Transforming School into Uttam School - ISRNisrn.in/IFFCO-TOKIO Report_Uttam School Final.pdf ·...

A CSR Initiative by

IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Ltd.

Implemented by

Indian Social Responsibilty Network

K-13, First Floor, South Extension Part II, New Delhi – 110049

Transforming School into Uttam School PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT 2017

Transforming School into Uttam School A CSR Initiative of IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Ltd. 2

Contents

1. Background 3

2. Project Goal 4

3. Project Objectives 4

4. Project Activities 5

4.1. Activity 1: Selection of School 5

4.1.1. Data Collection from Schools 5

4.1.2. Developing Observations and Recommendations based on information gathered from schools 6

4.1.3. Formation of School Selection Committee and its meeting 6

4.1.4. Final Selection of School for the Uttam School Project by IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Ltd. 8

4.2. Activity 2: Bring the Schools on board by creating awareness and familiarizing the concept of Uttam

School 9

4.3. Activity 3: Need Assessment study of the selected School 11

4.4. Activity 4: Initiating the Implementation process: Inviting Quotations for Products to be Installed 13

4.4.1. Selection of Vendors 14

4.4.2. Visit of Vendors to the Project Site 14

4.5. Activity 5: Installation of Products 14

4.5.1. Installation of products at SVMHSSGB of Pilkhuwa of Uttar Pradesh 14

4.5.2. Installation of Products at Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir 18

4.6. Activity 6: Training of teachers and other staffs on how to use and maintain the new installed

infrastructure effectively 20

4.7. Activity 7: Handing over Facilities Installed to the School 20

4.8. Activity 8: Project reporting and monitoring 20

4.9. Activity 9: Inauguration of the project 21

5. Conclusion and the way forward 24

6. Annexure 26-54


1. Background

In the last decade, India has been among the fastest-growing economies in the world.

However, low-quality education is hindering India's growth as its emerging workforce is unable

to cope with the demands of a 21st-century economy. Traditionally, efforts around education

have focused largely on enrolment and not on children's learning. As a result, 97 per cent

enrolment in Class 1, only 35 per cent reach Class 12 and less than 20 per cent enroll into

higher education. Even for those who do complete graduation, nearly half of them are

unemployable in any sector. According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)

published in January 2015, the quality of learning of school children in rural areas is extremely

poor. For example, the percentage of children in Standard II, who still cannot recognize

numbers up to 9 has increased over time, from 11.3% in 2009 to 19.5% in 2014.

One of the priority areas for the present government is skill development to cater to workforce

requirements in different sectors of the economy. The long term success of large government

schemes with a target of skilling 500 million youth by 2022 could only be realized, if the present

school and higher education system is transformed to prepare students for life and the

workplace.

For India to remain an economic power in the future, it will be extremely important to address

the quality issues in education up to secondary level, so that a quality workforce is able to

sustain the growth, and contribute to nation building. Moreover, 68 per cent of India is rural

and is home to nearly 833 million, and 51.73 per cent of them are below the age of 25.

There is an urgent need to recognize that the quality of education at each stage i.e. early

childhood education, primary education, secondary education and higher education is a pre-

requisite for the country to achieve global excellence. In this context, integration of technology

in the pedagogy for effective classroom delivery has the potential to create new models of

learning and achieve impact at scale. It is also important to take care of the aspects outside the

realm of education system, for example, sanitation, safe drinking water, In the specific context

of the status of schools, particularly, in the rural areas technology alone external environment,

among others, that ensures good health of the students.

IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Ltd’s CSR mandate is focused on bringing enhanced value in

the society and the community in which it operates, in terms of enhancing quality of life and

economic well-being of the local population. In this specific context, IFFCO-TOKIO General

Insurance Ltd. wants to contribute to the society by way of offering towards better educational

facilities to schools by means of its CSR mandate.

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/market-capitalisation-ficci-narendra-modi-national-manufacturing-policy/1/211526.html


To meet the objective through its CSR initiatives, IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Ltd. entrusted

Indian Social Responsibility Network (ISRN) with the role of executing its CSR Project

“Transforming Schools into Uttam Schools: Improved Quality of School Education”

Thereby, Indian Social Responsibility Network (ISRN) conceptualized a project through which

the company could contribute to improve the quality of learning of school children in rural

India by adopting a certain number of government and charitable institutions’ run schools in

selected areas. The project was positioned to fulfill IFFCO-TOKIO’s multiple CSR objectives.

