Frequently Asked Questions

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Related to the Teach For India Model

Related to the Fellowship

Concerns
Related to the Teach For India Model: (Click on any question to know the answer)

1. Why education?
2. What do the numbers say about the state of Indian education?
3. The government can do this stuff. Why do We need a movement?
4. What is Teach For India and its theory of change?
5. TFI is not…
6. What is the TFI model?
7. So, I’m going to be a teacher. That’s it?
8. Teaching is leadership? How?
9. What is the student impact so far?
10. What are the challenges?
11. What is the reaction of the teachers to TFI Fellows teaching in their schools?
12. How does TFI find these schools?
13. Does TFI work within the school syllabus?
14. Does TFI develop study materials?
15. What kind of training is done at the 5-week institute?
16. What is TFI's organizational structure?
17. Why doesn’t TFI teach in schools in rural areas?
18. Why does TFI work with only English medium schools?
19. Why the youth? Why not get corporate professionals over 40 to teach? They have much lesser at stake than
the youth who are trying to make a career.
20. Why is TFI so selective? Isn’t TFI excluding people who can and really want to make a difference?

Related to the Fellowship:

(Click on any question to know the answer)
1. Why should I join Teach For India? How will it help me grow professionally?
2. Who are they looking for?
3. What is the selection process and timeline like?
4. How rigorous is the selection?
5. Where are the current Fellows from? What are their profiles like?
6. How will I be supported financially?
7. Why does the Fellowship last two years? Can I teach for just one year if I choose?
8. Do all TFI Fellows reside together?
9. What do Fellows do after hours?
10. Is it possible to take up part-time work besides the Fellowship?
11. Will I be given a choice of location in the application form?
12. Have there been any drop-outs DURING the Fellowship? If yes, for what reasons?
13. What happens if a Fellow cannot cope and wants to leave midway?
Concerns (Click on any question to know the answer)

1. What happens after the 2 years? I’m still going to be unemployed then. What does TFI do for me?
2. Is there a way to defer paying installments for students who have taken an educational loan?
3. "I don’t have sufficient leadership/community service experience. Will TFI still consider me?"
4. "I am a fresher and don't have work experience. Will it be very difficult for me to find a job after the
Fellowship?"
Related to the Teach For India Model:

Why education?
• Education acts as a refuge in adversity. It empowers. It broadens your horizon and gives you a better
understanding of the world.
• The words 'cultivate' and 'civilize' are almost synonymous to the word 'educate'- it reduces social and economic
disparity, allowing progress to be equally shared.
• Educated people are in a better position to contribute more positively to society and even towards the planet, as
they understand the implications of their choices and actions.
• It equips us with all that is needed to make our dreams come true!
• Quality basic education for all children can eliminate many of India’s present social ills – poverty, unemployment,
illiteracy, overpopulation, environmental degradation and corruption

What do the numbers say about the state of Indian education?

Case-stats on educational inequity:
• Only 61% of the country’s population is literate. Currently 9 million Indian children are not in school.
• More than 1 in 3 children who begin primary school drop out before reaching 5th grade
• 40% students in std 1 and 15% in std 2 cannot even identify letters, 35% of students in std 1 cannot identify
numbers, and 1 in 5 students in standard 7 cannot tell time
• 1 in 4 teachers will be absent on any given day. Of those who are present, only 50% are likely to be teaching at
any given time.
• The average class size at the primary level is 63.6, while research indicates the ideal class size as 17.

The government can do this stuff. Why do We need a movement?

Imagine if one were to channel the energy of the country's most talented, driven graduates and promising future leaders
in the direction of taking on the problem of India's greatest social injustice. Allying collectively on one platform, young
professionals from all over India would join hands to improve the sorry state of affairs. In this way, we shall be both
creators and beneficiaries of good quality schooling. This would influence our country’s consciousness, thus priorities and
ultimately policies and practices which would lead to a real change.

What is Teach For India and its theory of change?

