

Report on Primary EducationExecutive Summary

The number of illiterates in India is estimated to be over 400 million of which 75% live in rural areas. Of the literate population, a significant

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proportion lack basic vocational skills.

While India can boast a few world-class institutes of higher learning, such as the IITs, IIMs and medical colleges, they remain isolated from the larger community and society. Most of their graduates migrate to Western countries, providing them with a valuable supply of intellectual capital. The "top heavy" elitist structure of Indian education has left a weak and tottering foundation, which if not transformed and strengthened, will become a massive drag on India's social and economic development.

India's key challenge is to rapidly provide its rural population with opportunities to become literate, and develop basic leadership and problem-solving skills, to raise productivity, entrepreneurship and material standards of living.

The following is a summary of ongoing research into the critical issues of primary education in India. The research is based on in-depth discussions, interviews, meetings and workshops started in 1999 with educators, teachers, school level and higher education administrators, scientists, business leaders, parents and students. 

The Positives

Indian children represent an excellent source of global intellectual capital.

- Foreign universities actively seek Indian students.- Many do well and distinguish themselves outside India 

* India has a huge untapped reservoir of productive and creative human capital. Properly stimulated, this 'unutilized brainpower' can be transformed to generate massive economic, social and cultural returns for the country. 

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* Given its low-cost education structure, India presents one of the best opportunities in the world for generating returns from investment in education. Modest injections of capital and resources can produce significant improvements in education quality and output. 

* Quality teacher training can bring about quantum improvements in learning and increase the practical and creative output of students and teachers.

* There exist a number of effective low-cost teaching methods to educate and rapidly disseminate useful skills and knowledge to those that need them most.

Opportunities and issues

Rural Schools

* Many rural teachers demonstrate openness to new ideas and high innate levels of creativity, often of a higher level than that found among urban teachers.

* There has been little attempt by educators in the country to improve rural education, where the motivation among children to attend class is low because of such factors as negative parental pressure, poor facilities and uninspired teaching.

* There is high enthusiasm for learning and experimenting among children. Right stimuli can create an explosion in creativity and productivity in rural India.

* Urban schools with their greater resources can play a catalytic role in the growth of rural education. Urban schools therefore need to adopt a proactive community-building role.

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* Given resource limitations a case can be made to focus on low capital-intensive skill-based education. 

Given the real limitation of resources, e.g. lack of adequate physical facilities, books and materials, a case can be made to focus on skill-based education, which requires less capital and can be effectively and widely disseminated. At science workshops for 30,000 rural children sponsored by AGASTYA, over 100 experiments were demonstrated using low-cost everyday materials.Urban Schools* Education in most schools is one dimensional, with an obsessive focus on marks. The products of Indian school education tend to be narrow minded and even selfish in their aims and approach.

- Intelligence and potential are generally equated to the marks or grades achieved by the child.

- There is little focus on nurturing:

a) Behavioral skills - teamwork, leadership, communityb) Application skillsc) Creative-thinking skills

- Teachers generally have limited knowledge of how to spark creativity in children.

- The knowledge transmitted to children is therefore bookish. Few opportunities exist for children to apply their knowledge to real life situations.

- Children are rarely encouraged to participate in community-based activities such as working with disadvantaged groups or the environment.

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* Quality teachers are the missing link in Indian education. Although pockets of excellence exist, the quality of teaching and the motivation to teach show a significant and potentially catastrophic downward trend. This problem is likely to be exacerbated if, as recent press reports suggest, the US imports large numbers of Indian science and math teachers to meet its own teaching shortfall.

* The shortfall of teachers is over 3 million. India needs 7 - 8 million primary/secondary schoolteachers, versus the 3 - 4 million available.

* Instilling the right type of skills in teachers and implementing a process to transfer such skills and knowledge effectively through the system would have a powerful 'multiplier effect' on the entire system of learning.

* Top day schools generally produce the best academic results. Boarding schools provide better "education", by which is meant a more rounded development of the student's personality.

