Mumbai, NFAPost: India’s largest learning platform Unacademy would educate 5-lakh girl students across the country through its national flagship programme ‘Shikshodaya’, launched here on Friday.
“The flagship initiative will transform lives of 20-lakh people, as an employed woman will make an impact on a family of 4-5 members,” said the Bangalore-based educational technology company in a statement here.
The initiative is the company’s commitment to help the government achieve its vision of becoming self-reliant (atma nirbhar) in the country’s 75th year of independence.
The novel programme will enable girls who are school dropouts and those in schools and colleges re-integrate into mainstream education.
“The girl students will acquire knowledge and skills to help them and their communities to accomplish their goals and be part of the country’s growth story,” said the company in a statement.
Set up initially as a YouTube channel in 2010 by Gaurv Munjal, Unacademy became an educational technology firm in 2015, with Munjal, Roman Saini and Hemesh Singh as its co-founders.
“The initiative is expected to transform not only 5-lakh girl students, but also impact their families, society and the nation at large,” said NITI Ayog chief executive Amitabh Kant on the occasion.
NITI Ayog chief executive Amitabh Kant said ed-tech had the potential to provide cost-effective methods to transform education and play a key role in achieving universal access to quality education for all children.
Unacademy aims to use technology to provide quality education to the remotest parts of the country.
“Shikshodaya will empower girls who leave education to earn their livelihood and get jobs after completing the programme,” added NITI Ayog chief executive Amitabh Kant.
Manipal Global Education chairman T.V. Mohandas Pai said educating women would empower them to respond to the challenges of life.
“We are at the crux of a digital transformation, with the internet, digital learning platforms and mobile phones offering huge opportunities and giving women possibility to earn additional income and increase their employment prospects,” said Pai, a former director of global software major Infosys.
Noting that women’s literacy, participation in workforce and financial inclusion were crucial components in the country’s economic progress, Pai said education was an integral pillar that contributed towards their empowerment.
“This initiative will motivate more start-ups to contribute towards nation- building programmes,” said Mohandas Pai.
Sharing the company’s vision to democratise quality education for everyone, Gaurv Munjal said women empowerment was critical for the upliftment of society and the economy.
“At Unacademy, our vision is to democratize high quality education for everyone irrespective of their demographics and economic status. As we enter the 75th year of Independence women empowerment is critical for the upliftment of society and the economy,” said Unacademy cofounder Gaurv Munjal.
Gaurv Munjal also pointed out that the company believes technology-driven social equity and education are the twin engines that will power us in becoming a $5-trillion economy.
“With Shikshodaya, we want to enable some of that transformation and look forward to creating social impact on a large scale by empowering 5-lakh girl students,” said Gaurv Munjal, who is also the chief executive of the group.
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe and UN-Women India Head Kantal Singh were present on the occasion.
About Unacademy:
As the largest learning platform with a network of 60,000 educators and 62-million learners, Unacademy imparts education in 14 Indian languages across 10,000 cities./eom/540 words.
