#IAmPratham: How Second Chance Programme champion, Achala Ram has transformed the education landscape in a Rajasthan town

In Rajasthan’s Jalore district is a small town connecting local villages with predominantly rural populations. It has long grappled with a low literacy rate among women and girls with many dropping out of school before achieving their high school diploma.

The reasons can vary including, early marriage and financial constraints. But Pratham’s Second Chance Programme not only enables such girls and women to complete Grade 10, but also focusses on important life skills development to help increase their confidence and prepare them to navigate potential challenges.

At the centre of Pratham’s Second Chance Programme are faculty members like Achala Ram, whose mission it is to enrol young women and girls into the Second Chance Programme that have previously dropped out of school to ensure they complete their secondary education. As a faculty of Pratham’s Second Chance Programme, Achala mobilises learners by organising regular classes and teaching them four key subjects to prepare them for board exams.

His work is far from easy but his toughest challenge is breaking the deep-seated patriarchal belief system and traditional mindset within the communities that affect the school drop out rate for girls. But Pratham’s decades of work and perseverance through the Second Chance Programme have paid off. Now families in the community trust Pratham teachers like Achala and seek advice on the education for their daughters and women in their homes.

Achala himself has experienced a shift in mindset too, where women are eager to study and then work. He is among the many Pratham heroes who have championed Pratham’s Second Chance Programme since its inception in 2011. Making him a true feminist ally.

The Second Chance Programme has now reached more than 40,000 learners across 12 states.

Watch Achala Ram, “Day in the Life of a Pratham Hero” below to learn more about Pratham’s work and how our heroes behind the scenes are changing the lives of countless children and young people.

Your support can pave the way for more young women and girls like those in Achala Ram’s classes to experience the transformative power of learning. By making a donation to Pratham today, you’ll enable us to reach even more young women and girls with life-changing learning programmes like the Second Chance Programme.

Make your donation today and change a young girl’s life!