* Teachers universally blame the syllabus for denying them the flexibility to be creative and involve students. This argument is diluted by the fact that the system offers teachers sufficient freedom to interpret the syllabus.

* Schools for the most part narrowly define their purpose, e.g., to produce the best exam results, number of students who join US universities etc. Most of them lack an overarching and inspirational vision. Given the increasing demand for 'quality schools' by the growing Indian middle class and the willingness of parents to invest significant money in their children's education, many schools are promoted as commercial ventures, rather than as centers of excellence.

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* Urban schools would benefit greatly from:

- Closer two-way linkage with teacher education institutes- More cross-fertilization between schools- Greater interaction with the social, rural, scientific, artistic and business community

* There are no examples of culturally relevant world-class schools or teacher education institutions.

Issues in Indian Primary Education

"The focus on exams and marks in urban schools is like winning a 100 meter race on steroids. "

Rural Schools

* Private resources for promoting rural education are minimal to non-existent. Allocated public resources are more often than not, not effectively utilized.

* Single teacher schools, most of them with just a single room, are unable to provide even the basic environment for learning

* Lack of adequate classroom facilities means that children from different age groups typically sit in the same classroom, leading to boredom and disinterest.

* Driven by pressing short-term economic needs, most parents are reluctant to send their children to school. They often pose obstacles to learning. In some cases, the State has to offer incentives, such as subsidized rice through the mid-day meal scheme to attract children to school.

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* Even a cursory interaction with naturally bright rural children and teachers reinforces the view that there is indeed a huge amount of unutilized talent and creativity, which if given even the most basic opportunity will produce major benefits for the community and country.

* Many rural teachers have the "hunger" and desire to learn and teach. They are interested in acquiring new skills and show high levels of innate creativity. Some are even so committed as to have spent money out of their own pockets to provide basic learning materials for their students.

* There is little to no transfer of technology, knowledge or ideas from better-endowed urban institutions to their rural counterparts. The reason for this is not lack of money as much as the lack of interest and concern for community.

* Even small injections of money and resources in kind, such as part-time volunteer teachers, can produce major improvements in the existing quality of teaching and learning opportunities available to rural children.

Urban Schools

* Teaching and learning methods used in most schools discourage questioning, learning, application and creativity.

* An education system focused on exams and marks ("factory approach") has produced few world-class creators and original thinkers.

* Teachers are the missing link in Indian education. Although demand for quality teachers greatly exceeds supply, the teaching profession has become a profession of last resort attracting either low caliber

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individuals or people for whom teaching is a hobby or only a supplementary source of family income.

* Teacher training and education institution standards have declined over the years and little effective knowledge and skill transfer takes place. Like much of the education system, teacher education has become pedantic and is divorced from application. A degree in teacher education is no longer therefore a guarantee of teaching skill.

* Teachers often lay the blame for lack of creativity in teaching on the syllabus. However, the syllabus does not prescribe a specific teaching method and provides enough freedom for interpretation and flexibility.

* Besides greater hands-on knowledge of specific teaching skills and techniques, teachers would benefit greatly from training in basic behavioral skills in order to deal effectively with the following types of challenges:

- Managing large class sizes- Motivating "low performers"- Interfacing effectively with senior administrators- Showing initiative and leadership- Co-opting support from peers- Building teams- Transferring newly acquired knowledge and skills to peers

There are no examples of truly world-class schools or teacher education institutions in the country. By world class we mean institutions, which can be ranked in terms of quality among the top twenty in the world.

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Teaching and Learning MethodsExam & Marks Driven

* “ Education is to draw out, not to put in”* “ Education today is either doling out knowledge or information”* “ Exam marks have become the be all and end all”* “ The focus on exams and marks is like winning a 100 metre race on steroids”

Creativity Missing

* “ Scientific literacy is missing”* “ Why are we not producing world class scientists?”* “ Why should a beaker have a beak?”* “ How can you create a class where a a child can ask questions?”* “ How can a child’s nature skills be developed?”* “ It is because of the nature of teaching that curiosity is thrown out”* “ How can we develop in students an intrinsic ability to see and learn from nature?”

