UNICEF India has announced call for innovative solutions to reach out-of-school children to explore the possibility of partnerships or co-creation with individuals, including adolescents and young people, and organizations working to ensure every child receives a basic education and develops key skills.
Solutions/programmes and interventions should:
Flexible, alternate/accelerated learning programmes for adolescents (10-18)
Adolescents until the age of 14 in India are entitled to a quality elementary education, in formal schools or with the help of special training programmes/flexible, accelerated learning programmes towards mainstreaming them back to school. This includes children who have never been to school and those who have dropped out; marginalized children, such as those from SC/ST or Muslim backgrounds, children on the move, and children with disabilities; both girls and boys.
Children aged 15-18 who have not completed their elementary education also deserve the chance for an education. Many may never have been to school and require programmes that meet their particular needs.
Skills development and training
Young people, both boys and girls, must have access to opportunities to develop social skills and skills for learning, self-empowerment and employability. This includes skilling, entrepreneurship and career counselling in the transition of adolescent girls and boys from child protection services to a progressively independent life in society, as well as skills that promote leadership, resilience, tolerance and gender equality.
Young people as agents of change
It is important that young people be given opportunities to take action and voice their opinions and views on the issues impacting them and their education and learning, including by mainstreaming adolescent participation in key institutions and processes (national/state schemes, consultation/decision-making platforms at block/district level, and partnerships with youth networks/coalitions).
This can contribute towards addressing social and gender norms, gender socialisation and intergenerational dialogue, and bringing adolescent viewpoints and voices to decision-making processes. Potential strategies include peer support groups, child cabinets, life skills activities.
2. Have the potential to work at scale including through leveraging government structures and schemes and civil society partnerships to deliver at scale.
3. Be replicable in different contexts
How and by when to submit your solutions:
Tell us about your innovative solution/programme.
Please submit your inputs by 5 pm, 21 September 2018.
NEXT STEP:
UNICEF will form a review panel to select the most promising submissions based on the criteria noted above. Those with shortlisted submissions will be invited to a fair with other partners to present the solutions/programmes.
These shortlisted submissions will further go through a process of review and quality assurance, including through a technical meeting to validate their potential for scalability and address any potential bottlenecks.
A package of the validated solutions will be compiled. New, innovative programmes that show promise will also be included. Potential partnerships will be fostered on the basis of this package towards taking these initiatives further.
