The Katha Lab School began in 1990 as a learning centre in the slums of Govindpuri, Delhi, with five children. Today, it has been developed into the Centre of Creativity for the Katha Relevant Education for All-Round Development (KREAD). It has had a huge impact on the lives of children living in the 8-slums cluster of Govindpuri where most children worked to support their families. Through experimentation and relentless learning, Katha stabilized the integrated solution that has created value for more than 100,000 children.

Katha’s work supports objectives of Right to Education, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and National Curriculum Framework. Today, our students work in companies like IBM, for the government, or as intrepid entrepreneurs. Earnings of Katha-trained women have grown 10 times what their families earned a decade ago; salaries of Katha graduates have gone up 20 times and more. 56% of our graduates are in college, bucking the Indian trend of 7%. Katha Lab School is one of the most innovative schools and has evolved a model of delivering consistent quality education.

Key distinguishing features of Katha’s education model are StoryPedagogy^TM and Active Story Based Learning, our teachers use a variety of techniques developed by Katha—rooted in the art of storytelling and the performance arts—to bring classrooms to life and creatively engage children in learning. Theatre, dance, music, sports, storytelling, and film are among the many tools our teachers use. Katha’s model also brings community issues into the classroom so that learning is relevant for children and empowers them to become agents of change in their communities. We empower children to solve pressing community challenges related to health, water, sanitation and environment.