This is one of the principal components of girls education programme. Girls in the age group 10-14 years get education equivalent to class V in one year time (10 months) under this residential programme. So far 11 sessions have been successfully conducted.
This is an innovative programme. In the beginning girls from Tadiyawa block of Hardoi district were given admission and then those from Ahirori block were given admission.
Speciality of the programme is three sessions of two hours each are conducted every day and there is an interval among the three sessions. The girls are divided into groups like Bulbul group, Gauraiya group and Maina group, named after common birds in India. Each group has 25 girls.
So much learning is possible only through sensitive behaviour of teachers and other factors like activity based joyful educational system, active participation of children in classes and syllabus fulfilling requirements of society and necessary values. The children are not confined to syllabus and use library. The teachers teach according to pre-determined plan that covers each 10-15 minutes.
The children work on several projects so as to bring out constructive best from amongst them. They have collected news from their environment and published children newspaper, learnt to make collage and did several activities from dictionary. They have also gone through the entire electoral process under election game.
The major subjects included in Udan are language, mathematics, environment and sociology. Some knowledge of English is also imparted. In conventional schools sociology is not taught at primary level, but under Udan this is taught in night classes so as to enable the children develop understanding about their environment. The children get knowledge through role play, skit, play, song, etc.
Girls passing out from Udan centres are extrovert, self-confident, cooperative and responsible. They are not only well informed, but they also have capacity to reach out to newer sources of information. Udan centres are run in open, constructive and development oriented envirionment of the Ashram. Several opportunities of learning in non-formal fashion are also available.
Udan is also associated with parents through community education. Contact is maintained with the girls even after they have passed out of the programme. The ashram workers play critical role in getting the girls admitted to next class and retain them in the classes they are admitted. In each session, over 95 per cent girls pass out class V and over 80 per cent seek admission in next class. As a part of follow up, girls come to the ashram every quarter.
The Udan model has been widely recognised by organisations like CARE-India, British High Commission, UNICEF, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Kusuma Foundation, etc., and funded by them.