School Education Program
Strengthening government schools through experiential STEM learning, teacher capacity, technology-enabled self-learning and community participation — so that stronger learning systems can continue beyond the period of direct support.
To strengthen STEM education in government schools by improving classroom teaching and learning through experiential education, teacher capacity building, technology-enabled learning and community participation — nurturing scientific temper, critical thinking and problem-solving among students from rural and underserved communities.
Strengthening schools from within
Started in 2006, SVYM's School Education Program works with government schools to strengthen learning environments rather than create a parallel system. Its focus has evolved around experiential STEM education, teacher development, technology-enabled learning, student leadership and community participation.
Read more about the School Education Program
SEP is built on the idea that sustainable improvement in public education comes when schools themselves gain the confidence, resources, practices and local ownership needed to continue good learning processes. SVYM therefore works alongside students, teachers, School Development and Monitoring Committees, parents, education officials and partners — strengthening the ecosystem around the child.
Strengthen the school. Build teacher and student ownership. Engage the community. Enable the learning system to sustain itself — and move direct support to the next place where it is needed.
From supplementary learning to stronger school ecosystems
SVYM's engagement with government-school education has evolved with the needs of students and schools. Earlier interventions included learning aids, technology, health and hygiene awareness and supplementary classroom support. Over time, the programme has increasingly focused on experiential STEM learning, teacher mentoring, student-driven learning, career awareness, vocational exposure and community participation.
This reflects SVYM's larger education philosophy: equitable and inclusive learning should be child-centred, contextually relevant and supported by capable teachers and participating communities.
A programme designed to mature — not remain forever
SEP's annual school count is best understood as the number of schools under active direct engagement in a given year, not as a cumulative measure of all schools ever reached.
Where a school has built sufficient teacher capability, student participation, functioning learning resources and community ownership, direct programme support can be reduced or concluded. Responsibility is handed back to the school ecosystem, allowing SVYM to redeploy its effort to newer schools or geographies where additional support is needed.
This is why year-to-year school numbers may rise or fall. In this model, a reduction in active direct engagement can also reflect programme maturity and successful transition — not simply contraction.
Education aligned with SVYM's strategic direction
Equitable & inclusive learning
Working with government schools helps reach children whose opportunities are shaped by geography, infrastructure and access to learning resources.
Scientific temper
Science moves beyond the textbook through experiments, inquiry, observation and problem-solving.
Technology-enabled self-learning
Digital content and low-cost learning tools support self-directed and peer learning rather than passive content delivery.
Community participation
Parents, SDMCs and local stakeholders are engaged so that learning becomes a shared responsibility.
What makes SEP distinctive
- Works inside the government-school ecosystem rather than creating a parallel education structure.
- Combines hands-on STEM learning with technology-enabled and self-directed learning opportunities.
- Builds teacher capability so teachers progressively take ownership of STEM activities.
- Uses Mobile STEM Labs and low-cost learning resources where laboratory infrastructure is limited.
- Includes mentoring, counselling and home visits to address attendance, dropout risk and learning gaps.
- Engages parents and School Development and Monitoring Committees as partners in learning.
- Integrates vocational exposure, life skills and future skills with school education.
- Connects talent discovery with scholarships, mentoring and higher education through SVYM's wider education ecosystem.
Strengthening learning through many touchpoints
Current-year indicators show the breadth of SEP's engagement with government-school students, teachers, families and learning systems.
Active schools under direct engagement — a five-year view
SEP's school count is intentionally not cumulative. Schools enter and exit direct engagement as needs change and local ownership strengthens. The pattern therefore reflects programme movement and transition, not a conventional scale-up curve.
How to read this chart: these are active schools under direct engagement during each reporting year, not cumulative schools reached. As schools mature and responsibilities are handed over locally, direct engagement can conclude and move to newer locations.
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25
2025–26
How to read this chart: active direct-engagement counts can fall when mature schools transition to local ownership and SEP moves to newer locations.
Scientific Temper
Inquiry, experiments and problem-solving help students see science as a way of understanding the world.
School Ownership
Teachers, students and SDMCs are progressively enabled to sustain learning practices within the school.
Community Participation
Parents and local stakeholders participate so children's learning becomes a shared responsibility.
From teaching a session to strengthening a system
SEP works across the learning ecosystem so that students gain opportunity while the school gains capability.
- Experiential STEM: hands-on experiments, inquiry and problem-solving
- Technology-enabled learning: tablets, digital content and self-learning resources
- Teacher development: practical mentoring for integrating STEM into regular classroom learning
- Student leadership: peer learning, school parliament participation and student-led mini libraries
- Attendance & retention: home visits, counselling and academic mentoring for students at risk
- Community engagement: parents and SDMCs participating in the learning environment
- Future skills: vocational exposure, life skills, career guidance and competitions
Multiple pathways into curiosity
Hands-on Science
Experiments and low-cost learning aids make concepts visible, tangible and easier to explore.
