Vidyanjali Yojana – A School Volunteer Programme/Scheme by HRD Ministry

Vidyanjali, a school volunteer programme by the Ministry of HRD has been launched on 16th June with an aim of enhancing the involvement of community and private sector in Government run elementary schools. The Vidyanjali scheme has been launched under the overall aegis of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

What is Vidyanjali

Under the Vidyanjali Volunteer Programme, people from the Indian Diaspora, retired teachers, retired government officials including retired defense personnel, retired professionals and women who are home makers can volunteer at a school that requests for one.

Aim of Vidyanjali

The government has received requests from society about the desire of giving back to the society, particularly to children in government schools.

Retired government and other professionals, home makers and members of the Indian Diaspora and their children have expressed interests providing educational services to children in government schools particularly for co-scholastic areas.

The Vidyanjali scheme has been designed for the schools which really need the services of volunteer and for the people who want to serve. The scheme will help strengthen the implementation of co-scholastic activities in government schools through services of volunteers.

Implementation of Vidyanjali Programme

The ministry has selected over 2200 schools in 21 states across the country where volunteers will be invited to serve and educate children. The programme will be implemented with children in elementary classes (Std. 1-8) of a government school. Schools that will participate in the pilot programme must meet the following requirements:

1. Have a full time Head Teacher for the school.
2. Have at least one female teacher in the entire school if it is a girls’ school or a co-ed school.
3. The School should have internet connectivity.
4. The School should have a safe and secure school building with functional toilets.
5. The school should have PTR as per the RTE norms.

Tasks for Volunteers in Schools

Volunteers under the Vidyanjali programme will offer their services to government schools without receiving any compensation. Following are some of the activities which will be conducted by the volunteers

• Reading to children.
• Helping children with creative writing.
• Public speaking.
• Play acting.
• Preparing story books with children.
• Model making.
• Counseling for academics and life-skills.
• Music and dance.

Eligibility for Volunteer

The following persons can apply for the Volunteer Programme (VP) under Vidyanjali

(i) An Indian citizen (retired Professionals, retired government official including retired defense personnel, working professional or homemaker)

(ii) A foreign national of Indian origin. Foreign nationals of Indian origin must ensure that they have an OCI card.

(iii) Retired professionals, working or self- employed professionals with a graduation degree.

(iv) Home makers should be at least high school pass.

Persons from the Indian Diaspora – Must be at least 18 years of age and should have completed schooling (equivalent to class 12

How to Apply

Any interested candidate meeting the eligibility criteria can apply for the Volunteer Programme through the MyGov portal. Below are the steps to apply for the  Volunteer Programme under Vidyanjali Scheme.

1. Log in / Sign up to mygov.in portal by filling up the basic information.
2. Select the school in your district/area which requires volunteers and fill the form.
3. OR Download the MyGov MOVE app from the Google Play Store and apply for the volunteer programme.

MyGov MOVE Android App Download Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mygov.volunteer

Selection Process
The filled in application form will be reviewed by the concerned Block Education Officer (BEO) who, in consultation with the concerned Head Teacher of the school, will give permission for the Volunteer.

The volunteer will be selected to serve for a minimum of 2 weeks i.e 12 days or one day per week for 12 weeks. The volunteer however then can request for the extension of duration through the online application.

Launching of Vidyanjali Scheme