Language an Issue

* “ The essence of teaching is communication”* “ Language today is only a tool, an elective”* “ Language has become a skill subject, not language as literature”

Teacher Apathy

* “ Blaming the curriculum is a totally unjustified alibi”

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* “ Teachers don’t see the pastoral side of teaching”* “ If a student hasn’t learnt, the teacher hasn’t taught”* “ You are not teaching if you are not learning”* “ Today’s teachers are ignoring the classics”

Student Disillusionment

* “ I have been brought up in a system where there is no innovation”* “ My lab environment was very claustrophobic”* “ Many of us feel sleepy in class because it’s hot and there aren’t enough windows”* “ I haven’t learnt anything in economics”* “ The real value (knowledge) of students is not recognised”* “ I am scared …the system is corrupt, I don’t know if I will get into a good college”* “ How can we make history and social studies more interesting?”

Observations - Teaching and Learning Methods

* The emphasis in most Indian schools is on exam oriented "learning".* The prevalent 'direct teaching' method also known as the "factory approach" discourages student curiosity, questioning, innovation and feedback.* This produces mechanical knowledge aimed at passing exams.* Innovation in teaching and learning aimed at development of creative and original thinking skills is rare:* There is very little learning from first principles (cause-effect learning)* Few teachers and schools relate learning to actual phenomena in nature (development of physical intuition)* There is very little focus on application of knowledge and development of relevant practical skills.* There are few incentives and opportunities for 'indirect' e.g. creative, collaborative and hands-on learning.* Some examples of innovation among Bangalore schools include

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teaching social science through simulation games to secondary students at Mallya Aditi, science teaching that encourages questioning by primary level students at NAFL and student participation and learning at The Center for Learning.* Most teachers display a distinct lack of imagination and initiative in interpreting and enriching textbook learning.* Assessment methods focus almost exclusively on exams. Many children would do better in class if alternative methods of assessment (e.g. aural) were factored into overall assessment.* Off campus specialist-tutoring courses is an accelerating and important phenomenon that has grown into a parallel education system.* Tutoring focuses entirely on exams and marks; exam questions often are leaked to students.* Tutoring classes outside of regular work hours have become a major source of income for many teachers.* The "factory based" approach to primary and secondary education, combined with the race to secure a graduate degree, has produced a large number of "graduates" without effective thinking, application, teamwork and leadership skills. The consequences of this are far reaching:* The lead-time for training and retraining new recruits in industry as well as the cost of such training is increasing.* A large and growing segment of the population lacks basic vocational skills and training.* Productivity throughout the economic system is low* Accelerating expectations combined with a lack of productive opportunity has created a potentially volatile situation.* The explosion in school graduates has not been matched by an increase in quality undergraduate institutions. This has resulted in fierce competition for limited seats* even a 0.5% difference in marks can result in success or failure.* For example, over 120,000 candidates compete every year for the 2,000 to 3,000 seats offered by the prestigious IITs

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* Cultural enrichment of students, a key education objective, is not happening:* In teaching language, the focus is on language as a skill rather than its classical and creative aspects.* Learning and development opportunities in art, music, dance, theatre and classical languages are limited.