In the short run, the young Fellows act as a source of dedicated teachers in Municipal and low-income private schools.
During the two-years, Fellows gain a deep understanding of barriers to achievement and challenges in Indian education
which enables them to provide sustainable solutions.
Long term, TFI will build a powerful and ever-growing leadership force of alumni who, informed by their experiences and
insights, will work from inside and outside the educational system to effect fundamental, long-term changes necessary to
ultimately realize educational opportunity for all.
So, the idea is that because of the leadership skills that the Fellows bring with themselves to class, they have the
potential to have a life-changing impact on the kids they teach. At the same time, as our future leaders, these are folks
that are likely to assume positions of influence. They’ll take with them a sound understanding of the problem and of the
fundamental changes that need to occur.

TFI is not…
• An NGO (it is a movement)
• A volunteer opportunity. Instead it is a fully paid fellowship
• Only for people interested in social work/teaching long-term
• Two years "off"
• A program that trains people to be teachers for the rest of their lives

What is the TFI model?

1. Recruit the most outstanding university graduates and young professionals through a rigorous selection process
2. Provide Fellows with intensive training and leadership development prior to and during the fellowship
3. Place Fellows to teach full-time for two-years in under-resourced schools
4. Build partnerships to ensure Fellows have a clear pathway to leadership after the fellowship
5. Set up systems to drive and measure short-term impact on student achievement and long-term development of
leaders
6. Support alumni as they advocate for equity in education

So, I’m going to be a teacher. That’s it?

Teach For India strongly believes that excellent teachers employ the same skills as excellent leaders - Teaching as
Leadership. Fellows are expected to lead students in their classrooms toward academic achievement that defies
traditional expectations. Fellows foster this achievement by getting to know their students in and out of the classroom;
creating instructional plans to match the whole class' and individual student's needs; delivering instruction in an engaging
manner; working with other teachers, administrators and community members to build skills and obtain resources for
the classroom; and administering and analyzing assessments to ensure that students are progressing towards their
academic goals.

“Teaching is leadership” How?

Fellows are trained to operate as leaders in the classroom by setting ambitious and measurable visions for student
achievement, investing all key stakeholders, creating detailed plans, executing effectively, continuously reflecting on and
improving their own performance and working relentlessly and strategically to realize their vision.

What is the student impact so far?

• In the 2009-10 school year, Teach For India students:
• Grew in Math: ~ 60% - 160%
• Grew in English: ~ 30% - 110%
• Increased their reading fluency from 27 to 62 words read correctly per minute
• Increased their attendance from 81% to 89%
• Showed on average 1.2 years’ worth of growth in their writing skills

What are the challenges?

1. Closing the achievement gap (between a TFI student and high-income peers) by increasing student achievement
by 1.5 years per year
2. Assisting in developing new systems for schools, provide language and skills training for other teachers and raise
funds to procure necessary resources for the school
3. Implementing a transformational community project in the school or students' community. To carry this out
effectively, Fellows will research and plan, amass necessary resources, invest students and their families, teachers
and administrators, and troubleshoot the project in its execution phase.
4. What is the reaction of the teachers to TFI Fellows teaching in their schools?

TFI looks for classrooms that have vacancies. So the school is more than happy to have the Fellows. The teachers
welcome the Fellows too and share their challenges and experiences with the Fellows. This gives Fellows ideas for their
community projects

How does TFI find these schools?

TFI finds schools individually as well as through the system. TFI approaches under-resourced schools where the fees are
Rs.200-300 per month. It looks for schools with a high number of teacher vacancies. It also works with the system - BMC,
MCGM etc. So we employ a top-down approach and make sure whatever we are doing has an impact on the entire
system and not just a few schools. Example, TFI is now involved in training teachers of MCGM in better teaching methods
and mindset change

What is the reaction of the teachers to TFI Fellows teaching in their schools?

TFI looks for classrooms that have vacancies. So the school is more than happy to have the Fellows. The teachers
welcome the Fellows too and share their challenges and experiences with the Fellows. This gives Fellows ideas for their
community projects

How does TFI find these schools?

TFI finds schools individually as well as through the system. TFI approaches under-resourced schools where the fees are
Rs.200-300 per month. It looks for schools with a high number of teacher vacancies. It also works with the system - BMC,
MCGM etc. So we employ a top-down approach and make sure whatever we are doing has an impact on the entire
system and not just a few schools. Example, TFI is now involved in training teachers of MCGM in better teaching methods
and mindset change
Does TFI work within the school syllabus?

