Micro steps for a successful macro change

“I have the students for six hours a day. The community has them for 18 hours, plus prenatal and early childhood. I do not believe the schools create (the achievement gap), but our responsibility is not to add to it. We will not eliminate the gap until the community prioritises Education, but the schools can not wait for the community to do its part. — Bill Vaughan” 

While the world is gradually healing from the clutches of the COVID-19 Pandemic, every sector is still tackling its long-impacting consequences. One of the worst affected sectors is Education. Reports suggest that Over 15 Lakh schools across India stopped functioning due to the Pandemic, and Only 24 per cent of households have access to the internet, according to a 2019 government survey. In rural areas, the numbers are scarier, with only 4 per cent of households having internet access. In such a scenario, cooperation from every stakeholder is required to revive the Education Sector; Micro-steps need to be executed for a Successful Macro change.

Public-private partnerships can be one of the solutions to accomplish the Micro execution. In Nagpur, a PPP model is successfully being implemented to reduce the communication Gap and increase community involvement in the process of Education. All stakeholders–Government Organisation, Private Company, Political Leadership, Municipal Corporation, NGOs, and individuals are working together to initiate ground-level change. 

A year ago, a ground survey was conducted to understand the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Nagpur Municipal Corporation Schools. The significant findings were–Communication Gap, Lack of Holistic Stakeholders Involvement, and Digital Ecosystem. In a world where digital has become a necessity and is no more a luxury, schools need to gear up for Education 2.0. Just as technology, particularly the digital era, has disrupted and improved most segments of our economy, Education is also going through a technology revolution. The pandemic and associated lockdown have taught us the importance of connectivity and communication, even in Education. EdTech brings the ability to equalise and make Education accessible to each stratum of the society – in short, resulting in the democratisation of Education! 

The matter was raised with the local authorities and Non-Governmental Organisations. After lots of deliberation and discussion, a perfect team and product were discovered. Subsequently, a pitch was prepared for utilising CSR funds. After successfully securing the funds, the project was implemented in several NMC Schools.

After primary research and analysis of the case studies, Myelin was discovered. Myelin (a software) is a communication betterment and promotes community inclusivity. It bridges the gap between data, technology and behavioural psychology with a unique platform that connects all the stakeholders involved in a child’s development in a noise-free streamlined setup.

Some of the critical areas of this project are: 

• Measuring Learning effectiveness by tracking learning outcomes and their understanding by students. 
• Help teachers understand the queries and problems faced by students while learning.
• Focus learning interventions like helping students with state scholarships preparations. 
•  Academic remedial interventions for students below 8th grade. 

The project is being executed with the help of local NGOs and local authorities. Every stakeholder has a vital role to play in this entire process. 

The primary objectives of this project are: 

• Focus on “Learning process” based on “Learning Outcome.” 
• Ability to deal with different students with different learning speeds.
• Mentoring them while maintaining the quality of learning and teaching to ensure that there is inclusivity. 
• To facilitate on-demand teaching as well as on-demand learning.
• To ensure children have access to teachers beyond school hours and learning is made flexible and usable. 
• To empower all stakeholders and make the interaction more intuitive and context-driven. 

 If CSR funds are utilised appropriately, if Political Leadership takes the initiative to solve the ground issues, if NGOs work collaboratively, if citizens do their bit, and if Private companies or Service Providers drive the change, we can create miracles. We do not need fancy projects, do drive change (they are a part of the change); we need small and collective efforts from all the stakeholders to drive change.