Established in 1995 to provide education to children in Mumbai slums, Pratham (which  means “first” in Sanskrit) is now one of the largest and most successful non-governmental  education organizations in India. Working in collaboration with governments,  communities, parents, teachers, and volunteers, we focus on innovative interventions to  address gaps in the education system. The clarity of our mission—“every child in school  and learning well”—drives our focus to make an impact on the lives of India’s children and  extends from our leadership to our team in the field. 

With operations in 21 of India’s 29 states, Pratham reaches millions of children and youth  each year, from Kashmir to Tamil Nadu.  Our methods have also spread beyond India’s  borders through ASER (Annual Status of Education Report), India’s largest citizen-led  assessment which has inspired parallel assessments of children’s learning in fourteen  countries across the world.   

What we do:  

Develop Innovative Programs – Pratham uses outcome-driven programs that reconfigure  teaching methodologies and challenge ineffective learning mechanisms. Our strategies  focus on results, accountability and continuous learning and improvement. Build Scalable Models – Pratham’s low-cost learning models are rigorously tested and  evaluated so they can be easily replicated on a larger scale to provide quality education to  every child. 

Advocate Change – Pratham’s willingness to take risks, adapt to changing circumstances  and look beyond our programs gives us the leverage to create broader change. We amplify  our impact by freely sharing information with other nonprofits and using our findings to  advocate for large-scale policy changes. 

Inspire Action – We engage parents, teachers and government to make learning a  community effort. Local volunteers are vetted, trained and monitored to help implement  learning interventions at the grassroots level using Pratham’s high-quality teaching  materials. 

Pratham USA is a volunteer-driven organization with 13 chapters across the United States  that raise awareness and mobilize financial resources for our work on the ground. With a  four-star rating (the highest possible) from Charity Navigator, Pratham USA ranks among  the top 3% of all nonprofits in the country thanks to its sound fiscal management and  commitment to accountability and transparency.