Adult education through awareness generation of different aspects of life and society comprise the functional education program. These programs are in consonance with the rural development thrust of the institute. We give below a list of programs that have been held from time to time.

• Gender sensitization
• Rights of children
• Importance of education
  • Education Guarantee Scheme
  • Child education with emphasis on Girl Child
• Participation in Panchayat elections
• Rights of women in Panchayat

• Haryali Samity (Green Group) formation
• Environment awareness and development
• Community planning and participation
• Sustainable agriculture
• Use of regenerative seeds and bio fertilizers

• Craft training and market planning
• Innovative craft introduction and production for market broadening
• Entrepreneurship development

All these programs have had substantial effect in changing attitudes, mindsets and aspirations. These are reported in various annual reports. The activities are always expanding, ongoing and evolving and are subjects of action research.

Awareness raising of the people on need for children's education in which special emphasis was placed on education of girl child created a "felt" need for introduction of education. Non formal education was taken on hand by PIDT for more than 12 years. Through this, over 100,000 children in our field areas went through primary level education with the aid of the Government of India fund support. A success experience is that the people are contributing towards continuance of the scheme even after the Government withdrawal. In education programs, emphasis was given on issues such as health, environment, gender awareness, etc by producing own textbooks. With a changed scenario PIDT hopes to be a part of the 'Education Guarantee Scheme'. However the most important gain of the program is that in the consumption basket of the poor, education has come up as a high priority item. Thus those who could not find money for education are now willing to pay for their education. Thus Anandalaya was started, based on the fees paid by the guardians of the pupils.

A co-educational school using the curriculum prescribed by Visva Bharati has been in operation for almost a decade. It seeks to bring up the child in harmony with Nature. Recognition of Visva Bharati has come in 2000, as a wonderful start to the millenium. A residential section will be started. The school has about three hundred children. The education is not free. A moderate charge is levied both for the bus service and for school fee. The children come from neighboring villages and are mostly from under the poverty line families.