FTS - One of the Operational Organization of EKAL ABHIYAN was established in the year 1989 at Kolkata. Friends of Tribals Society (FTS) is a non – government and voluntary organisation committed towards upliftment of the underprivileged, rural, and tribal masses in India. It is providing five-fold education namely, 

1.      Functional Literacy, 

2.      Health Care / Arogya, 

3.      Development Education / Gramothan, 

4.      Empowerment, Ethics & 

5.      Value Education / Sanskar. 

Our activities have been acknowledged with the prestigious  Gandhi Peace Prize 2017  handed over by the President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind along with the Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi at a glittering function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 26th February 2019. 

The  movement  started  in 1989  in  Jharkhand  for  basic  education  in  tribal  areas  with  the  model of  ONE -TEACHER-SCHOOL  with  the  core  idea  of  taking education  at  the  doorstep  of  every  child in  the  remotest  of  areas  in  tribal  Bharat  but  gradually  transformed  into  a  model  of  social change. 

Ekal Vidyalayas are  running  presently  in  1, 02, 702  villages  in  28  states  with  enrolment  of  2.8  million  students as  on  December,  2020. The  movement is  supported by  many  institutions  such  as  PSUs  & corporate private  sector besides large number of individual donors. 

These schools provide free, non-formal education to the children in the age group of 6 to 14 years; operate for 2.5 hours to 3 hours a day, for about 22 days a month throughout the year. Acharya (Teacher) is essentially from the same village who teaches 25 to 30 students. 

Despite several villages now having Government primary schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Right to Education Act (RTE), the Ekal schools continue to be the only or the main source of basic education, for reason of other schools either not having teachers at all or if posted, the poor attendance of teachers in such remote areas. Almost 90% of Ekal students further pursue education in nearby Government Schools, taking admission in class 4th or 5th. The dropout rate of Ekal students is relatively very low compared to other students. Several students enrolled in Govt. schools in higher standards attend Ekal schools too for reasons of relatively lower quality in Government schools. In addition to reading and writing, Ekal children are taught basic arithmetic, general knowledge, science, ethics, health and hygiene, crafts, culture, and even functional digital knowledge. Emphasis is given on making the children a complete man or woman, having their mind both analytical and creative with a strong physique with the help of Yoga and sports. Ekal’s goal being to make responsible citizens aware of rich cultural heritage with a sense of nationalism, patriotism and self-respect earned through self-reliance. 

Ekal on Wheels (EOW) 

Ekal  on  Wheels  is a mobile  computer  lab  that is taken  into the villages  to  bring awareness  about computers and  provide basic  digital  literacy  to  the  villagers. The  program  has  proved  to  be highly  effective  in  building  confidence  in  the  villagers  that  they  too  can  deal  with  computers and  not  feel  left  out  in  the  digital  age.  Ekal  has  partnered  with  the  innovative  Spoken  Tutorials project  developed  at  IIT Mumbai,  the  premier  higher  education  institution  in  India to  provide the training.  36  such  Ekal  on  Wheels  currently  operate in  states  of, Jharkhand, West Bengal,  Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh,  Odisha,  Karnataka,  Assam,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh,  and Telangana. This is a major initiative to bridge the digital divide between tribal rural and urban Bharat.

E-Shiksha 

Tablets provide a  unique  opportunity to  improve the  teaching  and learning provided at  the Ekal schools. The  tablets provide  us  an  opportunity  to  increase  the breadth  and  depth  of  curriculum. The  tablets  help  bring  digital  literacy  to  children at  a  very  young  age. The  tablet  program  is implemented  at  cluster (group of  30  schools  in  as  many  villages)  level. Curated content from different  sources  are  put  on  the tablets. Trainers train  the  teacher  on  effectively using the tablets. 

In Tamil Nadu, FTS run 1,011 Ekal Vidyalayas benefitting 20, 438 students in Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Namakkal, Sirkali, Virudhachalam, Thirunalveli, and Ooty. 

We invite you to join the “EKAL MOVEMENT” by adopting as many Ekal schools as possible and become a part of reformation process to uplift our tribal friends as they are the most deprived sections of our society, into the mainstream of national life. 

Sponsorship for each school is IRs. 22,000/- Per annum. 

The Coimbatore Chapter under the leadership of Shri Shreegopal Maheshwary and a team of eminent committee members is supporting for running 150  Ekal Vidyalayas in Gudalur, Pandalur, Manjoor and Sirumugai clusters. 

Your cheque may be drawn in favour of “Friends of Tribals Society”. Your donations are eligible for 50% Tax Exemption U/S 80G. 

Thanking you in anticipation of your support! 

Harish Karat 

Ekal Global Communication Centre, 

Coimbatore. 

+91 9994400697