Uttam Schools as defined under the project envisaged to have the following facilities:

Smart class rooms and staff rooms

State of the Art Library – print, audio and video material

RO Water Purifiers installed for clean drinking water

Proper Sanitation and Hygiene - Separate toilets for boys, girls and school staff

Trained school teachers and other staffs

Apart from the building these hard infrastructures the concept of Uttam school also envisages for the

following interventions focusing on bringing behavioural change in the school by:

Developing it into a Green School,

Making it Clean School,

Making it a digital school with Wi-fi facilities,

Building a child mirror to exercise freedom of expression,

By forming a Grievance Committee for child abuse and creating sensitivity.

2. Project Goal

The overall goal of the project was to contribute in building the future workforce in India

through improvement in quality of education and learning in schools and provide better

environment for the children and teachers.

3. Project Objectives

Adhering to the existing curriculum in these schools, the project objectives were as follows:

Bring infrastructural changes in terms of introducing student friendly learning tools

Improve health and hygiene of school children and the staff and thereby improve attendance

among the students,


Impart training to teachers and improve the quality of learning of school children,

Creating awareness about environment and the ways to make it sustainable,

Preparing the students competent to cope with the digital world around and gather as much

valuable information as they can and put it to their use,

Creating awareness about child abuse and create ablility to take necessary actions as and

when required,

Making the students confident enough to express themselves which can contribute towards

building qualities like leadership, confidence and the like,

Making everyone in the school aware about cleanliness.

4. Project Activities

ISRN as the implementing agency of IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Ltd. CSR project undertook

the following process in implementation of the project:

4.1. Activity 1:

Selection of School for intervention of IFFCO-TOKIO’s CSR Initiative

Based on the information gathered from the schools, ISRN, in consultation with IFFCO-TOKIO,

selected schools for adoption under the Uttam School Project. Out of the 4 shortlisted schools, 3

schools in Haryana were not found suitable for the project on account of the low strength of

students. The details are attached in the annexure sheets herewith. Following steps were followed

for selecting the school for the above mentioned interventions:

4.1.1. Data Collection from Schools

ISRN developed an information sheet (please see the annexure) comprising of all the relevant data

that was required to facilitate the school selection process for the project.

These information sheets were filled by the research group of ISRN through field visits to the selected

schools in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The following schools were visited in Haryana:

Nand Lal Geeta Vidya Mandir, Sr. Sec. School, Tepla, Ambala

Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir, Pinangwan, Nuh

Hindu Vidya Niketan, Nuh


Hindu Senior Secondary School, Nuh

In Uttar Pradesh, information was collected using the same information sheet from the following

schools:

SVMHSSGB of Pilkhuwa Village, Hapur District, Uttar Pradesh

4.1.2. Developing Observations and Recommendations based on the information gathered

from schools.

Being the first project on education, it was advised to take a location nearer to Delhi which will not

only help in implementation of the said interventions but also will be beneficial from the point of view

of highlighting the project activities for exposure and publicity.

In Haryana, while Ambala district is far away from Delhi, the town of Nuh in Mewat district is in

proximity with Delhi. Moreover, given that the literacy rate in Mewat district of Haryana is less

(54.1%) as opposed to the literacy rate of 76.8% in the State of Haryana, it requires attention. Further,

literacy rate of 54.1% among males and 36.6% among female in Nuh is far too low as compared to

literacy rate of (84.9%) among male and (67.6%) among female respectively. Taking these factors

into account, there is an urgent need to improve the education scenario in the Mewat district.

It is be be noted that the school visited in Nuh in Mewat district is focused on providing education to

students from marginalized/ disadvantaged population at a nominal fee.

In Uttar Pradesh, the town of Pilkhuwa in Hapur, Ghaziabad District is in proximity with Delhi.

Moreover, given that the literacy rate in Hapur of Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh being low,

67.55% (75.34% in Urban areas) as opposed to the literacy rate of 88.7% in Uttar Pradesh, it requires

attention. Further, literacy rate of 79.3% among males and 59.26% among female in Pilkhua is far too

low as compared to literacy rate of (80.66%) among male and (66.59%) among female in the State

respectively. In this regard, there is an urgent need to improve the education indicators in the Hapur

of Ghaziabad district. In this regard, the school visited in Pilkhuwa in Hapur of Ghaziabad district is

focused on providing education to students from marginalized/ disadvantaged population at a

nominal fee.

