To make good English-medium education accessible to urban children from lower income groups, DRF has set up several Pudami English primary schools in Hyderabad . Located in close proximity to where the children live, these schools are assisted by a social engagement agency that involves the neighbourhood community / parents in mobilizing the children. Every school has a Community Committee – led by the headmaster – which takes responsibility for the enrolment and academic progress of the children, as well as for the school’s management. The teachers are also drawn from the neighbourhood, so that there is a greater sense of participation in the school’s functioning.

The Pudami primaries are assisted by DRF’s in-house Education Resource Center (ERC) in curriculum design, academic monitoring mechanisms and preparation of training material for the teachers, in accordance with the National Curricular Framework. The Montessori approach is adopted for teaching nursery and kindergarten children. These Primaries – which impart basic training in English, Mathematics and Environmental Science to children from KG to Class III – will act as feeder institutions for ‘Pudami’ neighbourhood schools that will come up shortly.