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Austin O’Malley knew exactly was he was talking about when he uttered these famous lines – ‘A child is an uncut diamond’. Children are the most valuable resources that no one talks about. In them, lies mankind’s hopes for the future. It is, therefore, only right that we nurture and care for them in the best way we can. Many Indian businesses are involved in promoting child education in many different ways.
Children are naturally curious about the world; always asking questions. Why? When? How? Where? If we can, as a community, learn to mold and guide them, mankind’s future is in safe hands. Hence, the importance of child education in today’s world. Imparting the right knowledge to children will shape them into valuable members of our society, contributing at every turn.
As we celebrated Children’s Day on November 14, our thoughts turn towards child development and in particular, child education in India. It is not just government organizations that are involved in the education system today. With the advent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, societal and governance (ESG), the corporate world is getting stuck in too. One of the ways corporates are giving back to the community is through education, more specifically child education. Many Indian businesses are involved in promoting child education in many different ways. One that stands out, in particular, is Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) CSR education programs.
As part of its CSR efforts, L&T partnered with government schools in a bid to improve education in India. Much of the company’s focus centered around improving infrastructure, introducing smart classes, providing STEM education and conducting training programs for teachers. L&T’s efforts at promoting smart classes bore fruition during the pandemic. The closure of schools left many children unable to attend classes, without any access to education. L&T came through with its Project Vidya initiative and brought education to the kids’ doorsteps.
L&T Public Charitable Trust (LTPTC) collaborated with SAP’s CODE Unnati to bridge the existing digital divide. This allowed underprivileged children in rural India to continue their education without any break in between. The project organized summer camps and radio programs for the benefit of tribal children in the Palghar district, Maharashtra. Online classes were also conducted for class 10 students in Gujarat along with science-based education in Talasari, Ahmednagar, Talegaon in Maharashtra, Kharel, Navsari, Hazira, Surat, Vadodara in Gujarat, Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Faridabad in Haryana as well as Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
Children are very perceptive and take in information very easily. Even a gap of one week can have a significant effect on the child’s learning experience. Programs like Project Vidya help mitigate these effects by providing an alternative method of learning so that children will never be disadvantaged when compared to their peers.
Holistic education is the need of the hour. An education system that introduces the child to multiple possibilities is desperately needed. In the words of Margaret Mead, ‘Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.’
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