Prerna Girls School
| Prerna Girls School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh India | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, Same-sex |
| Established | 2003 |
| Founder | Urvashi Sahni |
| Principal | Rakhee Panjwani |
| Grades | K–12 |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Affiliation | Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) |
| Website | studyhallfoundation |
Prerna Girls School is a private, low-cost, K-12 school for underprivileged girls in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The school is recognised for its impact on girls' education, and was featured in an Emmy Award-winning documentary associated with the Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance. The school has over 1,000 current students and has served over 5,000 girls.
History
Prerna Girls School was established in 2003 by Urvashi Sahni with an initial enrollment of 30 girls and a nominal monthly fee of ₹10 per month to ensure affordability.[1][2] It was created under the umbrella of the Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF), a non-profit organization established by Sahni, to address the educational needs of girls from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Lucknow, particularly those from surrounding slums and communities who often worked as domestic help.[3]
Prerna Girls School is known for adopting 'Critical Feminist Pedagogy,' an approach advocated by its founder Urvashi Sahini, to make students aware of gendered power structures, question established traditions and social norms, and develop self-esteem and the capacity to aspire.[4][5][3] The curriculum is designed to be contextual and relevant to the girls' lives. The school has a current enrollment of over 1,000 students.[2]
Recognition
The education model and mission of Prerna Girls School was one of the schools featured in the "Creators for Change on Girls' Education with Michelle Obama" documentary.[6] The 49-minute documentary is a YouTube Originals produced with the help of Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance,[7][8] and was awarded the Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Non-Fiction Special category in 2021.[9]
According to The Atlantic, the school had "served over 5,000 girls from impoverished background" by 2017. [10]
See also
References
- ^ "Prerna Girls School". Pebbles to Pearls Foundation. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Prerna Girls School | Study Hall Educational Foundation". www.studyhallfoundation.org. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b Jaffer, Mehru (27 May 2015). "One amazing school is giving underprivileged girls their first lesson in Feminism". The Better India. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Dhillon, Amrit (18 March 2017). "An Indian school converts submissive girls into empowered women". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "School for underprivileged girls teaches feminist principles in India". NBC News. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Lucknow school earns global recognition as documentary wins Emmy". The Times of India. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Foundation, Obama. "Laxmi's story". Obama Foundation. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Foundation, Obama. "Kiran's story". Obama Foundation. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Media, Vox (30 June 2021). "Vox Media secures win and five nominations at 2021 Daytime Emmy Awards". Vox Media. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Willen, Liz (16 October 2017). "Fighting for Girls' Education in India". The Atlantic. Retrieved 30 May 2025.