A Moving Story Shows Us How

This article is powered by P&G Shiksha.

In a classroom where most of the students eagerly seek the teacher’s attention and appreciation, Bindiya prefers to hide. Whether she’s hiding under the desk, mingling with her friends, or even finding shelter behind trees on the playground, she excels at a game of hide-and-seek, while her peers race to answer the teacher’s questions.

Eventually, the Guru becomes aware of this behavior and manages to locate Bindiya. Curiously, the teacher asks, “Bindiya, why are you hiding? Please tell me.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, she replied, “Sir, I am afraid of questions. And if you do not see me, how are you going to ask me questions?”

This scene is part of a P&G Shiksha photoshoot a new movie, illustrating the profound impact of the ‘invisible gap’ on children and their struggles to adjust within a classroom environment. The film also shares that “Like Bindiya, more than six crore kids feel left behind in class” — as per a NAS (National Achievement Survey) Report 2021 – and that “many of them eventually drop out”.

The campaign aims to stress the importance of united efforts in ensuring that every child in India is provided with an empowering education, enabling them to shape a brighter future for themselves and their communities.

What is the “hidden gap”?

“Often, children struggle to keep up with what is being taught in class. One concept, one topic, one chapter – that can give way to a larger issue, where a child develops a gap in the basics of education. When a child is left behind and their current level of learning does not align with The level of learning expected as per the prescribed syllabus leads to a learning gap,” says Girish Kalyanaraman, Vice President, Marketing Operations, P&G India.

As a result, India is facing a major ‘learning crisis’, in which access to education has improved dramatically, but learning outcomes have not kept pace. This crisis manifests itself in different ways among children, ranging from diminished confidence and making excuses for missing school, to decreased participation and fear of expressing themselves.

Some children even resort to distraction and hide when investigated, as evidenced by Bindia’s story. Unfortunately, these signs are often misinterpreted as abnormalities, lack of discipline, or a lack of interest, exacerbating symptoms due to a lack of understanding and support. These misconceptions mainly arise from lack of awareness and understanding regarding the invisible gap.

The invisible gap manifests itself in many ways – making excuses to avoid going to school; Show limited participation in classroom discussions and activities; feeling afraid or having difficulty expressing their feelings; displaying below-average performance on tests and examinations; Displays distractibility and tends to hide when examined during class or at home.

How do we make this learning gap visible?

“Our goal this year is to make this invisible gap visible, by creating awareness and spurring meaningful action,” says Girish.

“We are trying to spark conversations about a relevant learning crisis affecting a large number of children in our country. This gap arises when children are lagging behind and the current level of learning is not in line with the expected level of learning. To bridge this gap, P&G is working with its partners through various programs — from leveraging advanced machine learning-based tools to community-wide learning camps.”

P&G Shiksha has adopted a three-pronged strategy to highlight this gap:

1) Take the lead on the critical need to raise awareness – Through this campaign, their aim is to bring attention to the gap by generating awareness nationwide about the issue, which is often misunderstood as child harm or lack of interest in learning.

2) Addressing the issue on the ground – They say they actively use innovative approaches to reduce learning gaps and enhance learning outcomes. This includes implementing remedial learning interventions on the ground, early childhood education initiatives, and digital, technology-based compensatory learning methods.

3) Encouraging teamwork – As P&G Shiksha leads these interventions on the ground, it encourages everyone to join forces and take collective action. Each individual can contribute to this transformation by participating in an assessment test to identify the learning gaps of the children around them, and thus take remedial measures to bridge these gaps. The test can be accessed on their website.

The Assessment Test was created in collaboration with Educational Initiatives, the implementing partner of the Digital Compensatory Learning programme. The purpose of this assessment is to enable people across the country to immediately identify the learning gaps that children are facing. It also suggests ways to bridge these gaps.

The assessment is open to children in grades 1-10 and consists of 15 mandatory multiple-choice questions. These questions cover Maths, Science and English, with five questions from each subject. The difficulty level of the assessment is determined based on the child’s score. The questions correspond to the curriculum for each grade and aim to assess whether the child’s current level of learning matches the expected level according to the given curriculum.

