Lucknow, May 10: DEVI Sansthan successfully concluded the third edition of its flagship event, Leadership Circle, at the WUCC Auditorium, City Montessori School, LDA Branch, Lucknow. Over 600 educators, policy-makers, and grassroots changemakers from across India came together for a two-day national seminar dedicated to advancing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), in alignment with the NIPUN Bharat Mission.
The event’s Chief Guest, Mr. Awanish Kumar Awasthi (IAS), Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, highlighted the critical role of strong learning outcomes and youth skilling in driving national progress. He noted that among Uttar Pradesh’s 1.18 lakh schools, over 80,000 have applied for NIPUN accreditation and 57,000 have achieved readiness—an encouraging milestone, yet one that calls for further efforts to strengthen systemic outcomes.
Key dignitaries included Mr. Puneet Bali (Smile Foundation), Mr. Arun Arora (Chetak Foundation), Ms. Gauri Bhure-Roy (DXC Technology), and Mr. Yogesh Kumar (HCL Foundation), who joined hands to explore scalable educational impact models. A highlight of Day 2 was the signing of an MoU between DEVI Sansthan and the district administration of Asifabad, Telangana, to pilot the ALfA program in the region.
Building on its previous successes, Leadership Circle 3 expanded from a state initiative to a nationwide forum, engaging participants from 10 states and union territories, including BEOs, DIET Principals, and Block Resource Coordinators. Sessions explored topics such as “FLN: The World’s Best Investment,” “Tackling Barriers to FLN for All,” and “Quality Education & Grassroots NGOs.”
Educators were introduced to ALfA (Accelerating Learning for All), DEVI Sansthan’s fast-track, evidence-based pedagogy for foundational learning. Since its launch in 2022-23, ALfA has scaled from 20 schools to over 35,000 government schools and been adapted into 33 languages.
During the Day 2 panel, field leaders—including Mr. Babu Singh (ZEO, Jammu)—shared success stories of ALfA implementation. “Training educators in innovative methodologies is essential to sustaining learning gains,” Singh emphasized.
Dr. Sunita Gandhi, Founder of DEVI Sansthan, remarked, “Leadership Circle 3 provided a powerful platform for collaborative learning. As we move toward NIPUN 2027, institutional support from government stakeholders will be key to deepening impact and achieving scale.”
A special focus was placed on institutionalizing FLN practices in 50 blocks across Uttar Pradesh, with a vision to reach over 5 lakh students over the next five years.
About DEVI Sansthan:
Founded in 1992, Dignity Education Vision International (DEVI Sansthan) is a Lucknow-based nonprofit dedicated to foundational education reform. The organization partners with governments, schools, NGOs, and corporates to deliver rapid, inclusive learning solutions in India and globally.
