Introduction

Despite India’s growing reputation as a global technology hub, access to quality STEM education remains deeply unequal in our country. While students in well-resourced schools have good opportunities to engage with robotics, coding, engineering design, and scientific research, there are many students who study in government-funded schools and have a limited exposure to practical STEM learning. This gap doesn’t exist because these students lack talent or potential, but it exists because the access to resources that make STEM learning possible remains limited to certain schools. 

This disparity can also be seen in the learning outcomes. According to the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021, students studying at government schools scored significantly lower than those who study at private schools in both mathematics and science . This highlights the inequalities that continue to exist systematically in STEM education. At the same time, although India is the world's second-largest producer of STEM graduates, only about 25.6% of students enrolled in higher education pursue STEM disciplines .This means that there are millions of students who still lack access to proper hands-on science education. 

The consequences of the gap extend beyond just the school education. A limited exposure to STEM discourages students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and innovation. This also prevents them from participating in many of the national and international competitions that may have otherwise developed their technical, collaborative, and problem-solving skills. Therefore, it becomes important to understand that this challenge requires more than just improving the infrastructure. There is also a need to create some pathways through which the students can access mentorship along with practical learning experiences.