Information Technology (IT)

* IT presents a major opportunity to rapidly spread information and knowledge cost-effectively even to the most remote rural areas of the country.* India is gaining a worldwide reputation for its success in exporting contract software services - Indian programmers in India have not yet however established a reputation for building new and revolutionary software products. The question remains whether they will close this 'creative gap' any time soon. Part of the reason for lack of success so far may well lie in the nature of the education system which discourages creativity and learning from first principles* The key to effectively leverage information technology in Indian primary education is to get teachers and students proactively involved with IT through, for example:* Undertaking real life projects within and outside the school campus* Encouraging close interaction with software and hardware companies* Making available resources to less privileged groups

Teacher EducationLarge Demand

* “It is impossible to find the type of teacher I want for my school”* “ India needs about 7 - 8 million primary/secondary teachers, versus the 3 - 4 million available today”

Low Quality

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* “ Teachers are the missing link”* “ The real tragedy of Indian education is the poor quality of its teachers”* “ Generally 70 -8-% of Indian teachers are bad”* “ The teaching profession has become “ a profession of last resort”* “ Teacher training institutions have gone down woefully”* “ Rural education? What’s that?”

Low Skill Transfer

* “ There is very little cross-fertilisation among teachers”* “ How can we transfer successful practices among teachers?”* “ Vikram Sarabhai demanded that every scientist sent abroad for training had to produce five more like him”* “ We can learn from training and development practices in Industry”

Money Driver

* “ A powerful force in Indian education is the parallel education system”* “ Capable teachers become tuition mongers in the major cities”

Compensation

* “ Why should we deny a teacher a normal life?”

Teacher Education

* Lack of dedicated, quality teachers is the major constraint in Indian education- Teaching has become a profession of last resort, a stop-gap to moving on to a more financially rewarding profession.- Younger teachers appear to be less committed than older teachers.

* Even the best schools find it difficult to attract and retain quality teachers. ‘Quality’ is a function of a number of factors:- Pedagogical skills i.e. teaching methods and techniques- Communication skills- Behavioral and classroom management skills- Attitude and commitment- Ability to cross-train- Initiative and leadership- Sensitivity to the community and environment

* 50% or more of the approximately 10,000 teachers teaching at “good” Indian schools

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are ‘deadwood’. The situation will worsen as many good and experienced teachers near retirement. Replacing them will be difficult if not impossible without effective training and retraining programmes for teachers.

* The standards of teacher training institutions have declined precipitously. Current teacher education practices are based almost entirely on (outmoded) theory. There are no in-service programmes in teacher education or opportunities for teachers to update their knowledge and methodology.

* Retraining teachers is more difficult than training first time teachers There is minimal skill transfer among teachers:- Interpersonal rivalry often inhibits or prevents effective cross-training.- There is not enough proactive exchange and cross-fertilisation between schools.- Success transfer as a process is not studied and practiced.

* Although compensation levels have increased, most teachers feel they are underpaid.

How to Donate  

   

Make Learning Fun! Useful! Accessible!

Through hands-on, interactive teaching-learning methods Agastya is helping children to break out of the limitations of their social constraints by transforming attitudes to learning. Agastya is a movement led by scientists, educators, CEOs and philanthropists to revitalize and transform education for disadvantaged children and rural teachers of India. Your support - like that of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (former president of India) and others - will enable our collective dream of a New Normal – A creative India!

Contributions through Agastya's partnership with Give2Asia are tax deductible under IRS code Section 501(c)3 in the US. Please check with your tax adviser.

In India, contributions are tax exempt under Section 80 (g) of the Indian Income Tax Act.

 

   

  Donate Online (India) Donate Online (Overseas) Donate Offline  

   

  MOBILE LAB  

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 Vans with hundreds of scientific experiments and models that travel to remote communities and spread science awareness through vivid, interactive demonstrations.

 

How you can Help Amount

Support 4 mobile lab visits for 1 child spread across 1 year

220

Support 1 mobile lab visit for a class of 40 2200

Support 4 mobile lab visits for a class of 40 spread across 1 year

8800

Click photo to enlarge  

  SCIENCE CENTER

 Warm, inviting spaces that make forbidding concepts accessible by allowing children to tinker and play with a myriad of toys and intriguing contraptions.

