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Alternate Education Programme
 Butterflies believes that NO CHILD
SHOULD BE OUT OF SCHOOL
We believe education is the fundamental right of every child and efforts
have to be made to provide quality and equitable education to all the
children. At the same time education is also a lifeline for poor children to
get out of poverty and our endeavor is to empower the children with
knowledge and skills while we engage with them and enlist their
participation in our various programmes. We believe that the Education,
which is needed by these children, has to be context based as well as
contemporary.
ISSUE
Most street children have never been to school, unable to
afford the time or the money to do so. As part of the Education Initiative,
Butterflies has been encouraging education for the street and working
children who have either no motivation to join schooling, or have no access
to school or have dropped out.
The OBJECTIVES of our Education initiative are to
● Increase access to
education for street and working children
● Improve the quality
of teaching-learning processes
● Identify and
implement strategies to address learning needs of street and working
children
● Improve the learning
achievements among children
● Ensure community
participation and support
 STRATEGY
Butterflies supports the nation’s effort of providing quality education in
Delhi. The challenge is to ensure that the least accessible children, street
and working children, access quality education and complete the full
elementary cycle, with improved learning outcomes. Butterflies plays a
positive interventionist and a catalytic role in pursuit of the said goals,
define its partnership with government of Delhi and other stakeholders at
all levels (state, district and sub-district).
Butterflies implements an ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROJECT, which starts
from the children’s own experience. Street children have immense knowledge
and experience of the working world, so Butterflies focuses on practical
aspects of education as well as the more traditional three “R”s. This is
seen as an interim phase prior to the child being admitted to a formal
school or National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). During this period we
inculcate in the child an interest in reading, writing, arithmetic and art
work.
Child Rights Facilitators and trained teachers are available at all times to
suit the children’s needs, so classes take place during the day and at
night, and are conducted at street corners, in parks and at bus stations.
This increases the visibility of this initiative so even if children are not
regulars they can stop by at a class whenever they are able to. When
children reach a certain level of educational achievement they are coached
to undertake national exams. Coaching classes are held for those children
who go to formal schools in our night shelters.
CURRICULUM & THE NIOS LINK
 The curriculum has been developed within the framework of the formal primary school syllabus in consultation with the children. Life skills education is an integral part of the alternate education project. As part of the curriculum, life skills education, vocational skills and value education in a non-formal setting is promoted, with the objective to mainstream the children to formal schooling or to enroll them in the National Institute of Open Schooling Programme (NIOS). National Institute of Open Schooling was established in 1989 as an autonomous institution of the Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development with a mission to provide relevant, continuing, flexible and life related education ranging from the school stage upto pre degree level through open learning and distance learning system. Butterflies is accredited to the National Institute of Open Schooling. Teaching Learning materials are developed in-house to ensure they suit the needs of the children.
REACH
More than 1200 children are part of the alternate education programme. 450
students have been enrolled in the NIOS in the current academic year and 50
children have been admitted to formal schools.
 Meals on Wheels Programme
With the objective to increase education enrolment and attendance as well as
address the problem of malnutrition amongst street and working children,
Butterflies introduced Meals on Wheels project from February 2007 that
covers all 11 contact points. Nutritious wholesome meal is provided to
children at a subsidized rate of two rupees fifty paisa out of which one
rupee goes into the child’s account in the Children’s Development Bank. More
than 300 children are part of this project.
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