The Madhya Pradesh NIPUN Professionals Program is a unique 2-year, full-time, paid experiential opportunity for India’s brightest and most promising youth to lead large-scale system reform towards achieving foundational learning goals in the state. These professionals will be placed in all 52 districts across the state and will work closely with the District Collector, CEO-Zila Panchayat, and the district Education team. Professionals will receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 80,000 along with a certified course from TISS, Mumbai.

To address different aspects of the quality of learning and attain universal foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) as envisioned by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Government of India launched a National Mission “NIPUN Bharat” in July 2021. It aims to achieve universal FLN goals for students of Grades 1 to 3.

As a result, FLN has become the key priority in public school education for the central government as well as all states. With this context, the Government of MP launched Mission Ankur as the state’s FLN mission across the state for all the 80,000 government schools.

The focus of Mission Ankur in the last one year has been on ensuring key interventions are well-designed and successfully rolled out in a timely manner. After the rollout, in the next phase, it becomes imperative to focus on strengthening the quality and fidelity of implementation of those interventions. Madhya Pradesh NIPUN Professionals Program aims to work as a  catalyst for driving high-quality implementation of the mission at the district level.

• Leading large-scale system reform efforts to achieve impact at scale: Each MP NIPUN Professional will work closely with the District Collector, CEO-Zila Panchayat and District Education Department on select academic and governance interventions directed towards improving student learning outcomes in their allotted district.

• Driving outcomes through strong action orientation and problem solving: Each professional will implement structured projects with clear outcomes to build holistic understanding of the challenges on ground and strive for building creative solutions.

• Learning continuously through a well curated professional development journey: Each professional will undergo a structured professional development program to develop key relevant skills and leadership qualities.

The Government of Madhya Pradesh has partnered with TISS, Mumbai to support in providing high quality specially curated professional development to NIPUN Professionals. NIPUN Professionals will also be on TISS payroll and all the HR aspects will be managed by TISS. Know more about TISS.

The program is a good match for ambitious young professionals who have a strong interest in education, public policy, and addressing governance challenges on a large scale, as well as a desire to make a positive social impact. Additionally, we seek individuals who have leadership potential that can be developed and demonstrated during the two-year program.

Applicants should possess a range of skills, including critical thinking, keenness to work at the grassroots level in rural areas, excellent problem-solving abilities, the ability to build and maintain relationships with a variety of stakeholders, and an ability to take initiatives independently. Our goal is to build a diverse cohort, so we encourage individuals from various backgrounds, fields, and experiences to apply.

As NIPUN Professional, your primary responsibility will be to accelerate the implementation of Mission Ankur, the State’s FLN Mission, in your assigned districts. This will involve leading large-scale system reform efforts to achieve measurable impact. You will identify implementation challenges, build capacity among key functionaries, and strengthen monitoring and governance structures by working in close collaboration with district stakeholders.

To achieve these objectives, you will implement structured projects and tasks with clearly defined objectives, outcomes, enabling you to gain a holistic understanding of the challenges on the ground while continuously striving to develop creative & contextual solutions. During your tenure, you’ll have the opportunity to carry out an innovation project of your choice. The Program Management Team at Bhopal will also work closely with you to guide you in implementing the projects. 

As a NIPUN Professional, you will play an essential role in driving positive change in Madhya Pradesh, leaving a lasting impact on the lives of ~23 lakh children.

The MP NIPUN Professionals Program is India’s first mission oriented program towards transforming public education & improving foundational learning goals. It presents an exciting chance for young individuals in India to contribute to a national priority in education through strengthening the efforts of the State’s FLN mission, Mission Ankur.

By collaborating with senior bureaucrats and district stakeholders, this program offers a distinctive opportunity to lead system-wide reform efforts & impact 23 lakh children in the state.

Moreover, the program offers you a

• • Chance to work at the intersection of public policy, education and governance

  • Competitive stipend,

  • Certified course from TISS Mumbai, 

  • Specially curated professional development journey by TISS, Mumbai that includes structured mentoring opportunities.

Each NIPUN Professional will be hired for a period of two years.

The program runs for a period of two years, and we encourage participants to commit to the full duration of the program. Exiting the program before the end of the two-year period is not recommended. If a selected candidate discontinues the program prematurely, they will not be eligible to receive the program-completion certificate. 

If a candidate has to leave the program in between due to unforeseen circumstances, they may leave after a notice period of 45 days.

1. 1. The program offers a monthly stipend of ₹80,000.

   2. Professionals will also be covered under a group health and accidental insurance policy.

   3. Additionally, Professionals will receive accommodation for the first 15 days of their stay in the allotted district to help facilitate their transition. 

This is a full-time paid position with a six-day working week. The Professionals are required to discharge their duties at the district from Monday to Saturday. Sunday will be a weekly off. Professionals must be present at the knowledge forums, learning circles, and meetings that they are required to attend as part of the program.

All the State holidays notified by the Government of Madhya Pradesh will be granted as off-days to the professionals. In addition to these holidays, Professionals can also avail a maximum of 12 days of leave during the year.

The Professionals will be based out of their respective district (allotted after selection) with occasional travel to Bhopal and other locations as needed. There will be extensive travel within the district to blocks and schools.

Allocation of districts shall be done by the Government of MP. The selected applicants could be allotted to ANY district within the state. However, during the interview stage, the applicants would be asked to furnish preferences for 10 districts. An attempt would be made to allocate a district from amongst those preferences, but we can’t assure the same. Therefore, you are encouraged to apply only if you are prepared to serve anywhere in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The Professionals will closely work with the District collector, CEO-Zila Panchayat, district education officers (DEOs, DPCs) and other members of the district education team.

The stipend is inclusive of all allowances. Field visits & other regular travel for the project within the districts will be facilitated by the government as per availability of shared/pooled vehicles at the district education office. Any travel outside the allocated district for program related activities such as learning meetings/reviews will be covered by the program.

This is a full-time engagement that requires exclusive commitment and hence the Professionals are prohibited from working anywhere else (paid or unpaid) during the time they are part of the MP NIPUN Professionals program.

As a NIPUN Professional, your work will involve close collaboration with senior officials in the district administration of a chosen district in Madhya Pradesh. This role presents a unique opportunity to make a significant impact towards achieving the foundational learning goals in the state under Mission Ankur. 

Simultaneously, the Professionals will undergo a continuous, structured & rigorous professional development journey to be ‘District ready’.  The two-year journey of the professionals will start with a program induction followed by monthly learning circles, quarterly forums, curated self-paced online courses by TISS spread over the 2-year duration, and end-of-the year review and project presentation.

Upon completing the two-year program, the professionals will be awarded certification offered by TISS as part of the program along with the work experience letter for your work done in districts.

The MPNP program provides unique exposure to several skills & experiences that will work as a  launchpad to a wide range of career opportunities for professionals. These opportunities will span across sectors such as education, public policy, governance, and entrepreneurship. Moreover, Professionals who undergo the two year journey will have built many transferable skills & leadership qualities that will enable them to perform well in diverse roles. 

In addition, the program team will work with the Professionals closely to chalk out a career transition plan based on their interests.

The Professionals will join the program on August 1, 2023 in Bhopal. They will undergo a 7-day induction program to provide them with the necessary context, knowledge and skills before they join their districts. The professionals will join their allocated districts by August 10, 2023.