4.1.3. Formation of School Selection Committee and its meeting:


A meeting of the School Selection Committee was organized by ISRN at its office in Delhi. The

purpose of the meeting was to provide information, observations/ recommendations to the

Committee, so that they are able to provide recommendations to IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance

Ltd. on schools to be considered for adoption under the Uttam school project.

ISRN facilitated the meeting with the School Selection Committee by putting forward its observations

on the various schools, based on the information gathered from the selected schools and inviting the

Principal of the selected schools to present their requirements before the Committee.

The presentations made by the principals of school were evaluated by the ISRN members on the

basis of the following criteria:

Matching the need of the school with the requirements of the project,

Given the timeframe of finishing the project in four months, willingness of the particular

school management to cooperate for making the interventions,

Expected performance of the school to finish the project in set timeframe.

Based on the visit report and the presentations made by the school principals, the Committee

recommended the following schools for adoption:

1. Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir, Pinangwan Village, Mewat District, Haryana

2. SVMHSSGB of Pilkhuwa Village, Hapur District, Uttar Pradesh

4.1.4 Final Selection of Schools for the Uttam School Project by IFFCO TOKIO General

Insurance Ltd.

ISRN submitted the School selection report and the recommendations of the “School Selection

Committee” to IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Ltd.

IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Ltd. also agreed on selecting the following two schools for adoption

under its CSR project on Uttam School for 2017.


4.2. Activity 2:

Bring the Schools on board by creating awareness and education on the concept of Uttam

School among them

ISRN engaged with the schools to provide information on the concept of “Uttam Schools” and about

the project. This directed towards bringing them on board to facilitate the project through the

schools.

1. Installation of Smart class rooms: Smart classroom facilities were installed in all the five sections

of class V to X. To match with the existing syllabus of the school content has been customized.

Smart content updates will be available to school for fifteen years.

2. State of the Art Library – The library was conceptualized to have wall painted to encourage

students to learn and get inspired to focus on studies through relevant painting of the wall.

Further, beautiful quotations to encourage and provide directions to the students have been

painted on the library walls. The library has been added with facilities like 5 in 1 DVD Player, LED

TV, Audio – Video CDs, Books and Furniture.

3. RO Water Purifiers installed for clean drinking water - RO System of 500 LPH was installed in

the school to provide safe drinking water to students, teachers and other staff. While installing

the RO system, ISRN added value to the installation by added few components, such as a water

cooler of capacity 150 liters attaching to the RO system, so that students and teachers could

drink chilled water. In terms of water recycling, the waste water through the RO system was

directed to a separate tank, and the same water was used in toilets of the school, thereby

avoiding water wastage.

4. Separate toilets for boys, girls and school staff - ISRN has contributed in constructing 15 urinals

and 2 Indian style latrines in Boys toilet. In the teachers’ block ISRN has constructed 3 urinals

(Male – 2, Female – 1) and 2 latrines (Male – 1, Female – 1). Previously, the school did not have

separate toilets for female teaching staff.

5. Capacity Building of Teachers - Apart from closely monitoring the installation of facilities in the

school premises, ISRN ensured that a Do’ and Don’ts list is displayed at all installation points for

proper use.


Apart from creating awareness about these hard infrastructure, the project also emphasized on

creating awareness about the following interventions targeted for brining behavioural change:

6. Green School: ISRN explained the schools the concept of developing a Green School and

thereby the need to plant trees in the school campus. As an example ISRN elucidated that

there can be plantation of five medicinal plants in the school campus and the from sowing

the seed/plant to nurturing it be entrusted to a particular students. Moreover, that student

can make a scientific chart for that plant and mention all uses/abuses, Botanical name, any

kind of information related to that plant in that chart.

7. Clean School: ISRN explained the Schools the need for a clean environment in the school to

be managed by students as well as the cleaning staffs, with support and cooperation from

the other staffs. Also, the students are to be taught about interpolation of waste

segregation such as dry and wet and thereby creating awareness about waste

management.

8. Digital School: ISRN emphasized the need of Wi-Fi facility in the schools so that each and

every student has accessibility to information even at the global level and become

competent enough to compete with this ever increasing highly competitive world. This will

also help students to be confident and comfortable towards technology.

9. Child Mirror: There should be a wall in the school whereon that children get the space to

express their thinking about the school, teachers, staffs, education. Most importantly, the

practice would be anonymous and there should be a Committee formed from among the

students to prevent slangs or any such undesirable informal or anti social expression.