Yes it does. for example, when we go to Delhi, we need tune our Fellows to the CBSE syllabus because that's the board
schools in Delhi follow

Does TFI develop study materials?

TFI does not write text books. However, it trains Fellows on innovative ways of teaching. For example, instead of just
teaching a student what a rectangle or a circle is, our Fellows help kids to identify the door as a rectangle and a fan as a
circle. There are many more ways in which our Fellows make studying fun for the kids

What kind of training is done at the 5-week institute?

i. Sessions and Workshops – Classroom management studies, Assessing student progress, Lesson planning clinics,
Language content, Data-tracking and analysis, Math content, Language and literacy, Co-teaching mindsets and
expectations, Child development, Theater, etc.
ii. CM Debriefs – Fellows are mentored through “Collaborative Managers” in improving skills as a teacher, learning
best practices from other Fellows, build strong professional relationships with collaborative members, identifying
strengths as a teacher, pushing to challenge themselves and celebrating success.
iii. Leadership Forum - Fellows engage with prominent corporate, Government, social and education leaders. Past
leaders include - Dr. Abdul Kalam, Aamir Khan, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose, Chetan Bhagat, Anand Shah, Wendy
Copp and Aditya Natraj.

What is TFI's organizational structure?

TFI has a corporate style structure. We believe in verticals, deliverables and deadlines. Just because you are a teacher
does not mean you will not have a boss to answer to and targets to reach.

Why doesn’t TFI teach in schools in rural areas?

It only takes a visit to the urban under-resourced schools to see that they are not better off than rural schools. There are
no resources, no teachers, no benches and blackboards. Sometimes, students sit on the floor. Sometimes, schools do not
have bathrooms! TFI’s model is based on sourcing Fellows from the best pool of talent in India, and, in the short term, the
only way to do this is to place Fellows in cities. In addition, educating kids in the city will ensure more employability. This
will add on to the ripple effect that these kids and Fellows will create, and eventually, the policies and initiatives they will
create is bound to permeate to the rural regions. There has to be a starting point for the movement, and the cities
provide us with proximity to our operations. Given the size of India and the millions of rural schools, TFI will never be able
to have a Fellow in each and every school. However, what it will create is thousands of dedicated leaders who will take
this movement forward and change mindsets and revolutionize education.

Why does TFI work with only English medium schools?

Working with English medium schools gives TFI the opportunity to tap into the diversity of India. Today, we have an IIT-
ian from Tamil Nadu teaching in Mumbai. Would that be possible if we were teaching in Marathi-medium schools? The
TFI model does not include regionalization. Instead, it is based on the premise that the educated youth across the country
comes together and joins forces in this movement. We also believe that knowledge of English increases chances of
employment for our kids. Would you send your children to a non-English medium school? Would you not rather have
every child speak in English knowing that this skill is key to finding a job and earning a living?
Having said that, TFI’s stand does not exclude regional language schools. Once we have expanded to 8-10 cities in the
next few years, we will look at broadening our mandate and will revise our stand on non-English medium schools

Why the youth? Why not get corporate professionals over 40 to teach? They have much lesser at stake than the youth
who are trying to make a career.

That is a very flawed perception. The stakes get higher with age. A person over 40 has commitments to his family and so
on. A recent graduate or a young professional, on the other hand, has far more flexibility with experimentation. Also,
TFI’s theory of change is based on creating leaders who will strive for educational equity throughout their lives. And the
best way to create leaders is not take people who are already leaders, but people who can innovate, think out of the box
and who practice what they preach what the rest of their lives.

Why is TFI so selective? Isn’t TFI excluding people who can and really want to make a difference?

TFI is selective because, again, we believe in being true to our model. Our aim is not only to educate one child at a time,
one school at a time, but also to create a movement of leaders. For this to happen, we look for high-calibre individuals
who have proven their abilities in the past (be it at school, college or office). These abilities could be at any level, so we
are not necessarily looking at only good results, or only leadership positions held.

Having said that, I would like to highlight that the TFI application form is online and is open to all. Hence, we do give
everyone a fair chance and we have rejected people with great biodata as well, thus proving the fact that we are looking
for passion and expertise over just impressive qualifications.
Related to Fellowship

Why should I join Teach For India? How will it help me grow professionally?

