With schools in underserved communities often lacking access to computer labs, trained teachers, and digital learning resources, this collaboration is bridging the digital divide. Under the program, 30,777 students in 100 schools have already begun their digital literacy journey, surpassing the initial target of 25,000 students. The project was completed successfully with around 10% of the total students from the aspirational district of Ferozepur alone. Some of schools participating in this initiative include Govt Adarsh Secondary School, Kot Dhandal, Gurdaspur; GSSS, Mallan Wala, Ferozepur; Govt Senior Secondary School, Haibowal Khurd, Ludhiana; and Govt Senior Secondary Smart School, Model Town, Patiala.

Speaking on the partnership, Mr. Devvesh Srivastav, Country President, Global HR Director–Tech OP & Regional HR Head– APAC said, “At Centrient, we believe in making a meaningful impact beyond healthcare by supporting initiatives that empower communities. Through this partnership with Computer Shiksha, we aim to enhance digital literacy and provide students with the foundational skills needed for the modern world. Education is a key driver of progress, and we are proud to be a part of this transformative journey.”

Computer Shiksha, an 80G and 12A-certified non-profit organization, has been dedicated to providing free foundational computer literacy to schools that lack the infrastructure and resources for digital education. The initiative ensures that students gain hands-on experience with computers and practical knowledge to help them in academics and beyond.

Dr. Rakesh Suri, Founder President of Computer Shiksha expressed his gratitude for the collaboration, stating, “This partnership with Centrient Pharmaceuticals is a game-changer for thousands of students who previously had no access to digital education. By bringing structured and engaging computer literacy programs to these schools, we are preparing young minds for a future where digital competency is essential. We are thankful to Centrient for their support in making this vision a reality.”

The impact of this initiative extends beyond the classroom, as students develop essential computer skills that enhance their learning capabilities and future employability. By addressing the lack of digital education resources in these schools, the partnership between Centrient Pharmaceuticals and Computer Shiksha is paving the way for a more inclusive and digitally empowered society.

As the initiative progresses, the goal remains to expand reach, ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to acquire vital digital skills. With an ambitious target of transforming 100 schools, the program is set to make a lasting difference in Punjab’s educational landscape.

Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.

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In several states like Uttar Pradesh (UP), Uttarakhand (UK), Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, Computer Shiksha has successfully started its program in every aspirational district, ensuring at least one school in each district benefits from the program. Currently operational in 55 aspirational districts, the goal is to reach all 112 districts within the next two years.

The NGO is inviting corporates who are looking to take their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) impact to these aspirational districts. The partnership will empower more underserved communities by providing essential computer literacy skills.

The non-profit organization, working towards enabling computer literacy among under-served communities provides free computer literacy for the under-served at schools where students are already regularly attending classes. They deliver a complete package including video course-ware, training, monitoring, evaluation, free lifetime maintenance support, and certification. All the services are provided free of charge as a way to give back to society.

MagicBox is a Smart LED TV-like device with embedded self-learning computer video courseware. This innovative, cost-effective device is designed to remove the need for a trained computer teacher and therefore spread computer literacy at scale. MagicBox does not require an internet connection, making it a valuable tool for bringing computer literacy to the remotest areas of India. Students can learn by watching the videos, appear in exams, and receive certificates from Computer Shiksha.

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“With a dedicated team of 36 employees and a modest budget, this achievement underscores our commitment to enhancing computer literacy among school students,” said Mr. Pradeep Marwaha, Vice President at Computer Shiksha.

Regrettably, due to funding constraints, Computer Shiksha was unable to accommodate 450 schools, thereby missing out on reaching an additional 100,000 students this year alone.

“Our focus remains on expanding our footprint and doubling our beneficiaries,” added Mr. Marwaha. “With continued support from corporate partners through CSR funds and donations of End-of-Life computers, we aim to achieve this ambitious goal.”

Computer Shiksha currently operates in 1807 schools across 28 states and 3 Union Territories, reaching 274 districts, including 44 aspirational districts.

Computer Shiksha’s presence in East & Northeastern States

In West Bengal, Computer Shiksha programs have been implemented in 16 schools across 5 districts, comprising 12 under Model 2 and 4 under Model 3. In the Northeastern states and Sikkim, CS has established programs in 110 schools, with 100 already operational and another 10 schools set to begin soon. These 120 schools are spread across 33 districts.