If the assessment shows that the child’s level of learning is below the expected level, the monitor provides recommendations and remedial actions that parents or guardians can take to bridge the gap.

motivation

P&G India’s flagship CSR programme, called ‘P&G Shiksha’, was introduced in 2005 with the aim of providing access to education to underprivileged children in the country. As the country progresses, P&G Shiksha has undergone a transformational journey, expanding into a holistic education initiative that encompasses all aspects of learning.

It focuses on enhancing children’s learning outcomes by strengthening educational infrastructure, addressing learning gaps, and empowering marginalized communities through education.

Girish says, “At P&G, our endeavor is to be a ‘force for growth’ and a ‘force for good’ in the communities we serve, touching and improving people’s lives. This is woven naturally into the way we work every day. Our initiatives are aligned With the motto set out in the new Education Policy – Educate, Encourage, Enlighten. Over the years, we have supported more than 3,000 schools affecting more than 35 children in need.”

These programs are aligned with the Government’s Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and National Education Policy, both of which stress the importance of equal educational opportunities for all.

Initiatives currently led by P&G Shiksha

1) Infrastructure – In association with the NGO Round Table India, P&G Shiksha is actively involved in improving the education infrastructure in a variety of ways. This includes building new classrooms, upgrading playgrounds, and improving health and hygiene facilities for children – such as providing clean drinking water and separate toilets for girls and boys in schools.

“By undertaking these initiatives, our aim is to create a learning environment that is more conducive to education. This, in turn, contributes to higher enrollment, lower dropout rates, improved teaching efficiency, student motivation, and ultimately, a higher educational standard overall,” says Girish.

2) Community Remedial Learning – By collaborating with the Pratham Education Foundation, P&G Shiksha is implementing innovative approaches to reduce learning gaps and enhance learning outcomes in communities. This is achieved through real-world remedial learning interventions using a community model and an ‘in-school’ model. Trained volunteers from the community, along with teachers in the school, provide support for these programmes.

“The aim of our compensatory learning initiatives is twofold – first, to accelerate students’ progress in school and second, to enhance their conceptual understanding of important topics. As a result of these interventions, at the end of the program last year, more than 70% of students were able to read at expected levels of learning, compared to by less than 25% at the start of the intervention.

3) Remedial Digital Learning – In partnership with educational initiatives, they are implementing ‘Mindspark’, a computer-based learning tool designed to address students’ learning gaps. This tool combines pedagogy, teacher education, and a comprehensive learning management system to assess each student’s level of learning and create a personalized learning path that suits their specific needs.

4) Early Childhood Education Program – In association with the Pratham Education Foundation, P&G Shiksha’s efforts are geared towards nurturing children’s motor, cognitive, socio-emotional, language and creativity skills.

5) Girl Child Education in Rajasthan – Through their partnership with Save The Children, they are working to dismantle gender-based barriers that hinder girls’ access to education in the country.

“As part of this initiative, we are extending our support to 49 government-run residential schools in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) and 36 regular schools in seven districts of Rajasthan. Our focus is on providing quality education to girls through comprehensive infrastructure and educational interventions. In addition We actively engage parents to emphasize the importance of continuing education and reduce school dropout rates, says Girish.

6) STEM Scholarships – They are actively involved in promoting opportunities for girls to pursue careers in STEM fields through the “P&G Shiksha Betiyan Scholarship Program” in collaboration with the Center for Civil Society (CCS).

Currently, women make up only 14% of the STEM workforce in India, and we are committed to narrowing this gender gap. Our goal is to empower girls who aspire to pursue STEM education by providing vital financial assistance and mentorship support. Our ultimate goal is to facilitate the entry of skilled women professionals into the manufacturing and production industries. Through this program, we have successfully collaborated with more than 100 institutions, positively impacting more than 300 beneficiaries.

P&G Shiksha started as a program to build schools across the country in line with the government’s mission. Today it has evolved into a comprehensive program that addresses some of the critical barriers to achieving a quality education,” Girish notes.

(Edited by Pranita Bhatt; All photos courtesy of P&G Shiksha)