What did it take to scale up and sustain Udaan, a school-based, state-run adolescent education programme in Jharkhand, India?

What does it take for adolescent education on gender, health and relationships to be scaled up and sustained for over a decade? This study of Udaan, a school-based life skills programme in Jharkhand, India, answers that question.

Udaan is a school-based adolescent education programme running in Jharkhand, India, since 2006. It was the only state-run programme of its kind operating at scale in India during the period studied, growing from an HIV-prevention curriculum into a broader 13-module programme covering life skills, puberty, gender, sexual harassment, relationships and substance abuse.

This journal article examines how Udaan was developed and scaled up statewide, and what allowed it to keep running for over a decade when many similar programmes elsewhere have folded. It draws on programme reports, evaluations and interviews with staff at the Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), the non-government organisation that provided technical support throughout.

Five factors underpinned Udaan's sustained scale-up: a supportive policy environment, a state government that took ownership of the programme, a skilled non-government partner, secure long-term funding, and continuous improvement through evaluation. Teachers trained from within the school system delivered the curriculum, while government officials monitored progress.

The programme faced real obstacles too, including teacher shortages, discomfort with sensitive topics, and a period of public backlash against sexuality education that led other states to suspend similar programmes. Udaan continued because the government and C3 had prepared for this and responded quickly.

Key messages

• Udaan's sustained scale-up rested on five factors: an enabling policy environment, a committed government, a skilled non-government partner, stable funding and continuous improvement through evaluation.
• When public backlash against sexuality education led several states to halt similar programmes in 2007, Jharkhand's government and its NGO partner responded quickly, and Udaan continued.
• Teachers trained from within the existing school system delivered the curriculum, supported by a cascade training model and a management information system for monitoring.
• Evaluations found gains in students' knowledge on topics like puberty and HIV, but less change in attitudes, and lower engagement on sensitive topics such as menstruation and pregnancy.
• Teacher discomfort with sensitive content, staff turnover and weak links to health services were ongoing challenges.