First, you would’ve already proven yourself by gaining admission into a program with less than 5% selectivity.

In real terms, by presenting you with probably the most difficult challenge of your life, the TFI Fellowship helps you
develop prowess in Communication, Organization, Presentation/body language, resourcefulness/flexibility, Creativity and
Patience. Your problem-solving and leadership skills shall make you a high-demand candidate for any career especially
management/consulting work. On a higher level, you will have challenged yourself and put yourself out of your comfort
zone so many times in those 2 years, that you will be empowered enough to figure out what you want to do and how to
do it best.
When you engage in a community you're not used to working with before, you have to bring out your communication
and convincing skills. At the end of the 2 years, you may well find that your power to influence and capability to really
make a difference is substantial.
For those considering further education, the TFI Fellowship will allow you to learn a lot more from the further degree that
you might choose to do, whether it's masters in Business or a Doctorate. Fellows from TFI know what it's like to be
successful, having led projects before.

Who are they looking for?

Applicant must be a final year student or a young professional.
Teach For India is looking for applicants who will be leaders in the classroom and beyond. We recognize that leaders
come in many forms with varied past experiences, so there is no one profile of an ideal applicant. There are many ways to
demonstrate leadership qualities, and we view applicants holistically by looking for evidence of demonstrated past
achievement: achieving ambitious, measurable results in academics, extra-curricular activities, and/or work leadership.

What is the selection process and timeline like?

Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis so qualified early applicants will have the best chance of gaining admission and
are also more likely to get their preferred training period and placement city. The selection process includes the online
application, a phone interview, and then an in-person assessment, and applicants will hear back 4-6 weeks after the
application deadline.

How rigorous is the selection?

For the 2009 Fellowship, 1328 completed applications were received out of which 90 finally matriculated as Fellows.For
the 2010 Fellowship, 4000 completed applications were received out of which 150 finally matriculated as Fellows.

Where are the current Fellows from? What are their profiles like?
Fellows are from top academic institutions and corporates as well as from diverse backgrounds:
 Professionals: Finance/Business Consulting, IT (skill based), FMCG/Marketing/Other, Education, Manufacturing,
 Experienced Professionals (28 +)
 Postgrad MBA (or IIT)
 Engineering UG
 Arts UG
 Other UG
 Postgrad other
We also have international representation from the US, UK, Australia, Asia comprising around 10 percent of the Teach for
India Fellows.

Educational institutions Fellows attended Organizations our Fellows have worked with

Harvard University McKinsey and Company

Princeton University, USA Goldman Sachs
BITS Pilani Hindustan Unilever
ISB, Hyderabad IBM
Sree Ram College of Commerce Bharat Petroleum
IIT (Bombay, Madras, Delhi, Kanpur, Roorkee) Egon Zehnder
Christ College, Bangalore Aditya Birla Group- Idea Cellular
Georgetown University, USA Hewlett Packard
National Law School of India University, Bangalore Axis Bank
Lady Sriram College, Delhi Foreign Policy Research Institute, Washington
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai DC
IIM, Calcutta Citibank
Anna University Religare Finvest Ltd
Brown University Deloitte Consulting
St. Stephen's College, Delhi Ernst & Young
National Institute of Technology (Calicut, Kurukshetra, Surat, Godrej Industries
Surathkal, Tiruchirapalli) ICICI
University of Leeds, UK JP Morgan Chase
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Thermax
Dartmouth University, USA Price Waterhouse Coopers
Miranda House, Delhi University Mahindra and Mahindra
University of Warwick United States Consul General
New York University
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
Vellore Institute of Technology

How will I be supported financially?

Teach For India is keen that financial need is not a barrier to matriculation for qualified applicants. Fellows will be paid a
stipend of Rs. 15,000 per month. Additionally, they will be compensated fully for housing allowance (ranging up to Rs.
7,800), school supplies, internet and commuting.
For students under educational loans, TFI has tie-up with banks (SBI, UBI, Axis Bank) for Student Loan Deferrals and Zero
Interest loans.

