National award-winning actor Shefali Shah joins the P&G Shiksha movement to shine a spotlight on the #InvisibleGap in a child’s education

  P&G Shiksha, the flagship CSR program of P&G India, today launched a first-of-its-kind nationwide movement to throw spotlight on a hidden issue called ‘Invisible Gap’, through a power packed panel deliberation in Mumbai. Studies indicate that students in schools often fall behind in keeping pace with their classes. One concept, one subject, one class, can give way to a larger issue where the child develops a gap in the fundamental conceptual understanding. When the child falls behind and the current learning level is not in line with the expected learning level as per the defined curriculum, an invisible learning gap is formed.

The discussion, centered around the theme of ‘Bridging Invisible Gaps’ and moderated by Priyanka Khanna, Author and Former Journalist, brought together Shefali Shah, National Award-Winning Actress, Girish Kalyanaraman, Vice President – Brand Operations, P&G India; Ritesh Agarwal, Assistant Vice President, Educational Initiatives; and Sagar Singh, Faculty Mathematics, Gov. High School Banah Ki Ser, Sirmour (HP). The panelists shared thought provoking insights to explain #invisibleGap, and how it significantly impacts children who perpetually keep trying to cope, and without the right support system drop out of school or face challenges in subsequent phases of life. They also discussed the role that key stakeholders, including teachers, corporates, and society could play in bridging these gaps and ensuring that every child in India learns with conceptual understanding. During the discussion, P&G Shiksha unveiled its new first-of-its kind campaign film which highlights the problem of ‘Invisible Gap’ through the thought-provoking story of Bindiya, a young girl who is impacted by the invisible gap and struggles to cope in the classroom.

P&G Shiksha, through the insightful discussion and the new film, aims to make this #InvisibleGap visible, by creating awareness and urging meaningful action to bridge the gap, which is impacting over 6* crore children in the country as indicated by the National Achievement Survey, 2021. While the program continues to drive on-ground interventions to bridge learning gaps in children, through the heart-warming story of Bindiya, it is urging the audience to take collective action and do their bit by taking the baseline test to identify learning gaps in children around them and take remedial measures to bridge it.

Speaking on the occasion, actor Shefali Shah remarked, “I believe that education is the key to unlocking a child’s full potential. I knew of how challenging education be for children, from my own personal experience and that with my kids, but this partnership with P&G Shiksha has made me cognizant of #InvisibleGaps in learning that impact a vast number of children, when they fall behind expected learning levels. It’s heartening to see P&G Shiksha is working towards not just making this invisible gap visible, but also bridging it with relevant on-ground interventions. Actions start with awareness, and I am glad that I can be a part of this journey with P&G Shiksha. When all of us play our part, we can help create an environment where every child is encouraged to achieve their full potential through holistic education.”

Speaking about the new film, Girish Kalyanaraman, Vice President – Marketing Operations, P&G India said, “P&G Shiksha has continued to work tirelessly to provide access to education to millions of underprivileged children since its inception 18 years ago. We are taking this journey forward through the first-of-its-kind campaign and story of Bindiya, with the objective of driving nationwide awareness and urging meaningful action around invisible gaps which are impacting crores of children in our country. Our aim is to highlight that what is often misunderstood as the child being naughty or disinterested in learning, may instead be a sign of the invisible gap that arises when children fall behind and their current learning level is not in line with the expected learning level.

To bridge this gap, P&G has been working with its partners through various programs – from leveraging advanced Machine-learning based tools to community-level learning camps. While we are working to tackle the issue on ground, we hope that this movement inspires everyone to identify this gap in children around them and take necessary corrective measures to bridge it.”

Mr. Ritesh Agarwal, Assistant Vice President, Educational Initiatives added, “We believe that every child has the right to quality education, and through our association with P&G Shiksha we have been committed to making this aspiration a reality in communities that are strained on resources. This initiative is a powerful reminder of the impact that education can have on a child’s life, and we hope that it will inspire more people to support our cause. With the Mindspark tool developed by EI, we can identify the children lagging in schools and creating a personalized learning path that enable them to learn at a pace, on topics and at times that are convenient for them. We have seen this approach to be very effective in improving the learning levels amongst children and bridging this #InvisibleGap.”

P&G India’s flagship CSR program, P&G Shiksha, has been working to provide access to education to underprivileged children since 2005.

As part of this, to improve learning outcomes in children, P&G Shiksha leverages AI-backed technology with ‘Mindspark’, a computer-based adaptive learning tool, in partnership with Educational Initiatives. The program also implements on-ground remedial learning interventions in partnership with Pratham Education Foundation, using both community-based and in-school models supported by trained volunteers and teachers. Additionally, P&G Shiksha focuses on early childhood education through Pratham Education Foundation, developing motor, cognitive, social-emotional, language, and creative skills in children for a strong foundation as they begin school.

The new campaign film is a compelling story of Bindiya, who is impacted by the invisible gap and struggles to cope in the classroom. Through various instances in school, the teacher notices that Bindya is either missing, or she slides out of sight, almost deliberately trying to mischievously hide. While evaluating the children’s answer sheets, the teacher spots Bindiya’s sheet where all the questions remain unanswered. Thus continues a game of hide and seek between the teacher and Bindiya, until he finally spots her hiding beneath a desk and confronts her calmly on why she is hiding. Bindiya reveals that she is afraid of questions, and if she is not visible in the class, the teacher will not be able to ask her any questions.