Byju’s has evolved into the most valued edtech start-up in the world, and even as it aims for aggressive expansion in overseas markets, it does not plan to leave its roots to the side. The edtech decacorn has teamed up with NITI Aayog in order to provide free access to its “premium learning resources” for children of classes 6-12 across 112 “Aspirational districts” of the country.
This initiative will see the establishment of a dedicated working group whose aim will be to create a support system of knowledge, innovation, and strategy, as well as actively monitoring and evaluating the implementation of programmes in order to enable efficacy and ensuring a better scope of delivery.
In a letter, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant announced the partnership in order to “these supplemental learning resources available to children in the government schools in the Aspirational Districts on a pro-bono basis.” Aspirational districts refer to those districts across the country that have fallen behind in terms of crucial areas such as health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, basic infrastructure, and financial inclusion and skill development.
“Technology has played a key role in helping ensure continuity and a lot of classrooms have moved to an ‘online’ format. In many ways, this has catalysed the development of innovations in the education space, and it is imperative for us to reimagine education and keep pace with these innovations,” Kant said, adding that effective use of technology in education could “aid transformation and with Byju’s joining in, the students in these aspirational districts will get an opportunity to access quality education.”
The initiative will see Byju’s Career-Plus Programme identify and provide high-quality coaching to 3,000 meritorious students of Classes 11 and 12 who aspire to appear for NEET and JEE, as well as the set up of a voluntary programme to allow children who are of school-going age (that is, would be attending classes 6-12) to opt to receive scholastic content from Byju’s Learning App for three years, under its social impact initiative, Education for All. It will also give students access to technology such as tablets and smartphones.
Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran revealed that the Education for All programme has enabled the decacorn to empower and impact millions of children across India, and its efforts would be strengthened further by the partnership with NITI Aayog.
“Education holds the key to driving society forward, and we believe that every child, irrespective of their socio-economic background, deserve to have access to quality education. We are confident that with this partnership, kids from underserved communities and locations will be empowered with tech-enabled learning and bring in positive systemic changes in the education ecosystem,” Raveendran added.
