SHIKSHA works with the vision to eradicate illiteracy from India by creating a lifelong learners and enhancing the learning process utilizing a technology-enabled learning program. With this objective, SHIKSHA, after an in-depth research and survey of Government Primary Schools launched its intervention in Kasmanda block of Sitapur district. The 1st Phase of equipment installation in schools was done on November 8, 2016 and the event was inaugurated by Mr. Sundararajan Mahalingam, Chief Strategy Officer, Shiv Nadar Foundation, with an aim to extend it to 145 government schools and selected Private schools.
After the phase 1 of equipment installation in schools, the first round of intensive training was imparted to 35 teachers on pedagogical approaches and use of ICT methodology for teaching and learning in classrooms. The training was inaugurated by Mr. Amrit Tripathi, District Magistrate, Sitapur, on November 22, 2016. Mr. Rajendra Singh, Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Mr. Pramod Kumar Patel, Block Education Officer, and Ms. Pravina Shukla, Block Development Officer were also present during the event.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Amrit Tripathi, District Magistrate, Sitapur addressed the need for action to eradicate illiteracy from Kasmanda and demonstrate it as a model block for other parts of the country. He also remarked, this is a great opportunity for teachers to showcase their capability and make best use of technological resources to generate a new dimension in the field of teaching learning process. Further, he focused on the concept of monitoring and evaluation and suggested SHIKSHA team to track weekly progress report of all the schools to ensure effective implementation of the programme. Also, he was extremely positive of the lesson plan developed by SHIKSHA and suggested Basic Shiksha Adhikari to consider implementing the plan in entire Sitapur in next phase.
The intervention is expected to impact over 11,000 students of Grade 1 and 2 in government and private schools of Kasmanda by enabling access to innovative high engagement teaching mechanism. The overarching goal is to ensure that children in the region are gradually weaned away from illiteracy and mainstreamed into quality education through ICT intervention. This work contributes to the Government of India’s Right to Education by creating a model that can be replicated by the government machinery at mass scale. The project will work closely with the School Education Department and with the support of District Administration at all stages, starting with selection and approvals to work in the schools. The project will also seek to link the families of the children to sensitize them and enhance awareness of the ICT based education.
During the three days training, teachers took an active role bringing their own knowledge, experiences and expertise to share and learn. They were encouraged to discuss on ICT tools and curriculum developed by SHIKSHA. In the practical session, teachers gained knowledge about modern and pragmatic methods and techniques of teaching. All the teachers unanimously agreed that this approach will enhance classroom environment and boost learning effectiveness and retention among children. Thus, all present gained a great deal of insight into the process, outcome and what needs to be done to be more efficient in their roles.

To make parents aware of the benefits of sending their wards to school, community mobilization events are often held in villages. We had one such important “Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Rally” held in MahepaJagir village in Sikandrabad block of Bulandshahar district on 26th April 2016.
Three schools from the village took part in the event which was organized to ensure parents understand the value of education and start sending children to schools. More than 300 students, entire staff of the schools, parents and NPRC took part in the rally. SHIKSHA Initiative was represented by one of its teachers in Primary School MahepaJagir, Mr. Ramlakhan Shukla.
Students were quite enthusiastic about the entire event and the entire group toured the village with placards in hands to spread awareness regarding the benefits of education for everyone.

An important community mobilization event “School Chalo Abhiyan” rally was held in Primary School Baros in Sadabad block of Hathras district.
The Block Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) and Assistant Block Shiksha Adhikari (ABSA) of Sadabad participated in the event. Zeeshan Ali, the field supervisor and Anurag Bhardwaj, the admin executive from Shiksha Initiative in Hathras district were invited to participate in the event considering the positive changes they have brought in the school through their efforts in improving education for classes 1 & 2 in the school using ICT, digital content and innovative pedagogy.
The BSA and ABSA acknowledged the improvements that SHIKSHA Initiative has been bringing in education in the block through their intervention in both private and government schools and they urged the parents to utilize this opportunity by regularly sending their wards to school.

SHIKSHA Initiative welcomed Shri Vinod Pandey on the last day of the financial year. He is the Ex-MD of SBI Foundation and symbolized an important step for SHIKSHA Initiative as well as Shiv Nadar Foundation, who reach out to like-minded foundations and organizations to share knowledge as well as on ground experience.
Shri Vinod’s visit was planned and coordinated by the corporate outreach team of the Shiv Nadar Foundation and the visit was arranged by the SHIKSHA operations and delivery team. He visited the Government Primary School in Chitehra village of Dadri Block in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.
Shri Vinod interacted with the SHIKSHA Initiative teacher in the ICT classroom, Mr Deepak Daka and the students of classes 1 & 2. He also got a demonstration of a running class where ICT is used for content delivery to the students, making the Learning interactive, more fun and highly effective for students. He got the feedback from the students and the teachers as well as an overview of the program from the SHIKSHA Initiative team and was very impressed with the project delivery. He encouraged the team and wished them all the best for their wonderful work.

The Bloomberg Media team visited one of the schools running SHIKSHA Initiative classroom in Nayagaon village of Sikandrabad block in Bulandshahar district on 7th October 2015 for a story they were doing on Shiv Nadar Foundation and its founder and chairman Mr. Shiv Nadar.
The team was taken through a running classroom where the teacher, Mr Sandeep Sharma, was using the digital classroom for teaching the students. The team got a detailed explanation of the project as well as the entire process of content making, infrastructure set up, teacher training and classroom delivery. The team got an opportunity to interact with the students, the other teachers from the school and also academic experts from SHIKSHA Initiative.

7th November 2014 was an eventful day for Shiksha initiative. We not only had a delegate from the Australian High Commission visiting us, but also had delegates from Massachussets Institute of Technology Media Labs, USA and the COO of Twitter Incvisiting us and getting a demonstration of the on ground delivery of Shiksha Initiative in government schools of rural Uttar Pradesh.
The visits were coordinated by the corporate outreach team and the PR team of Shiv Nadar Foundation respectively. Academic experts from Shiksha took the team to the schools and gave them a brief overview of the project as well as the modus operandi we are using to eradicate illiteracy from India one district at a time.
The delegates visited two government primary schools in the same village, MahepaJagir of Sikandrabad block in Bulandshahar district, where the teachers from Shiksha Initiative team are MrRamlakhan Shukla and MrSamod Kumar. They got a demonstration of the classes in progress in both the schools, where animated content being used to teach students in an effective and engaging manner in a rural setting within a not-so-rich-infrastructure wise school amazed them.
Since MIT Media Lab has team members trying to set up a social initiative in India, they were also keen to not only observe but also learn about the on ground delivery, the problems, challenges as well as the advantages. They interacted with the students, discussed with the teachers and also got an understanding of the pedagogy used, the scientific principles as well as rationale behind the content creation and the Bloomberg taxonomy used in the assessment process.
Mr James Kondo of Twitter was quite enthused on watching how technology was not only helping children but also getting them to understand the benefits of technology, which would help them get connected to the world at large in coming years. While the teachers also took out time to show them some activities performed in classroom to enhance learning and keep children interested, they also took feedbacks as well as interesting ideas from the esteemed visitors regarding the improvements in the delivery.
Mr Deb Roy had this feedback for RoshniNadar, the trustee of Shiv Nadar Foundation, “The convergence of our ideas around rural language learning for younger children mediated by networked smart phones really is amazing. After visiting a Shiksha school and meeting with Robin and his team, the compatibility of our plans feels natural. I am so excited about how all this could come together as a transformative force for children’s learning in India and beyond.”