Project Gyanodaya Godda is an e-learning initiative launched by the district administration of Godda, Jharkhand, in collaboration with the Adani Foundation and Eckovation, an ed-tech company. The project was started in August 2018 with the goal of improving the quality of education in government schools in the tribal areas of the district, which is a key focus of the government’s Aspirational Districts program.
Vision and Mission
The core vision of Gyanodaya Godda is to transform the public education system in the region into a responsive, student-centric, and transparent one. The project aims to provide quality education to students in government schools, particularly those in rural and tribal areas. The mission focuses on leveraging technology and smart classroom infrastructure to address challenges like high dropout rates, low attendance, and poor learning outcomes. This initiative also aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to improve their lives and communities.
The Beginning
- Launch & Partnership
Gyanodaya is an education initiative started in 2018 in Godda district, Jharkhand. It is a collaborative effort of Adani Foundation, the Godda District Administration, and Eckovation Pvt Ltd. The program was designed to respond to the educational challenges faced by students in rural and tribal areas, especially in middle and higher secondary government schools (classes 6-12). - Why Godda / Jharkhand?
Godda is classified as an Aspirational District by NITI Aayog, which means it was identified as needing focused improvement across multiple socio-economic parameters, including education. High dropout rates, low attendance, and relatively poor performance in board examinations were among the problems this project sought to address. - Initial Scope and Components
The initiative focuses on deploying smart classrooms, interactive digital content, video-based learning, teacher training, and performance monitoring. Additional support during difficult times (e.g. weak network zones, and during COVID) included mobile learning vans (Gyanodaya Rath) and remote content delivery.
Vision & Objectives
Gyanodaya’s core vision is to provide quality education to rural students through modern pedagogical tools, leveraging technology and partnerships, so that they can compete on an equal footing with peers from better-resourced areas.
Some of its key objectives:
- Reduce dropout rates among government school students in middle and higher secondary levels.
- Increase attendance rates, making learning regular and habitual.
- Improve learning outcomes as measured by average scores and passing percentages, especially in Class 10 board exams.
- Deploy teacher training to enable better delivery of digital / interactive content and make classrooms more engaging.
- Make learning accessible even in challenging situations (remote areas, COVID-19 disruptions) using mobile vans and remote / broadcast modes.
Implementation & Key Features
- Smart Classrooms & Digital Content
Schools are equipped with digital infrastructure: smart boards / classrooms, video content mapped to the curriculum, and tools to make lessons more visual and interactive. - Teacher Training & Support
Teachers from hundreds of schools have been trained in using these digital tools, understanding the content, managing learning assessment via the platform. This has included capacity development to adapt pedagogy for digital / blended learning. - Monitoring & Evaluation
The program tracks attendance, assesses student performance, monitors pass percentages in board exams. There is accountability for both students and teachers—with attendance and performance data uploaded to platforms, enabling review and feedback. - Reaching Remote & Challenging Areas
To counter issues like poor network / connectivity, mobile learning vans (“Gyanodaya Rath”) have been deployed to take learning to doorstep. Also, during periods like COVID-19, content was delivered through remote and broadcast media (e.g. Doordarshan Jharkhand) to ensure continuity.
Impact Story
- Scale of Reach
The project has reached ~70,000 students across 276 schools in Godda district. - Attendance Improvement
Before the intervention, many schools were registering low attendance (often around 20-30%). After implementation, average attendance has risen significantly, reportedly to ~77%. - Board Exam Performance
The Class 10 board exam pass percentage in Godda saw marked improvement:
• ~50% in 2017-18
• ~66% in 2018-19
• ~75% in 2019-20 - Teacher Training
Teachers from ~330 schools have been trained to support ongoing quality delivery and sustain the model. - Recognition
Gyanodaya Godda has won awards, e.g. Silver Award at the National E-Governance Awards, for its innovation, reach, transparency and outcomes.
Lessons Learned & Things to Watch
- Importance of Local & Administrative Support: Having the District Administration as a partner helps with alignment, resource allocation, and overcoming local implementation obstacles.
- Flexibility in Delivery Modes: Complementing smart classrooms with mobile vans and remote / broadcast mode ensures resilience in the face of infrastructural challenges (connectivity, lockdowns).
- Teacher Capacity & Buy-in: Success depends heavily on training teachers, motivating them, and making them accountable. Early adoption can be hard without proper support.
- Monitoring & Feedback Loops: Real-time data (attendance, performance) allows quick corrections, improves accountability, and helps scale ethically.
- Sustainability & Replicability: To maintain quality as scale increases, infrastructure must be maintained, content kept up to date, and teacher support continuous. The fact that the government has decided to explore applying this model across the state shows confidence but also suggests work remains to standardize implementation.
The Path Forward
- The state government of Jharkhand has shown intent to expand / replicate the Gyanodaya model beyond Godda district based on its success.
- Continuing to ensure access for students in remote and marginalised communities, including further improving infrastructure, powering smart classrooms, ensuring content is locally relevant and in languages / vernacular where needed.
- Increasing the use of technology (AI, analytics, personalized feedback) to help each student based on their learning gaps.
- Ensuring sustainability: maintaining digital tools, regularly updating content, teacher retention and motivation, monitoring, and involving communities and parents more deeply in the process.