India has 35% of the world's total illiterates and has been ranked 105th out of 127 countries evaluated in the Global Monitoring Report, 2008. Our nation has the largest number of illiterates in the world with the literacy rates in rural India at a distressingly low level - only 71% male literacy and 50% female literacy. There is a glaring disparity between the urban and rural literacy scenario in terms of resources, infrastructure and funding.
India’s education program is falling behind at an alarming rate. Problems of gender, regional, sectional and caste disparities plague our current universal elementary education program. 75% of all children in India attend government schools, where the curriculum is basic, outdated and redundant. Our country has the second highest rate of teacher absenteeism worldwide and according to the World Bank, a quarter of government schoolteachers are absent on any given day.
At Comat, we sincerely believe that development stems from knowledge. We aim to transform the current education scenario by tackling the problems faced at the grassroots level. For instance most teachers in rural India are under-qualified and paid meager salaries, student-teacher ratios are excessive, students lack basic resources like books, have no access to high-tech devices like computers, are faced with inadequate facilities and even lack electricity in the classrooms.
Comat has in place an interactive instructional education program through a Studio-Satellite-VSAT-RBC based Broadcast. The Instructor comes to the Comat studio and the classroom lecture is beamed live through satellite using broadband connectivity. VSATs at the Comat RBC capture the live broadcast, which is then played on the monitor/screen for the students.
The Comat instructional education technology is a secure and reliable medium to connect geographically dispersed locations. Special software permits interactivity between students and trainers, facilitating open channels of communication. Students can raise their hands to interrupt the trainer, chat or send e-mail for clarifications. We also offer offline CD based courses. Through this method, Comat, ensures economically viable quality tutoring with best-in-class faculty and updated study material for every course offered.
Supplemental Education Programs - IX -XII Standard Intervention:
A great deal of emphasis is laid on Board exams at Class X and XII and these exams are a crucial part of the education system in India. In rural India, the situation is compounded by the lack of quality educators. Clearing the board exams is a right of passage for those interested in pursuing higher studies or seeking employment. The girl child, in particular, is under pressure as failing the board exams means dropping out of school to work in order to enhance family income. Comat offers supplemental courses for students in rural areas to hone their skills and successfully clear these grade exams. These are standardized courses offered at an affordable cost in critical subjects like Math and English.
Competitive Exam Coaching:
Professional courses are a much sought after educational choice across the nation. For example, Karnataka has 62,000 seats set aside for those interested in pursuing professional courses. A vital part of the professional course admission process is the successful completion of the CET (Common Entrance Test). Enrolling in coaching institutes constitutes an essential component of the preparation process. 40 percent of the candidates who reside in major cities or towns have access to coaching institutes, as quality faculty resides in these locations. As many as 90,000 rural aspirants, however, opt out of the CET every year due to non-availability and lack of access of tutoring options.
Our CET training program provides coaching by well-known and expert professors from reputed colleges, comprehensive and complete course material with assignments, methodology that improves speed and accuracy while taking CET, archival of sessions for refreshing learning, if required, practice tests for excellent preparation, mock tests on CET pattern and additional inputs for success in CET.
We are currently in the process of providing supplemental education and competitive exam coaching to nearly 10,000 students. We are also trying to partner with State Governments to provide scholarships to our students. Our impact lies in the fact that our educational solutions will encourage the girl child to complete her education and hence reduce the high-school drop out rate.