10. Grievance Committee for Child abuse and creating sensitivity: ISRN highlighted the

requirement to have an active functional committee for grievance redressing and making

children aware about child abuses by holding weekly participatory classes (Story-telling,

role play, Participatory activity and the like).

Further, a thorough training for each of the facilities/activities was conducted in terms of preparing

the teachers for running and maintaining it on a daily basis. Feedback forms were distributed during

the trainings that also provided data on the level of satisfaction of the school staff with the training.


The teachers and the students seemed to be quite enthusiastic about the new developments in their

school. One of the teachers exclaimed that, ‘The concept of smart classroom will be very beneficial for

the teaching learning process.’

4.3. Activity 3: Needs Assessment study of the selected schools

A need assessment study of the selected schools was conducted to assess the existing infrastructure

in the schools, quality of teaching, and quality of learning, among others. A needs assessment is a

systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or "gaps" between current

conditions and desired conditions or "wants". The discrepancy between the current condition

and wanted condition must be measured to appropriately identify the need. The need can be a

desire to improve current performance or to correct a deficiency. In this context, it provided the

information for all the needs to be done to create the required infrastructure in the schools, so that it

facilitates improved learning. It further provided an idea about the interventions required on the

particular schools to transform it into an Uttam Schools.

4.3.1. Feasibility Assessment of proposed activities in Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir,

Pinangwan of Haryana and SVMHSSGB of Pilkhuwa of Uttar Pradesh

ISRN made a visit to the school to assess the requirements in the school vis-à-vis the activities

proposed in the project of Uttam School. To get a holistic perspective on the requirements of the

school, ISRN team also met the School Management Committee members, Principal, teachers and

students.


The enclosed table captures the proposed and actual installation plan as per the need assessment

done with the school.

Uttam School Project: Proposed activities after assessment of Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir, Pinangwan of Haryana

Sl. No.

Installation in the School as per the

proposed Uttam School Project

Installation plan according to the Need Assessment exercise carried out in School

1 State of the art library – Computers audio, video and print

5 in 1 DVD Player, LED TV, Audio – Video CDs, Books, Furniture, Painting of library room, Matting of floor, study tables & chairs, News paper stand, Magazine Stand, Book Shelve, Computer Table and Chair

2 Safe drinking water (R.O System 500 LPH

R.O. (500 LPH) – 1

3 Construction of toilets for boys and girls including urinal, latrines, wash basin for male and female; for teachers including urinals, latrine, wash basin.

Toilet for Boys Urinals Latrines (Indian Style) Toilet for Girls Urinals Latrines (Indian Style) Toilets for Teachers’ Urinals (Male, Female) Latrines (Male, Female)

4 Smart Classrooms Class IX, Class X, Class XI, Class XII. Some of the best rooms of the school was selected for the installation

5 Solar system -Un-interrupted Power supply through installation of solar power plant for the entire school. - Solar Power capacity 7.5 KW in the school main building, which is sufficient for their requirements like functioning of LED, TV and smart classes etc


Uttam School Project: Proposed activities after assessment of SVMHSSGB of Pilkhuwa of Uttar Pradesh

S. No.

Installation in the School as per

the proposed Uttam School

Project

Installation plan according to the Need

Assessment exercise carried out in School

1 State of the art library –

Computers audio, video and

print

5 in 1 DVD Player, LED TV, Audio – Video CDs,

Books, Furniture, Painting of library room,

computers, Computer table & chair, study

tables & chairs, News paper stand, Magazine

Stand, Book Shelves.

2 Safe drinking water (R.O System

500 LPH

R.O. (500 LPH) – 1

3 Construction of toilets [2 blocks

for boys and girls which included

urinals, latrines, wash basin and

another block for male and

female teachers including

urinals, latrines and wash basin.

Toilet for Boys

Urinals

Latrines (Indian Style)

Toilet for Girls

Urinals

Latrines (Indian Style)

4 Smart Classrooms – 5 Class IX, Class X, Class XI, Class XII

5 Solar system Un-interrupted Power supply through

installation of solar power plant for the entire

school with a capacity of 4.5 KW in the school

main building, which is sufficient for their

requirements like functioning of LED, TV and

smart classes etc.

