VEDANTA VIDYARTHI VIKAS YOJANA : IGNITING THE LAMP OF EDUCATION

A standard activity done by any Corporate House that strives for CSR presence in the field of education is donating computers, constructing class rooms or building a school at the most. However, in remote rural locations, creating a brick and mortar model is not sufficient. Experience shows that there are many students who are unable to cope up with the curriculum within the given timeframe and therefore drop out of the formal education system. It is very well acknowledged that this is an endemic problem in tribal, rural and backward areas all across the world.
The CSR arm of Vedanta Aluminium Ltd. (VAL), Jharsuguda in the state of Orissa, decided to tackle the problem by launching a unique programme for such students. The three important pillars in this strategic intervention were :

• Identifying a pool of students in surrounding villages and providing them with coaching facilities in their respective villages.
• Upgrading the skills of teachers so that they could understand the needs of these “special” children. Educationists were invited from Jharsuguda and Bhubaneshwar and the teachers were given an orientation on course curriculum, analysis of children’s learning gaps and appropriate teaching methodology to be used in such cases.
• Involving the parents of students and counselling them about the entire process. This was basically done to sensitize them about the special needs of their children and explain them as to why they needed more attention and social support.

The initial outcome was modest. A couple of years ago there were around twenty odd students drawn from four to five villages. But very soon the trickle turned into a torrent and in the year 2010-11 around 830 students drawn from ten villages were part of this great movement. Out of the 263 students who appeared for the 10^thBoard examinations, 140 passed. As many as 17 students passed with a first division. An added delight to this was, one student, Gyanendra Pani, securing 93.38% marks and becoming the topper in the entire Jharsuguda district.
The figures showing evolution of the project can be seen in the table below :

	YEAR
	2008	2009	2010	2011
No. of villages	5	5	5	10
Total students appeared in HSC	32	22	23	263
Total students passed	3	4	18	140
Students with first division	0	0	1	17
Students with second division	0	0	10	25
Students with third division	3	4	7	88
Passing percentage	9%	18%	78%	53%

This may not be a headline grabbing big ticket CSR intervention. However, it highlights the basic fact that with commitment and sensitivity one can touch the lives of students in a very meaningful way. It may be a small step for a Corporate House but it constitutes a giant leap for the students who benefit from it.