IAS Aparajita’s ‘Stumble Lab’ initiative increases student participation and school attendance in Kaithal

Meaningful change does not always require new infrastructure or a bigger budget. In Kaithal, Haryana, the ‘Stumble Lab’ initiative is using simple activities to make learning practical while encouraging students to be more confident and active participants in the classroom.

Conceptualised by Deputy Commissioner Aparajita, a 2018 Batch IAS Officer with the aim of creating classrooms where students feel comfortable asking questions, trying things out and getting answers wrong. The initiative has been introduced in more than 320 government schools and has so far reached over 25,000 students. The results have also been impressive classroom participation has increased by 62%, while attendance has improved by 11%.

Instead of relying only on textbook based teaching, Stumble Lab introduces students to take part in activity based learning like simple physics experiments, estimation exercises, mental ability tasks and creative activities. The emphasis is on making students think and participate rather than simply memorising answers. Teachers are also an important part of the programme. Around 1,650 teachers have been trained through more than 25 special training sessions, while nearly 150 interactive activities have been conducted in schools.

Another unique feature of the model is that it does not depend on setting up expensive new facilities. Schools use resources already available to them, while weekly data is used to track the progress of the programme.

Looking ahead, the Haryana government has announced plans to expand the Stumble Lab model across the state. This showcases how improving education may begin not with adding more resources, but with changing how children learn.