4.4. Activity 4:

Initiating the Implementation process: Inviting Quotations for Products to be installed

The need assessment exercise done by ISRN helped in determining the gap between the prevailing

condition and the expected changes to be done as per the mandate of the Uttam School project for

the betterment of the school and thereby the beneficiaries. It provided the exact requirements of the

school for each product with specifications. Based on the requirements assessed, quotations were

invited for the RO System, Smart class equipment and Smart content. Vendors were approached via


websites, that have a database of providers of different products and services such as indiamart.com,

where coordinated with for the requirements, and was invited with the quotation.

Considering the logistics, ISRN contacted local vendors in Nuh (for Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir)

and Pilkhuwa (for SVMHSSGB) for the work related to construction of toilets and painting of library.

4.4.1. Selection of Vendors

ISRN followed a very rigorous process for selection of vendors for each of the products. The process

included developing a comparative chart for each product with quote of each vendor for easy

comparison. Both looking at the quality of the product and the price quotation, a short list of vendors

were made for each product. These shortlisted were invited to present and display their products in a

meeting held at ISRN office. Based on the presentation and the price quotation, vendors were

selected for each product.

4.4.2. Visit of Vendors to the Project Site at Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir, Pinangwan

and SVMHSSGB of Pilkhuwa

The vendors to understand the contextual need for installation were asked to make their initial visit

to the project site. This helped the vendors in selecting location for installing the particular product

and make changes in the product based on their need interacting with the School Management

Committee, the students and the staffs.

4.5. Activity 5:

Installation of Products:

4.5.1. Installation of products at SVMHSSGB of Pilkhuwa of Uttar Pradesh

As part of the project the following activities were undertaken in SVMHSSGB, Pilkhuwa:

1. Safe Drinking Water: RO System of 500 LPH has been installed in the school, and has already

started providing safe drinking water to students, teachers and other staff. While installing

the RO system, ISRN added value to the installation by added few component, such as a

water cooler with a capacity 150 liters attaching to the RO system, so that students and

teachers and the staff could drink chilled water. It is also to be noted that measures for

recycling of water has also been undertaken with this intervention. The waste water through

the RO system has been directed to a separate tank, and the same water was used in the

toilets of the school, thereby avoiding water wastage. This will definitely teach the students

about recycling of resources or waste water management. The RO system has been protected

from sunlight and harsh weather by constructing a special room for it.


2. Smart Classrooms: A thorough procurement process was initiated to ensure best smart

classroom equipment. Smart classroom content has been negotiated, and will be available to

the school for fifteen years, assuming that the hardware compatibility issue would not allow

the content to run after the above time. Free updates of smart content will be available up to

two years after installation. Through our efforts and a time taking exercise, we have been

successful in providing the content in Hindi for maximizing its usage both by teachers and

students. Specific rooms were identified and selected for smart class room installation. The

smart classroom facility is now available to all five sections of class VI, VII and VIII. To match

with the existing syllabus of the school respective school Board (i.e. Haryana and Uttar

Pradesh Board) customization of content by the vendor is going on, which will be handed

over after installation. This concept of smart class will not only help in the teaching learning

process and make studies interesting to the students but also will make the students and

teachers tech savvy and gain confidence to compete with the ever expanding technological

world.

The picture on the left side shows the provision of drinking water before the implementation of

Uttam School Project in the school. The picture on the right side shows the installed RO System

for drinking water in the school. In addition to this, a water-waste management system has also

been put in place. The residual water in the process of RO drinking water is connected with the

washrooms in the schools.


3. State of the Art Library: The library has been conceptualized to have wall painted to

encourage students to learn and get inspired to focus on studies through relevant painting of

the wall. Further, beautiful quotations to encourage and provide directions to the students

have been painted on the library walls. The library has been added with facilities like 5 in 1

DVD Player, LED TV, Audio – Video CDs, Books and Furniture. Along with proper provisions for

sitting in the library, books have also been distributed in the school to encourage the students

to develop reading habit. Computers have also been installed in the library with internet

connection so that the students can access their reading materials on their own.

The picture on the left shows a classroom with the traditional setup while the picture on the right is

the view of a classroom after the smart class installation. The students in a smart class are learning

through the medium of videos and pictures but at the same time it also has a blackboard to

compliment it.

The above pictures show the view of the Library with print rich environment, computers, books and

proper sitting arrangement for the students to study.


4. Toilets: The toilet construction work has been done by a local contractor. The new toilet

block has been built in collaboration with the school where ISRN has contributed in

constructing urinals and Indian style latrines. Previously, the school did not have separate

toilets for female teaching staff. This will be a good relief for the teachers in general and

female staff in particular.