As our Vice President, Mr. Pradeep Marwaha, emphatically rallies our corporate supporters with the assurance, “Together, we can expedite the journey to make every school child computer literate well ahead of our projected timeline.”

This bold vision drives our dedication to bridging the digital divide and empowering countless young minds across the nation with essential computer literacy skills.

Computer Shiksha contact for CSR collaboration/donations

Name – Mr. Mohan S Raghavan

Contact Number: +91 9821213920

 mohan.raghavan@computershiksha.org.

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Not just in India, computer literacy is a necessity across the globe. In our country, it is necessary to spread digital literacy among the underprivileged population in rural areas and urban slums for jobs, examination applications, performing government procedures like Aadhar Pan linking online, booking railway and other tickets online, making bank transactions online and many other necessary activities which are mostly done digitally these days.

Working since 11 years

Founded in 2012, Computer Shiksha is an 80G, 12A, CSR1 certified and FCRA approved non-profit organization, working towards enabling computer literacy among the under-served communities over the last 11 years. Computer Shiksha is currently providing free computer literacy to over 1,31,000 children of under-served communities through their centres at more than 760 schools in 17 states across the country. Students are taught Paint, text processing, spreadsheets, presentations, internet usage, and e-mail among other things.

Computer Shiksha has been transforming lives of children from the underprivileged families by making them computer literate. Students of schools enabled across 17 states – Assam, U.P., M.P., Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nādu, Telangana, West Bengal, J&K, and Karnataka avail free digital literacy through Computer Shiksha.

Bridging the gap in digital education

Talking about how Computer Shiksha is working to bridge the existing gaps in digital education in India, Mr Pradeep Marwaha, Vice President, Computer Shiksha shared, “Computer Shiksha helps provide free computer literacy for the under-served at schools, where students are already regularly attending classes. We don’t just provide computers but deliver a complete package including video course-ware, training, monitoring, evaluation, free lifetime maintenance support and certification. And, all of our services come free as a pay back to society. Our vision is to bridge the divide between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ using technology. Our aim is to provide digital literacy to 300,000 students across India by March, 2025.”

In line with SDG 4

Sustainable Development Goal 4 or SDG 4 is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This is among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in September 2015.

In line with the same, Mr Marwaha informed, “Our activities are designed for inclusivity. We ensure our services provide quality computer education to all (#SDG4). Our focus is to bridging the digital gap and overcome urban rural gap, gender gap and underprivileged background gap. Schools approach us for Computer Shiksha courses and we enable that with the help of contributions from corporate and donors. We have developed self-learning videos in 7 languages including a foreign language (French). All our self-learning videos are free for download from YouTube.”

CSR support

Several companies are supporting Computer Shiksha by donating their end-of-life computers or by providing new computers for your learners. These include ICICI Bank, Genpact, Adobe, BCG, Lenovo, Newgen software, Volkswagen (VWIT) and VI (Vodafone-Idea) among others.

Computer literacy also benefits a child’s family

How does making a child digitally literate benefit his/her family? Responding to our question, the spokesperson expressed, “Students from under-served communities who may have otherwise never even got to see a computer are becoming familiar with computers, gaining confidence to work on computers, the initial phases of this project make them familiar with Paint and Office tools like word processing. Besides the children, Computer Shiksha impacts the families and community from where these children come.”

Elaborating on the same, he explained, “Computer literacy as an employability tool is no more valid. There are no jobs of data entry anywhere in the world, and whatever may be still available will soon vanish due to AI. On the contrary, computer literacy is just as essential as English, Hindi and Maths, because without this knowledge one just won’t be able to fit in the society, nor get any job in future, because computer education like Mathematics needs to be inherently known to perform any job. In addition, all Government benefit schemes are available mostly online, which people from under-served communities are just unable to access due to not knowing computers. So, computer literacy shifts from an employability tool to an essential skill just to survive in the society.”

How to support digital literacy for the underprivileged

Urging Indian citizens to come forward and contribute to the cause of spreading digital literacy among the underprivileged, the VP shared, “Help us reach 29 crore students in India (age 5- 16 years) who will otherwise pass out from schools without ever knowing how to operate a computer. Support Computer Shiksha with CSR funds for adding as many schools as possible, enabling the refurbishment of 2000 nos + computers received from corporates as donation, keep donating end-of-life computers and sponsor the supply of CS Magic Boxes.”

Ahana Bhattacharya can be reached at ahana@thecsrjournal.in

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