Why does the Fellowship last two years? Can I teach for just one year if I choose?
All Fellows must commit to teach full-time for two years in low-income schools. The two-year commitment is necessary
to make the impact we wish to have on student achievement. In the first year, Fellows will refine their teaching skills and
will start to establish respect and trust among various stakeholders within the school community. This work will allow
Fellows to achieve significant academic gains for students and to implement their community/school
project in the second year. Furthermore, Teach For India is looking for leaders who are willing to commit to long-term
change and who have the perseverance to work hard in challenging situations. In this context, the two-year commitment
is but a small step towards long-term reform.

Do all TFI Fellows reside together?

No they don't. They look for their own accommodation. Many of them share apartments
What do Fellows do after hours?
They make long-term plans, lesson plans for next day, attend meetings and conferences. And yes of course, they watch
movies, hang out with friends, have fun just like you and me!

Is it possible to take up part-time work besides the Fellowship?

The Fellowship is a 2-year full-time commitment, and it would be impossible to handle another set of responsibilities. It
will call for all your dedication and attention. So you will soon realize that part-time work is out of the question

Will I be given a choice of location in the application form?

As offers are made on a rolling basis, if applicants were to be selected, they will have a say in where they want to be
placed. In Delhi schools start earlier, so applicants who want to be places in Delhi should apply as soon as possible.

Have there been any drop-outs DURING the Fellowship? If yes, for what reasons?
Yes, there have been a few of drop-outs from the first batch. The fact that only 10% people opted out of the Fellowship is
extremely encouraging and shows the perseverance and determination of our Fellows to make their visions real. The
reasons for the drop-outs have mainly been not health reasons or the Fellows wanted to pursue other goals such as
becoming a writer etc.

What happens if a Fellow cannot cope and wants to leave midway?

TFI really makes sure that every Fellow is comfortable and is being provided with the logistical and emotional assistance
he/she needs. If a Fellow were to want to quit, TFI will make every effort to ensure that the reasons for leaving are
addressed and the Fellow is comfortable enough to finish the 2 year period.
Concerns

What happens after the 2 years? I’m still going to be unemployed then. What does TFI do for me?

Sky's the limit! Because of the unique leadership development program, you will have a plethora of choices after TFI,
regardless of what sector interests you. While it is important that some alumni remain in the social sector as teachers,
principals or NGO leaders, it is equally critical that that most of them leave, go into business, law and other sectors
because the problem can't be solved from within alone.

Already numerous corporates and post-graduate institutes have tied up with TFI because they’re eager to attract the kind
of talent that you will possess after two years with us.
 Corporate tie-ups Graduate school tie-ups:

McKinsey & Company Harvard Business School

Goldman Sachs Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Michael and Susan Dell Columbia University School of International and Public
Foundation Affairs
TATA Chemicals Columbia University School of Law
Citibank Princeton Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs
Times of India Accenture Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Law
Godrej Industries School
HDFC Standard Life ISB
ICICI SP Jain Institute of Management & Research
BPCL IIM Bangalore
CNBC
Yes Bank
Akanksha Foundation
Kirloskar
Fun Republic
Intellecap
Thermax
Tata power
Tv9

Is there a way to defer paying installments for students who have taken an educational loan?
Since the Fellowship is an extension of the education experience and not a full-time job, they can ask banks to defer
repayment by 2 years. TFI also has partnerships with 3 banks that will defer repayment of the loan for the period of the
Fellowship

"I don’t have sufficient leadership/community service experience. Will TFI still consider me?"
The fact that I have come all the way from Mumbai to talk to you shows that you are among the most outstanding people
and potential leaders of India. Make sure you are doing this for the passion of changing lives and changing the country.
And if you are, then that passion has to come across in the essays you write. Share your vision of the country, what you
will bring to it. Probe yourself and list down everything you have done till date. Do not underestimate any initiative. What
you may think is not good enough for TFI might show a lot of what your potential is!

"I am a fresher and don't have work experience. Will it be very difficult for me to find a job after the Fellowship?"
No it will not. In real terms, your problem-solving and leadership skills will make you very desirable for
management/consulting work. On a higher level, you will have challenged yourself and put yourself out of your comfort
zone so many times in those 2 years, that you will be empowered enough to figure out what you want to do and how to
do it best.