5. Solar Power System: To avoid interrupted Power supply, ISRN installed 7.5 KW solar

power plant in the school main building, which is sufficient for their requirements like

functioning of LED, TV and smart classes etc. for the entire school.

The above pictures show us the washroom pre (picture on the left) and post (picture on the right)

intervention of Toilet Construction under the project of Uttam School.

The above picture shows the solar plant installed in the school for power backup and

uninterrupted supply of electricity.


4.5.2. Installation of the products at Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir, Pinangwan of

Haryana

As part of the project the following activities were undertaken in Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya

Mandir, Pinangwan:

1. Safe Drinking Water: RO

System of 500 LPH has been

installed in the school, and has

already started providing safe

drinking water to students,

teachers and other staff. While

installing the RO system, ISRN

added value to the installation

by added few component, such

as a water cooler of capacity 150

liters attaching to the RO system,

so that students and teachers

could drink chilled water. In terms of water recycling, the waste water through the RO system

was directed to a separate tank, and the same water was used in toilets of the school,

thereby avoiding water wastage. This initiative will definitely teach the students the ways to

recycle water. The RO system has been protected from sunlight and harsh weather by

constructing a special room for it.

2. Smart Classrooms: A thorough

procurement process was

initiated to ensure best smart

classroom equipment. Smart

classroom content has been

negotiated, and will be available

to the school for fifteen years,

assuming that the hardware

compatibility issue would not

allow the content to run after

the above time. Free updates of smart content will be available up to two years after

installation. Through our efforts and a time taking exercise, we have been successful in

providing the content in Hindi for maximizing its usage both by teachers and students.

Specific rooms were identified and selected for smart class room installation. The smart

classroom facility is now available to all five sections of class VI, VII and VIII. To match with the


existing syllabus of the school respective school Board (i.e. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Board)

customization of content by the vendor is going on, which will be handed over after

installation.

3. State of the Art Library: The

library has been conceptualized to

have wall painted to encourage

students to learn and get inspired

to focus on studies through

relevant painting of the wall.

Further, beautiful quotations to

encourage and provide directions

to the students have been painted

on the library walls. The library

has been added with facilities like 5 in 1 DVD Player, LED TV, Audio – Video CDs, Books and

Furniture.

4. Toilets: The toilet construction

work has been done by a local

contractor. The new toilet block

has been built in collaboration

with the school where ISRN has

contributed in constructing urinals

and Indian style latrines.

Previously, the school did not have

separate toilets for female

teaching staff. This will be a good

relief for the teachers in general

and female staff in particular.

5. Solar Power System: To avoid

interrupted Power supply, ISRN

installed 7.5 KW solar power

plant in the school main

building, which is sufficient for

their requirements like

functioning of LED, TV and


smart classes etc. for the entire school.

4.6. Activity 6: Training of teachers and other staffs on how to use and maintain the new installed infrastructure effectively

Along with the installation of infrastructure, a thorough training for each of the facility was done by

the vendors to teachers and other staff in the schools to ensure that they are able to maintain it well,

run it on a daily basis by themselves and utilize it to the maximum for effective teaching-learning

process and techniques.

Feedback forms were distributed during the trainings that provided data on the level of satisfaction of

the school staff with the training. The teachers were all receptive and excited for using it for better

result. The teaching and the non-teaching staffs were also trained by the ISRN team about the

importance about the proposed other five components of green school, clean school, child mirror,

the need for a digital school and about the formation of a Grievance Committee for child abuse and

creating sensitivity. The trainees seemed to be quite responsive and enthusiastic about the new

initiatives to be taken in the school with participation of the students. We were encouraged to

receive positive feedback on the quality of training provided school staff.

Apart from closely monitoring the installation of facilities in the school premises, ISRN ensured that

each of the vendor supplies a Do’ and Don’ts list, so that it could displayed at its location for proper

use.

4.7. Activity 7: Handing over the installed facilities to the Schools

ISRN facilitated for a meeting to announce the “Uttam School Project” and hand over the

formalities/ownership of the installed products to the schools for using it. Apart from the school

management, teachers and other key officials from the schools, the workshop was attended by all

the key local stakeholders and IFFCO-TOKIO. It requires clearance from the school about satisfaction

on installation of the facilities provided like its running performance and the quality of training

provided on the same to ensure that it could be run without the help of the vendors.

