Cause an Effect Foundation has been working with 6 Government High schools in Mominpet Mandal of Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh through its iConnect Project.(This mandal is considered to be one of the most backward block of Andhra Pradesh. It is quite inaccessible with some of the roads really in a bad shape. The transport facilities are greatly underdeveloped. Many of the I Connect villages can only be accessed by Kaccha or un-developed roads. During the monsoon season, many of the roads are completely inaccessible)

The key goal of this project is to ensure “Computer Education is made accessible to every Child” The Government of Andhra Pradesh provided computers in most Government Schools in the year April 2006. The situation has been so pathetic that in most Government Schools, that even the packaging of the Computers have also not been opened. When the team from Cause an Effect approached these schools intending to set up Rural Knowledge Centers, the fact about the computers were given. A team from Cause an Effect set out on a mission to install computers in all these 6 schools immediately. Teachers have been recruited by Cause an Effect who would be available in these schools full time and train children of Class VII to Class X on Computers through out the academic year. These teachers also conduct special classes to children in Class IX and Class X.

Despite the efforts made in Andhra Pradesh in the direction of improving educational status, a major gap also exists between the ratio of boys and girls in the school enrollment, retention and academic achievement. Around 60% of girls stay out of school because they are either looking after their younger siblings or contributing towards the household income. This has created a need for reinforcement of the strategies to promote girls’ education. Cause an Effect has initiated a number of interventions invigorating the computer education in the district, especially in the remote and inaccessible corners where literacy is very low and there has been no schooling. These interventions include direct support to children in form of Academic Support Centers, summer camps, teaching learning materials, libraries, etc and support to teachers through training programs, meetings, support visits etc.

There is also the Rural Knowledge Centers for providing focused support to girl child.Cause an Effect is also playing a key role in ensuring entitlements and in providing infrastructure to these schools. One of the components of the i Connect Project is beautification of schools, to make the students an attractive place to be in, so that children feel proud of the school they go to.Cause an Effect tries to lobby for timely support for needy schools and plans jointly with teachers and community for its proper use. It’s heartening to see that due to such continuous effort schools have started functioning even in remotest corners, community showing interest in what their children are learning in schools and children enjoy being in school. This project has many strong points such as establishing a model for school improvement, a highly motivated team, experienced and dynamic leadership, community’s acceptance of and involvement in the iConnect Project, etc.Cause an Effect engaged the local community and local youth for ensuring education for all at village level. Eventually the Rural Knowledge Center’s role would be in developing a model and enabling the system to replicate it everywhere.

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