Mobile STEM Labs
Equipment and facilitators travel to schools where laboratory infrastructure is limited.
Student-Driven Learning
Technology and peer learning encourage students to ask questions and learn independently.
Teacher Mentoring
Teachers are supported to integrate experiential practices into regular classroom learning.
Career & Life Skills
Guidance and exposure connect school learning with future education and livelihood choices.
Community Ownership
Parents and SDMC members participate in creating a supportive learning environment.
The strongest outcome is when the school no longer needs us in the same way
SEP is designed to strengthen local capability rather than create permanent dependence on an external facilitator.
As teachers gain confidence in experiential STEM methods, students take greater responsibility for learning spaces, and parents and SDMCs participate more actively, the school becomes increasingly capable of sustaining practices introduced through the programme.
In 2025–26, teacher participation in STEM activities had risen from 6% in 2022–23 to 32.5%. Student-led learning also deepened: School Parliament members and students led 75.4% of mini-library sessions, compared with none in 2022–23.
These are important maturity indicators because they shift the question from “How much did SVYM do?” to “How much can the school now continue to do for itself?”
Looking beyond activity counts
Students received targeted support
Home visits, mentoring and counselling addressed dropout risk, irregular attendance, behavioural challenges and learning gaps.
Students in vacation camps
Ninety vacation camps created additional opportunities for STEM-based experiential learning.
Girls continuing after SSLC
Continuation increased from 78.3% in 2022–23 to 93.9% in 2024–25 in the reported programme cohort.
Girls choosing PUC Science
Reported enrolment in PUC Science rose from 10.6% in 2020–21 to 25.4% in 2024–25.
Education beyond the textbook
Contextually relevant education also means giving students opportunities to understand skills, work, technology and problem-solving beyond conventional classroom boundaries.
In 2025–26, SEP facilitated 2,516 vocational skilling sessions across Electrical, Electronics, Plumbing, Carpentry, Agriculture and ICT.
The state-level Kaushalya workshop brought together more than 120 high-school students, partner organisations and industry experts for hands-on exposure across eight vocational and life-skill areas — strengthening confidence, creativity, problem-solving and dignity of labour.
One search, many diamonds
Anveshane is SVYM's annual search for talented young minds with the potential to grow in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
What began as a statewide talent-search effort has developed into a multi-stage learning experience. Students move through screening and qualifying stages and promising learners come together for deeper assessment, hands-on science, coding, robotics, problem-solving, workshops, career exposure and interactions with scientists and educators.
The camp is not treated as an endpoint. Anveshane connects promising learners to the wider SVYM education continuum — mentoring, scholarships, Viveka Pre-University College, higher education and opportunities to return as volunteers and mentors.
A statewide platform that evolves each year
Participation changes with the format, outreach and selection process. The trend is best read as the evolution of a recurring statewide platform rather than as a target that must increase every year.
2023–24
SSLC students registered from all 31 districts of Karnataka through online and offline participation.
2024–25
Applicants entered the talent-search process; 113 students reached the state-level camp.
2025–26
Students participated across Karnataka; 129 promising learners from 21 districts reached the State Camp.
How to read this trend: annual participation reflects the format and outreach of each edition. Anveshane's value lies in repeatedly creating a statewide pathway for identification, exposure and continued nurturing of talent — not in producing a larger number every year.
Talent is discovered by giving it something meaningful to do
Experiment
For many participants, the State Camp is a first opportunity to handle laboratory equipment and experience science directly.
Explore
Students encounter computational thinking, robotics and technology as tools for solving problems.
Interact
Scientists, educators, volunteers and alumni expose students to pathways beyond their immediate surroundings.
Participate
Parents and teachers are drawn into the learning journey, helping talent receive support beyond the event.
Continue
Promising learners can connect with scholarships, mentoring and pre-university pathways based on eligibility and need.
Give Back
Former Viveka Scholars increasingly return as volunteers and mentors, turning a talent search into a learning community.
From a government-school classroom to wider possibilities
SEP is one part of SVYM's wider education ecosystem. A student may first encounter hands-on science in a government school, participate in Anveshane, receive mentoring or scholarship support, continue into pre-university or higher education and eventually return as a volunteer or mentor.
This continuum matters because the objective is not simply to deliver more sessions. It is to expand capabilities, choices and relationships over time — building the human and social capital that helps young people shape their own futures and contribute to society.
Government schools grow stronger when many stakeholders participate
SEP works through collaboration with the Department of School Education, school leadership, teachers, parents, SDMCs, corporate partners, volunteers, scientists, educators and community members.
The role of partnership is not simply to bring additional resources into a school. It is to help create learning practices, capacity and ownership that remain useful after the period of direct project support.
Help make curiosity, capability and opportunity part of every classroom
Support government-school students, teachers and communities with experiential STEM learning, technology-enabled education, mentoring, talent discovery and stronger learning ecosystems.