 

How you can Help Amount

Support 4 visits to Agastya Science Center for 1 child spread across 1 year

312

Support 1 visit to Agasyta Science Center for a class of 40 3120

Support 4 visits to Agastya Science Center for a class of 40 spread across 1 year

12480

Click photo to enlarge  

  CREATIVITY LAB

 This 170 acre, bioregenerated greenland is one of few interactive museums for rural India, and hosts an open air eco lab, a center for creative teaching, an art lab, a discovery center and a planetarium.

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How you can Help Amount

Support the regeneration of the Kuppam campus 512

Donate material for a low-cost model 250

Donate a table-top model for the mobile lab or science center

2500

Click photo to enlarge  

  ECOLOGY PROGRAM

 

Regenerated over 10 years, the campus is now home to a wide range of fauna and flora. Sapling distribution and eco-club programs in surrounding schools furthers awareness about maintaining equitable relations with the environment.

 

How you can Help Amount

Donate a sapling 150

Support the nursery, where over 100 saplings are propogated each day

250

Donate and nurture a sapling over a year 810

Click photo to enlarge  

  OPERATION VASANTHA

 In community centers around Kuppam, engaged community volunteers work with Agastya staff to help tutor school-children and mainstream dropouts in the evenings.

  How you can Help Amount

Support the operations of a community center for a month 1000

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Click photo to enlarge

 

  YOUNG INSTRUCTOR LEADER (YIL) PROGRAM

 

A cadre of innately curious, enthusiastic and communicative children nurtured by Agastya, fostering creativity and raising self-belief. In addition to winning awards at national science competitions, these YILs are the change agents in their communities raising the awareness and confidence of those around them.

 

How you can Help Amount

Sponsor 1 YIL for at a rural science center 780

Sponsor college education for 1 YIL for 1 year 5000

Help us train and send 1 YIL to national level competitons like IRIS

15000

Click photo to enlarge  

  LAB IN A BOX

 

An immersive program that couples teacher training and hands-on learning by circulating 10 boxes, each containing models about a specific concept, that are then taught by local school teachers who have been extensively trained by Agastya's staff.

 

How you can Help Amount

Donate 1 LIB set and help recharge rural schools 1390

Click photo to enlarge

 

  Donate Online (India) Donate Online (Overseas) Donate Offline

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Payments Outside of India

Payment outside India by Non Resident Indians and non Indian nationals:

Payable to:Agastya India Foundation

http://give2asia.org/agastya

Kalsang Tashi, Give2Asia, P.O.Box 193223,San Francisco, CA-94119-3223

Tel: +1(415) 743-3336 E-mail: ktashi(at)give2asia.org

For further information contact

# Jasmine Shah70 Pheasant RunAvon, CT 06001

Cell +1 (917) 843-9535Email: jasmineshah(at)comcast.net

Payments in India

Payment in Indian Rupees

Option 1: Donate by cash/ECS/credit/Debit card to our Representative.

Option 2: Pay by cheque/D.D in favor of “Agastya International Foundation”and send it to us through courier/post along with your contact details. I.e. your name, address, telephone number/e-mail ID and PAN number.

Payable to: Agastya International FoundationNo.79/26, 2nd Cross, Ramya Reddy Layout,Benson Town, Off Nandidurga Road,Bangalore - 560046, INDIA

Tel No. (+91 80) 41124132 & (+91 80) 23545054.

Option 3:Payment by wire transfer: You can transfer to ICICI BANK, Account Number: 000 2010 60632, RTGS / NEFT / IFSC Code ICIC0000002 and send email to ckrao.agastya(at)gmail.com mentioning transaction reference number, amount, & date of transfer along with your contact details.

ContactF. Mahavir KumarManaging TrusteeAgastya International Foundation

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No.79/26, 2nd Cross, Ramya Reddy Layout,Benson Town, Off Nandidurga Road,Bangalore - 560046, INDIA

Tel No. (+91 80) 41124132 & (+91 80) 23545054.

Email: agastyaadmin(at)gmail.com

For further details:Please contact Mahavir Kumar or Ramji Raghavan onagastyaadmin(at)gmail.com or ramjiraghavan(at)gmail.com