4.8. Activity 8: Project monitoring and reporting

A Project Management Committee (PMC) oversees the overall project. The Project Management Unit

(PMU) works under the guidance of the PMC and provides monitoring and reporting support on the


project. All the major decisions have been taken by the PMC, which was supported by the PMU. The

PMC was comprised of IFFCO-TOKIO and ISRN representatives.

1.1. Activity 9: Inauguration of the Project

Inauguration at SVMHSSGB

After installation of the proposed initiatives, training of teaching and non-teaching staffs and

handing it over to the school in both the sites, the project was launched in the SVMHSSGB

School, Pilkhua, Uttar Pradesh on 15th June, 2017 by the Honourable Minister of State in the

Govt. of Uttar Pradesh. He also happens to be alumni of the same school. He delivered a very

encouraging speech addressing the students about building their future through hard work and

using the technological platform that the Uttam School has made it available and accessible to

them.

The inauguration was honored by a number of dignitaries: Shri Ramesh Sahijwani, Vice

President IFFCO-TOKIO, Shri Om Prakesh Saklecha, MLA Jawad, Chairperson, ISRN, Shri Santosh

Gupta, CEO ISRN, Shri Subir Mohan Mittal, Engineer & Social Worker.

The Project Management Committee during their visit


Shri Pankaj Mittal, the Manager from Vidya Bharati, introduced the dignitaries to the audience.

All the respected dignitaries offer their valuable speech to encourage the students and the

staffs of the school. Shri Santosh Gupta emphasized on the importance and utility of all the 10

components of the Uttam School concept in the lives of the children. He added that the books

and the library can benefit the hostellers to the maximum if utilized properly. He said that

though the smart class cannot replace blackboards but it can be highly beneficial in the

teaching learning process and can be an essential complimenting tool.

The Principal of the School after a brief introduction about the school introduced the local

important persons of the village and also of the school.

Shri Sahijwani spoke about the installed products in the school as a part of IFFCO-TOKIO’s

General Insurance Pvt. Ltd.’s CSR initiative. He also added that the Corporate is also connected

with the farmers by means of insurance and it aims for maximum benefit to them.

Shri Saklechaji started his invaluable speech by addressing everybody and questioning the need

for a concept like Uttam School. He said that our history has taught us rote learning and

prepared us only for clerical activities. It doesnot teach us critical thinking, to analyze things or

to express ourselves or the use of technology. He quoted examples from his Constituency

wherein smart classes have helped students developed their IQ levels which will help them to

quality the competitive examinations. Shri Saklechaji requested the students to make use of

the given technology to the maximum explaining how can it help them.

There were around 300 audience which were students, teaching and non-teaching staffs from

the school, parents, local people from the community and the like. Welcome songs and a

patriotic song were sung by the students to mark the inauguration.

The inauguration ceremony ended with a vote of thanks by Shri Pankaj Mittal. The Hon’ble

Minister and other dignitaries paid a visit to all the spots in the school where the installation of

the products have been done.


Inauguration at Tula Ram Geeta Vidya Mandir, Pilkhuwa, Uttar Pradesh:

After delivering all the utilities to the school, it was time to inaugurate them in the same

manner. Inauguration of Uttam school at Tula ram Vidya Mandir was happened on 24th July

2017.

It witnessed the grand presence of Shri Brahmdev Sharma (Bhai ji), Shri Ramesh Sahijwani, Vice

President CSR, IFFCO-TOKIO, Mangla Singh Ji, representative of Captain Abhimanyu, Hon’ble

Minister of Finance, Uttar Pradesh, Shri Raees Khan, MLA, Pingawan, and Shri Ayub Khan,

Chairman, Pingawan Development Agency.

Shri Naresh Agrawal, Secretary, Tula Ram Vidya Mandir, Pingawan welcome all the dignataries

and introduced them to the crowd. He also thanked to ISRN and Iffco Tokio for providing

advanced teaching technology, RO water plant, solar power plant, digital library and improved

reconstructed toilets. All the dignataries expressed their views and opinion about Uttam

school. Shri Santosh Gupta, CEO, ISRN spoke about the advanced teaching technology and in its

importance in this competitive era of education. He focused on the new teaching methods

which have computer interface.

