Nanhe Kalam
Fellowship.
“A local fellowship that brings focused academic support and community ownership into the government school.”
For many children in government schools, residential schools such as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas can open doors to quality education. But preparing for their entrance examinations requires focused academic support that is often not available within the school.
The Nanhe Kalam Fellowship was created to bridge this gap. Launched in 2018 in Rewari, Haryana, the Fellowship is SRI's direct student-support model. It works with children in Classes 4 and 5, combining foundational learning with preparation for entrance examinations to residential schools and other high-quality public institutions.
Learning, Preparing and Believing
Fellowship Programme is a deep intervention model through which Nanhe Kalam Fellows work with students consistently over two years. They strengthen core skills in Mathematics, Language, Reasoning, Mental Ability and Environmental Science, help students practise the concepts and competencies required for competitive examinations, and provide regular mentoring and guidance.
Fellows work within government schools and build relationships with students, teachers, parents and the wider community. They help families understand the educational opportunities available to their children and encourage students to take their learning seriously, prepare with confidence and aspire to opportunities beyond their immediate surroundings.
One School. Two Fellows. Forty Students. Two Years.
The model is deliberately built around sustained, local support. Two Nanhe Kalam Fellows are placed in a school and work closely with approximately 40 students. Fellows are recruited from the same or nearby communities and trained in SRI's pedagogy, curriculum and approach to student support.
This allows students to have familiar faces supporting them every day, while Fellows become a consistent link between children, teachers, parents and the community.
The Fellowship also creates an opportunity for young people to grow as leaders. Over two years, Fellows gain classroom experience, professional training and experience working with communities, while contributing directly to the education of children around them.
The idea is simple: when the right support reaches a child early enough, a government school classroom can become the starting point for a much bigger journey.
Read a Fellowship Success Story
One School
Each government primary school
Two Fellows
Recruited from local communities
~40 Students
Classes 4 & 5 per cohort
Two Years
Sustained, consistent support
The idea is simple: when the right support reaches a child early enough, a government school classroom can become the starting point for a much bigger journey.
Fellowship Program
Students Reached
States Covered
Districts Covered
Fellows Engaged
Where We Work
Fellowship active across 9 states
Stories from the Field
Anshul's Journey to Navodaya
Anshul, hailing from a daily-wage worker's family in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, initially faced limited academic support and struggled with low learning levels.
Supported from October to December 2025 by Nanhe Kalam Fellow Alok, Anshul's fundamentals were steadily built through regular worksheets, practice sessions, and continuous assessments. His consistent attendance and growing performance in DTS reflected a clear rise in his confidence and classroom engagement.
His hard work paid off when he scored 90 and successfully cleared the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya entrance exam after just three months of structured support.
Anshul's journey shows that with the right guidance and consistent support, even a short intervention can open pathways to transformative educational opportunities.
Media
Support the Fellowship.
Your support helps us place more Fellows in more schools, reaching more children who are ready to go further.