In the narrow lanes of Meerut’s urban slums, the right to education remains an idea still under construction. In these congested settlements, where homes often double as workplaces, school is a distant concept. Not for lack of schools, but for lack of access, safety, and sustained support.

Founded by Mrs Anju Pandey and Mr D.K. Pandey, Betiyan Foundation began informally in 2004 with an act of individual compassion. The couple quietly paid the school fees of three children whose names had been struck off the rolls. The gesture soon evolved into a sustained movement. In 2015, disturbed by the sight of children living and playing under a flyover, Anju ji began community-level outreach to reconnect slum children with education.

• A 2022 report by Save the Children found that 68 % of adolescent girls in Indian urban slums lost access to health and nutrition services during the pandemic, with similar disruption in education
• In Uttar Pradesh, female literacy is around 57 %, compared to 82 % among males, per the latest NSO survey
• National surveys show that while 78 % of slum families support basic education for girls, only 55 % value higher education, underscoring a systemic ceiling

Today, the Foundation reports over 600 children enrolled back into formal schooling, with retention efforts that include providing uniforms, stationery, and regular home visits. Equally significant is their emphasis on safety. Over 20,000 girls have received basic self-defense training through partnerships with schools, parks, and the local police.

A recent study published in Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications highlights how gender norms and safety fears continue to push adolescent girls out of the education system in northern India. Betiyan Foundation’s approach attempts to address these very issues; not just through enrollment but through family counselling, community engagement, and long-term tracking.

The work is slow. Much of it remains unglamorous. But in a state where the dropout rate among slum girls remains disproportionately high and where public policy often stops short of the last mile, Betiyan Foundation model offers something both urgent and sustainable: not reform imposed from the outside, but restoration led from within.

As India pushes toward digital classrooms and smart cities, the question remains whether basic access to schooling can be guaranteed for those who live on the edges of infrastructure. Until then, organisations like Betiyan Foundation continue to fill the gap, not with sweeping interventions, but with quiet presence.