Indian Development Foundation’s (India) grass-root work with economically disadvantaged and vulnerable populations brought about the Bal Gurukul System in 2005. IDF now has 300 plus Bal Gurukuls covering the length and breadth of our country
 
It is well documented that educational achievements have done wonders for vulnerable families and developing the community. The Government of India’s right to education provides free education but often these schools are long distances away from home, often with very poor infrastructural support and no learning support for those children who are struggling to keep up with the pressures of education. There are many poor households who send their children to government schools with great difficulty and are unable to do anything more. A large number of this student population do not have literate parents to support and guide their education. There are also a sizeable number of children growing in orphanages and reliant on inconsistent support for their growth and development. Often the children living in difficult circumstances are too hungry or undernourished to be able to concentrate on learning. This significantly affects their school attendance and motivation. On analysis, it was noted that the inability to receive additional support for school work and not having a conducive educational eco system was the reason for the majority of school drop-outs both in primary and secondary schools.
 
In response to this need, the Indian Development Foundation has designed a low cost, high value initiative.  Within the constraints of resources and logistics, the multi course, outside school time initiative is popularly known as Bal Gurukul System (BGS). After establishing the first BGS for poor rural children in Rajasthan in 2005 and systematically continuing the initial phase a standard model was abstracted. Subsequently overthe years, 195 Bal Gurukul units (April 2016) were created which provides education empowerment to over 9000 students across India. Each Bal Gurukul supports approximately 50 children. Apart from teaching and guidance, activities such as festival celebrations, educational visit to museums, planetariums are also provided for a holistic learning. Also ingrained in the BGS is women’s empowerment and inclusive growth of the girl child. BGS is served by dedicated woman teachers in class settings which have a majority of girl children. BGS stands validated as a viable and sustainable model of intervention to safeguard against student drop-out from vulnerable segments of society.