Inauguration of Uttam School by Hon’ble Minister Atul Garg in SVMHSSGB, Pilkhuwa


Conclusion and the way forward

ISRN’s concept of transforming schools to Uttam Schools could not have become a reality without the

contribution received from IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Ltd. and the generous support from the

contributors. We heartily acknowledge their support received for implementation of the project in

the schools. It would also have been impossible without the support of the State Govt and the school

fraternity. While creating an asset, the primary concern is always sustainability. Creating appropriate

ownership is always a constraint, especially in programmes like smart classes. ISRN, with the support

of all service providers, handed over the project only after organizing training to relevant staff;

organizing several motivational meetings with school authorities; and after ensuring that the

beneficiaries have in-depth knowledge and skills to maintain the assets created. It should also be

admitted that Uttam school will have a lasting impact only if the implemented activities are continued

meticulously by the beneficiaries. In order to resolve temporary issues, handholding support from the

service providers must be ensured for a period of at least 12 months, which will guarantee that the

beneficiaries are fully equipped to scale up the Uttam school concept self-supportively.

The above pictures show the moments of inauguration of the project of Uttam School in

Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir. The picture on the left shows the foundation stone and the picture

on the right shows the plantation drive by the Hon’ble Shri Bhramdev Sharma and other

dignitaries on the day of the inauguration.


The various interventions made in both the selected schools like the provision for safe drinking

water, solar plant, smart classrooms, clean school, green school, child mirror, digital school and

the formation of the grievance committee for child abuse and creating sensitivity are ultimately

aimed at improving the learning outcome of the students, improving the retention rate and

making them adapt to compete with the rest of the world.

Smart classes use all interactive modules like videos and presentations and these visually

attractive methods of teaching becomes appealing to students who are already struggling with

the traditional method of teaching in a classroom. The audio-visual media used in smart

classrooms is more eye-catching and young students can easily relate to them. In this method

of teaching the senses of students are targeted as it helps the students store the information

fast and more effectively. In addition, there is the advantage of utilizing much of the time

wasted earlier in drawing or preparing diagrams on board. Smartboards have all these

information in memory and can be presented during the time of class lectures and thus, the

time saved can be used in more important things. Some students and teachers have problems

with chalk dust and they tend to suffer from allergic reactions. The smartboards saves you from

such distress and won’t let you develop any health issues later. Smartboards are a lot smarter

when it comes to field trips which is impossible with textbooks. A field trip to the deserts of

Sahara or the rainforests of the Amazon basin becomes easy with visuals in the smartboards of

smart classroom. These visuals are definitely more attractive than those descriptions in a few

lines of a textbook. One of the main reasons behind the constant increase in popularity of smart

classes is the fact that this kind of education cater to individual need of the students. For

example; a classroom has students with varied power of understanding and learning, and

studying from notes and other materials becomes difficult for some students. But the use of

smart classes and modern technology eases the learning process for all students. Moreover,

this kind of education in class promotes more interaction between teacher and student with

more participation from both sides.


It was seen during the training sessions that the teachers and the students seemed to be quite

keen on using a smart classroom for the teaching learning process.

The interventions like the provision of RO water will keep the students and the staffs healthy

and hygienic. Reverse osmosis (RO) drinking water systems provide clean and refreshing water.

We hope all these interventions through the CSR initiatives of IFFCO TOKIO brings the desired

result of improving learning outcomes and thereby contribute towards building a better future

for the students as well as for the nation. But to assess the outcome the way forward will be to

do an impact assessment study of the interventions in the targeted schools. This will give us a

clear picture of the impact of the interventions in the lives of the students.

2. Annexure

School Selection for the Project: Visit to Schools

Visit to Schools in Haryana & Uttar Pradesh

Visits were made to schools in Ambala and Nuh district in Haryana and Hapur district of

Ghaziabad of UP as following schools:

Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Ballabhgarh

Adarsh Vidya Mandir, Rewari (Haryana)

Shri Tularam Geeta Vidya Mandir

Nandlal GeetaVidya Mandir Sr. Secondary School, Tepla, Ambala (Haryana)

Saraswati Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School Gram Bharti (SVMHSSGB), Pilkhuwa,

Hapur, UP

Handing over of RO- Pilkhuwa

Handing Over of RO- Pingawan

Handing over of Solar-Pilkhuwa

Handing over of Solar-Pingawan

Details are provided for each school in subsequent pages.


Information Sheet- Pilkhuwa


Handing over of RO- Pilkhuwa


Handing over of RO- Pingawan


Handing over solar-Pilkhuwa


Handing over solar- Pingawan


Handing over Smart Class-Pingawan


Handing over Smart Class-Pilkhuwa

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