School of Creative Learning (SCL)

The School of Creative Learning, located in Patna, is an innovative educational institution dedicated to nurturing the full creative potential of every child. Established under the Association for Promotion of Creative Learning (APCL) in 1997, the school is affiliated to CBSE 10+2 and focuses on holistic development rather than rote learning. It offers a unique learning environment where every occasion, place, and object becomes an opportunity for learning, reflecting its vision of a learning society. SCL integrates traditional knowledge systems with modern pedagogies, encouraging students to think critically, imagine freely, and solve problems creatively. The curriculum emphasizes experiential learning through hands-on activities, design thinking, robotics, arts, and mathematics labs. The school especially strives to empower children from underprivileged backgrounds, ensuring inclusivity and equity in quality education. Its practices align with national education goals like those of the NEP 2020, promoting universalization of quality education. Over the years, SCL has earned recognition for its innovative teaching methods and the achievements of its students in various creative fields. The school also acts as a center for teacher training, research, and development of creative learning tools.

Ritu Sinha Knowledge Centre for Creative Learning (RSKCCL)

The Ritu Sinha Knowledge Centre for Creative Learning, located at the School of Creative Learning in Patna, is a living lab for creativity, community, and change. Established in memory of Ritu Sinha, a Columbia graduate and Boston-based attorney, with support from the Ritu Sinha Charitable Foundation (New York, USA), RSKCCL bridges tradition and technology to promote inclusive, lifelong learning. It offers rich digital archives, thematic libraries, and computer hubs that serve learners, teachers, researchers, and elders alike. RSKCCL also provides spaces for conferences, exhibitions, and collaborative dialogue, while working towards future initiatives like a health and wellness centre and a residential hostel. Through its mission, it strives to make knowledge accessible to all, transcending barriers of class, age, and ability.

Kanka Gajendra Centre for Inclusive Learning (KGCIL)
The Kanka Gajendra Centre for Inclusive Learning, located within the School of Creative Learning campus in Patna, was established by APCL in collaboration with the Kanka-Gajendra Foundation (UK). Rooted in the belief to “Count Ability, Not Disability,” KGCIL emerged from a shared mission to create systemic, compassionate approaches to inclusive education in India. The centre focuses on early identification of learning differences, including dyslexia, ADHD, and dyspraxia, and provides tailored support through adaptive tools, teacher training, and family counseling. It works to shift societal attitudes from stigma to empathy, ensuring that all children can thrive emotionally and academically. KGCIL aims to reshape schooling systems to fit every child, not the other way around, and aspires to be a leading resource hub for inclusive education in India. The centre welcomes collaboration from educators, researchers, and changemakers to build a truly inclusive learning future.

Chandra Institute for Creative Empowerment of Women
The Chandra Institute for Creative Empowerment of Women, founded in 2007 in memory of Smt. Chandra Das, is a grassroots initiative based in Patna that uses creativity as a powerful tool for women’s empowerment. Established by Shri Bhagirath Lal Das, Smt. Supriti Das, Shri Abhijit Das, and Smt. Shipra Das, CICEW focuses on uplifting women—especially from rural and marginalized communities—through training, artistic expression, and economic opportunity. The institute preserves and promotes traditional crafts like Mithila painting, enabling women to transform their heritage into income, confidence, and dignity. Its programs include skill development workshops, design innovation, eco-friendly enterprise, and market access support. CICEW provides a creative sanctuary where women can reclaim their voice, strengthen their agency, and shape their own futures. Committed to gender equity and cultural preservation, CICEW invites collaboration to scale its model of creative, dignified empowerment.

The organisation has been working extensively with economically and socially excluded communities, particularly in rural areas.

• The organisation has worked with members of the Scheduled Castes (SCs consisting of Chamar, Dhobi, Pasi, Paswan among others), and Muslims.
• Even among SCs, it has worked extensively with Musahars – an extremely deprived community having the most landless, houseless and illiterate people.
• It also works with Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs), as EBCs are educationally deprived. Some of them like Beldars are landless and agricultural labourers, their educational status being comparable to SCs. EBCs are mainly professionals or communities involved in the profession of earthwork, and have a nomadic lifestyle. They go through large scale migration periodically, which makes their children, especially girls, vulnerable who have to keep themselves engaged in household chores and baby-sitting resulting in poor education.
• APCL works with the communities to enhance their participation in education processes. Its main focus is on school and out-of-school children, and also works extensively with the parents and community of these children.
• APCL also works with children who are not performing well in examinations and undertakes home counselling.
• The organisation is also working with old women, urban street children and destitutes.

APCL has developed vulnerability indicator for assessing vulnerability of a community and has identified vulnerable groups in the community. Research at APCL has shown that the community rich in traditions of folk paintings have better literacy and educational achievements. As the tradition of folk painting practically does not exist in dalits especially Musahars, APCL has undertaken popularization of folk painting among dalits and the Musahar community.

APCL works extensively in the rural and urban areas of Bihar and Jharkhand, states in the Eastern part of India. Despite being the third most populous state in the country, Bihar faces enormous challenges in terms of poverty alleviation, education, nutrition and other human development indicators.

• Third most populous state in India; Also having the highest density with 1,106 persons per sq km
• 63.82% literacy rate (73.39% male, 53.33% female as of 2011)
• Predominantly rural, with 88.7% of the population living in rural areas
• UNDP Human Development Index Rank - 21 out of 23
• Gender Related Development Indicators Rank - 35 out of 35
• Gender Empowerment Measure Rank - 31 out of 35
• Global Hunger Index Rank - 15 out of 17
• 53.5% of the population or 54.35 millions are poor

References

1. Census of India 2011 - Bihar Profile - http://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/censusinfodashboard/stock/profiles/en/IND010_Bihar.pdf
2. UNDP - Bihar Economic and Human Development Indicators - http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/bihar_factsheet.pdf

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