Tracking Right to Education Data from 1.4 Million Schools

Overview

Though India passed the Right to Education Act 8 years ago, only 8% of schools currently follow it. We partnered with Oxfam India to highlight this issue, using a dynamic scorecard to show which districts are doing well and which are falling short.

Partner

Oxfam India

Sector

Nonprofit

Location

India

The Problem

Raising awareness of education issues through data

India passed the Right to Education (RTE) Act in 2009, which sets certain norms (like student-teacher ratios and toilet facilities) required to fulfill every child’s right to education. As of 2015, only 8% of schools in India complied with all RTE norms.

Oxfam India launched a campaign called Haq Banta Hai to build awareness around RTE gaps and drive full RTE implementation. Oxfam aimed to build an interactive scorecard with each district’s performance to promote public awareness and show Members of Parliament where their districts were falling short.

The Solution

Creating a scorecard on RTE implementation

Oxfam India partnered with us to conceptualize and build a data-driven interactive scorecard on RTE implementation. We aggregated data across 1.4 million schools, assess each district’s RTE compliance, and publish the data on an engaging public dashboard.

How we brought this dream project to life

1. Data aggregation

We started with data for each of India's 1.4 million schools. It covered 240 indicators like student-teacher ratio and toilet facilities.

2. Score creation

Our data scientists cleaned and verified all the data, then assigned weights to each parameter to create an RTE-compliance score for each district.

3. Data visualization

Data was visualized on an interactive dashboard, including district comparisons, search capabilities, and an interactive scorecard.

Inequality in India is rising at an alarming rate, putting the future of our country at stake. Education is the greatest equalizer against inequality. By ensuring full implementation of the RTE Act, we can achieve two things — quality education for all children and reduction in inequality.

Deepak Xavier

Head of Haq Banta Hai campaign

Oxfam India

SocialCops is great at sourcing and visualizing data, but what was even more helpful was their immense support as a thought partner while designing our campaign!