Partners

These students have secured admissions to over 80 national and international universities, with 400 alumni now serving as role models in their communities. Eklavya has dedicated one million hours to mentorship and career guidance, enabling students to access scholarships exceeding $5 million from government programs, trusts, and prestigious global institutions.

Eklavya's comprehensive approach includes tailored workshops, personalised mentoring, and expert coaching, empowering students to pursue quality higher education and fulfilling careers. By addressing challenges like dropout rates, linguistic barriers, and soft skills, Eklavya ensures sustained student success. The organisation collaborates with tribal departments, NT-DNT residential schools, and the Department of Tribal Affairs to strengthen community outreach in Maharashtra.

The founders, with over a decade of experience in development work and firsthand knowledge of poverty and caste-based discrimination, lead Eklavya's mission. They conduct action research with mentors and faculty from institutions like TISS and APU, exploring equitable higher education mechanisms globally. Eklavya envisions dismantling barriers to education and careers, fostering leadership, and building a just, equitable society for underrepresented communities.

Project with MHI:

Eklavya India Foundation operates the Satyashodhak Residential Youth Resource Centre in Nagpur to bridge barriers to quality higher education for marginalised youth. This initiative offers yearlong mentorship, outreach sensitisation, capacity-building activities, and short-term residential boot camps, empowering at least 800 students annually. The program includes three batches of three-month residential courses for 180 students: undergraduates transitioning from 12th grade, graduates seeking postgraduate studies and leadership fellowships, and aspiring global scholars aiming for international master's or Ph.D. programs. Additionally, Eklavya conducts career counselling and residential sensitisation boot camps for over 500 students each year. Eklavya primarily supports students from rural and tribal regions in Maharashtra and central India, addressing unique challenges such as cultural shock, alienation, identity-based discrimination, and mental health stressors that often hinder academic success and contribute to dropout rates. With MHI's support of Eklavya's core program and mental health interventions, they plan to train facilitators for peer support programs in residential courses and universities and implement an anti-caste curriculum inspired by the pedagogy of the oppressed. This curriculum will focus on caste discrimination, rights violations, and fostering critical awareness and resilience. Through in-person workshops, students will gain exposure to diverse career fields, scholarships, soft skills, gender sensitisation, and critical thinking, guided by expert resource persons. These efforts aim to create an equitable academic environment where marginalised students can thrive, breaking systemic barriers and enabling social mobility. Eklavya's approach combines mental health support, structured learning, and advocacy, cultivating leadership and promoting an equitable education system for a just society.