Tata Power strives to improve the quality of education of community underprivileged children in Jojobera

Jojobera: Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, has always been a pioneer in undertaking initiatives that enrich the lives of its communities. In line with this philosophy, Tata Power Community Development Trust (TPCDT) in Jojobera has partnered with ALIG Educational and Welfare Society to improve the quality of education of the underprivileged children living in and around the Jojobera power plant site. Through this initiative, several programmes have been implemented in six local government schools to improve the children’s ability to learn and understand English.

The objective of the initiative was to promote quality education and help enrich children to better their spoken English. The programme has been designed through tutorial support in the English language, and the initiative has benefited more than 1,700 students, ranging from standards I to VIII.

In a survey conducted recently, prior to implementing the programme, TPCDT found that only 15 percent students knew alphabets in the primary section (from classes I to IV), 3 percent of them could recognise words, and merely 1 percent students could read or write correctly. The figures improved significantly by the month post implementing the programme, which resulted in 87 percent students from the same group recognising alphabets, 26 percent students recognising words correctly, and 8 percent reading and writing correctly. The figures have further improved recently, with 99 percent children from classes V to VIII recognising alphabets (baseline was 89 percent), 94 percent recognising words (baseline was 86 percent), and 87 percent framing sentences correctly (baseline was 82 percent). Digital literacy has also been rolled out by introducing tablets in these six schools. On average, 937 children use these tablets every month to read online content.

Speaking on the initiative, VV Namjoshi, chief, Jojobera station, said, “We at Tata Power have always emphasised on holistic development of our communities, with special emphasis on improving the quality of education for the children. The programme for improving spoken and written English, as well to promote digital literacy, is another stepping stone towards making the students future-ready. During the need assessment exercise, need for quality English education was articulated by the community. Accordingly, we designed the programme as well as the content to deliver significant results.”

To promote extra-curricular activities, Eco Clubs have also been established in every school that help the children in pursuing diverse interests, including drawing, painting, crafts and model making.