Bus schools of Delhi

Each bus school is fully equipped with a variety of teaching and learning material, including computers, TV, books, DVDs and soft toys, and travels into the slum neighbourhoods to reach children who would otherwise not have access to education Photograph: Nick Cunard/DfiD

In addition to lessons, the pupils are also given a snack, such as a piece of fruit – a big incentive to attend for many living in poor households Photograph: Nick Cunard/DfiD

The obstacles to educating Delhi's slum children are towering: many children work to support their families; some parents struggle to enrol them because they are illiterate themselves. But with funding from DfiD, the Salaam Baalak Trust, as part of the Indian government’s Education for All (SSA) programme, has slashed the number of children out of school from 25 million to five million Photograph: Nick Cunard/DfiD

Before attending the bus school, Shaheen, 10, helped her mother, a street vendor, fetch sacks of coal needed to roast corn, and made cones from old newspapers to wrap them. 'I used to stand outside my house watching other children go to school. I couldn’t count and I could write only a few words of Hindi,' she says. 'Now I do multiplication and division and know some English too.' Shaheen transferred to regular school a few weeks ago and wants to be a doctor Photograph: PR

It takes time to persuade parents, like Shaheen's mother Mukiman, of the value of education: they often need their children to look after younger siblings, perform chores or help them at work. But during her year at the bus school, Shaheen taught her family the importance of washing hands before cooking or eating, and covering food at all times to keep out flies. Her mother can now write her name Photograph: PR

Pramod, 8, used to dread running into uniformed children every morning when he carried plastic bags of chopped green chillies and onions to his father’s tea stall. 'I felt ashamed at not being in a uniform, carrying vegetables instead of books,' says Pramod. Now he is one of the 400 students the bus schools have helped educate Photograph: PR

Half of the bus schools' pupils have progressed to mainstream education, and another 25 buses are planned. 'They feel a great pride in the bus because it comes especially for them. Without the bus, they stand no chance of getting back to school,' says community mobiliser Durgesh Gupta. 'It transforms their lives and gives them hope.' DfiD has a film of the school buses on its website. Photograph: PR