Pehal: Strengthening the Basis of Education

Pehal, meaning priority or initiative, is a non-profit organization set up in a Punjab village, Chamaru, which is about half an hour’s drive from Patiala. The aim of Pehal is to strengthen the foundation of pre-primary and primary education in sarkari (government) schools in villages. Therefore, it is committed to a) working from the ground-up, and b) in tandem with the governmental educational systems with the aim to make education both effective and learning-conducive. In particular, Pehal focuses on the learning of first-generation literate students whose parents may not have received formal education, or even children who may tend to lag behind.

Apart from offering various creative-learning opportunities to the children on a regular basis, Pehal works on mentoring pre-primary and primary level teachers, equipping them with educational tools and methods, sensitising them to the needs, limitations and capacities of the village children, partnering them with teachers from across the country and monitoring their development closely.