Annual
Report
2025

KarmaCorps has been committed for more than a decade to the holistic welfare of children admitted under the Right to Education Act and other deserving students, working closely with families, schools and communities.

During the year, students were supported through school fee assistance, monthly tuition and sports fees, annual scholarships, the library, the computer lab, digital learning and the laptop support programme.

Wellbeing was carried by the things around the academics: home visits, parents' meetings, child protection monitoring, documentary screenings, holiday activities, life-skills sessions, birthday celebrations, sports exposure and student outings.

Medical assistance was extended to students and, where necessary, to the earning parent of a family. Alongside its own programmes, KarmaCorps funded seventeen non-profits working in health, mental wellbeing, education, empowerment, community development and agriculture.

This review is based on mark sheets collected from the schools; no independent examination was conducted. Most students sit in the 30–49% band, followed by 50–59% and 60–69%. Scores above 70% were limited, and a smaller group fell below 30%. The honest reading is average performance with identifiable learning gaps — mid-range scores dominate, and both extremes are thin.

Class 10 is the concern: concentration in 30–49% and 20–29%, which at board level needs close monitoring. Among new entrants the spread runs from 30–49% to 60–69%, with one student in 90–100% — clear potential in the group.

Monthly tuition and sports fees. A fixed amount was transferred every month into each child's own bank account for tuition fees and sports coaching — ₹17,04,000 across 80 children at Chetpet and ₹3,64,000 across 18 at Ayanavaram. Direct transfer keeps it transparent, accountable and on time.

Sicgil India. Eight students shortlisted on academic performance and economic background shared a sponsored scholarship of ₹50,000. A thank-you letter was sent to the sponsor.

Family financial assistance. Direct monthly support to one family continued through the first quarter of the year.

Fifty-two home visits were made through the year — to collect mark sheets, track attendance, address health and behavioural issues, and talk to parents on their own ground. Attendance and behaviour both improved where the visits happened, and so did parental involvement.

Forty-two tuition centres were visited, two or three times a month each, covering 96 students, with student behaviour and centre operations observed on every visit. Regular meetings with staff, parents and students kept decisions recorded and followed up.

The laptop programme, four years old this year, began with 18 students; from August a further six were added, taking it to 24. Additional laptops were purchased and hard drives installed in existing machines to improve storage and performance — ₹3,08,855 in all.

The usage data is not flattering and we publish it as it is. Against 8,760 hours available in the year, most students recorded under 70 hours — less than 2% of the time the device sat with them. Among the six new users over five months, only one approached the expected minimum.

Ten review meetings were held on device usage. Our reading of the cause: low motivation, academic fatigue, and a lack of confidence rather than a lack of access. Usage should improve with clear goals, activities worth opening the laptop for, parental support, and children taking responsibility themselves.

On IXL, 26 of 28 children practised regularly through the year. Together they practised 3,221 skills, reached proficiency in 2,783 and fully mastered 2,701. The top performer of 2025 achieved 534 skills.

Documentary screenings. Out of 52 weeks, screenings ran in 48 — 75 documentaries in all, on topics well outside the syllabus. Average attendance was 45 children, with a maximum of 60 and a minimum of 38. They build general awareness, critical thinking and curiosity, which is most of what school does not have time for.

Library. The child-friendly library was maintained through the year with textbooks, storybooks, reference works and general knowledge titles, and book usage recorded in the register.

Birthdays. Held in the last week of every month for all children with birthdays that month — decorations, cake, gifts and a room full of people paying attention to them.

Mango Day, 28 June. Sixty students attended on the day and the rest received theirs the following week: a packet of six mangoes each for 80 children, a short film on why they are good for you, and everyone asked to wear yellow. Staff got mangoes too.

Chess and carrom. Twenty students played over several days, with finals on the last day. All twenty received cups; first, second and third prizes were awarded in both games. Patience, discipline, and learning how to lose.

Toy drive. Our children collected 125 toys, play items, water bottles and lunch boxes for children affected by cancer, for a drive organised by TIARA — 101 students took part.

One hundred and six children and staff spent the day at MGM Dizzee World. Transport, food and entry tickets were arranged in advance, at a cost of about ₹1,23,000.

Care was organised, not assumed. Volunteers — our Care Champions — were assigned 12 to 15 children each and stayed with them through travel, rides, meals and activities. Every participant wore an ID card, a first aid kit travelled with the group, and heights were checked in advance so ticketing was right before anyone queued.

The children took the water rides and the car racing, and performed dances on the stage. Lunch was chicken biryani, egg, water and ice cream; our founder joined the group with his family for it.

The day closed between 7 and 7.30 p.m. and every child went home safely — a well-managed outing, and by the evidence of the photographs, a genuinely happy one.

This year's programmes — tuition support, scholarships, school fee assistance, the laptop rental programme, the computer lab, the library and the Saturday screenings — ran alongside support for over seventeen non-profits working in mental, physical, visual, educational, community, sports and digital development.

The areas we have identified for ourselves are specific: continuous academic monitoring, greater parental involvement, more digital learning resources, structured career guidance for senior students, stronger child protection practice, and more individual support for academically weaker children.

Two numbers in this report are uncomfortable — laptop usage and class 10 marks — and they are printed here on purpose. They are where next year's work goes.

With sustained commitment and focused improvement, these initiatives will keep doing what they were built to do: give children a fair chance at a secure and successful future.