Affordable yet quality after school support to students from underserved communities: Tête-à-Tête with Vivek Kaushik, Co-founder of Claylab Education Foundation
“I find inspiration in so many people and in so many things. When I see a mother taking care of her child, or a small kid trying to understand some new thing, it inspires me a lot. Also the act of serving people, taking care of the world, all leave an indelible mark on me. It is these and the encounters with children from underserved communities during my years as a Teach For India Fellow that inspired me to start Claylab Education Foundation” — Vivek Kaushik, Co-founder Claylab Education Foundation.
At Claylab, we help both students and educators become their best versions
Claylab Education Foundation works towards providing affordable yet quality after-school support to Students during their Grade 11 and 12 when they are getting ready to transition from School to College life. And their support is not just limited to academic support, but they also provide support for their holistic development covering aspects like 21st-century skills, internship opportunities, etc.
At Claylab Education Foundation, the belief is that the education system lacks the most in quality educators. Capable teachers are in the driving seat for the whole education system and if quality educators are absent from schools, then all other things in the education system will fall apart. Hence, the organization trains all its Fellows (Teachers) to be amazing educators. And not only does the organization encourage the Fellows to provide quality after-school support to Students but it also pushes them to take ownership of their own development and growth.
The Vision
“At Claylab, we envision making higher secondary education accessible and meaningful for all children.” — Vivek Kaushik, Co-founder Claylab Education Foundation
The modus operandi of Claylab Education Foundation
Currently, the organization is working with Grade 11 & 12 students of Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi. These students come from families with a total annual family income of less than Rs. 2 lakhs and finding affordable support for high school education is next to impossible for them. Claylab intervenes at this point and provides these Students with after-school support to help them catch up with the rest.
Moreover, since educators are the driving force behind the overall education system, Claylab also works towards the capacity building of educators.
“All the educators join the education system with the goal of helping students but if the educators don’t get enough opportunities they start losing hope. We all need to bring back hope in our teachers so that they can bring hope to our students and to our future.” — Vivek Kaushik, Co-founder Claylab Education Foundation
Bottom line, Claylab has a dual-pronged approach towards removing inequity in education, by providing affordable support to Students and improving educator capacity by pushing them to focus on their growth as well.
Advice: Patience and empathy pave the journey. Re-inventing the wheel, not always!
Vivek have some valuable tips and advice for budding entrepreneurs -
1. With empathy and patience, involve your stakeholders in the decision-making process.
2. He also advises learning from the existing community of changemakers, from the people who have already walked on that path. And the best way to get there is to read.
“I recently read somewhere that 99% of the mistakes we make, while working towards a bigger change or something similar, have already been made and we don’t need to repeat those mistakes.” — Vivek Kaushik, Co-founder Claylab Education Foundation
3. Lastly, to be strong and resilient. Change doesn’t come in a day or in a year or sometimes even in a lifetime. It takes time, it takes a lot of nourishment. So Vivek has asked all new entrepreneurs to be ready to commit wholeheartedly and be ready for the debacles, as it may be a difficult journey but it is worth fighting for.
Future plans for the coming year (2021–2022)
The 1st batch of Students of Claylab will sit for their Grade 12 Board exams in March-April 2022. Almost all of them are going to be the 1st generation graduates in their families. So, the organization’s current plans are to support them wholly so that they can go opt for the graduation courses of their interest and strength. At the same time, the goal for the next 1 year is also to strengthen the existing structures as the organization believes in quality and depth rather than just the expansion of operations. In the coming years, the organization envisions a future where the youth have the right awareness and skills to contribute positively to society and currently operates in high need schools of Mumbai, Pune and Delhi.
For more information, click on the links below —
Vivek Kaushik was a Teach For India Fellow (2018–2020) for Students from underserved communities of Mumbai.
