Sushikshana – Navya Disha

Sushikshana-A Life Skills Education Program

Adolescence signifies a crucial phase of growth and development, marking the transition from childhood to adulthood. This period is characterized by rapid physical changes and significant psychosocial maturation. It’s a time when young individuals expand their social circles beyond their immediate family and are greatly influenced by peers and the broader external world. Their cognitive maturity takes a leap, allowing for enhanced analytical thinking, better articulation, and the development of an independent thinking pattern.

They also entail a phase of experimentation, risk-taking, succumbing to negative peer influence, and making uninformed decisions, particularly concerning their bodies and sexuality. It’s a crucial turning point in one’s life, a period that holds immense potential but also exposes individuals to greater vulnerability.

Recognizing the significance of this phase, life skills emerge as a crucial tool to empower youth, enabling them to act responsibly, take initiative, and gain control over their lives. Acknowledging the constraints within school curriculums, the Sushikshana program has been instrumental in providing adolescents with crucial life skills. This initiative has empowered young individuals to effectively address the daily challenges they face, bridging the gap left by traditional educational frameworks and offering practical tools and knowledge essential for navigating real-life situations. Sushikshana, a comprehensive life skills education program is tailored for high school students (Class 8th to 10th) across government, private, aided, and non-aided schools.

Rooted in the belief that fostering life skills is an integral facet of holistic and high-quality education, this initiative is built to empower children. Its core aim is to cultivate within them the capacity for lifelong learning, informed decision-making, realization of their potential to lead healthy and productive lives, prepare them to enter adulthood with confidence, instil a sense of civic responsibility and make them responsible citizens.

The curriculum of Sushikshana encompasses a diverse array of topics essential for personal development and growth. These include Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Health and Nutrition, Financial Literacy, Menstrual Hygiene Management, Entrepreneurship Development, Exam Preparation, Emotion & Stress Management, Career Guidance, Good Touch & Bad Touch, Self Defence and a comprehensive set of Life Skills.

By delving into these critical areas, the program seeks to equip students with invaluable knowledge and practical skills crucial for their personal and professional growth which will serve them throughout their lives. Currently, the comprehensive program is being implemented in 15 high schools of Sira taluka of Tumkur district. Our experience suggests that Sushikshana has empowered students to engage in continuous learning and promote health and positive social relationships. Our belief is that by continuously working with young people, we will be able to help them gain knowledge, develop relevant, skills, values and attitudes necessary to take positive action and participate fully in their society. An outreach model of the program is being implemented in 379 schools in ten districts of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.