Thanks to this officer, e-Bhavishya strengthens online education for poor students
With Covid-19 closing schools across the country, moving classes online, and putting millions of children out of learning, the underprivileged needed a highway to a better future. While students around the world struggled with remote learning, a high percentage of students in India had no access to virtual learning tools at all.
“Most of the damage affected people without access to their devices,” said Vrinda Shukla, IPS Officer and SP Chitrakoot. Year.
Shukla’s discovery of the problem led to the formation of a four-member team founded by her sister, Ananya Shukla. They put together her e-Bhavishya to help needy children with online learning.
fundraising
The e-bhavishya project seeks to close the technological gap in access to education by providing the most needy students with the right learning tools. The concept is currently being piloted in the National Capital Region (NCR), with plans to eventually expand to other regions of the country.
The World Bank Group Youth Innovation Fund came as a blessing as their e-bhavishya app secured funding.
“It was tough competition, but our proposal won and we were able to move forward,” Shukla shared in an exclusive conversation. Indian mastermind.
Anyone under the age of 35 can participate in a World Bank-sponsored competition funded by the Youth Innovation Fund, which funds social impact projects.
The 2014 Batch IPS Officer, who serves as an advisor and mentor to the initiative, after witnessing first-hand the suffering of students during the Covid pandemic, discussed the concept of the project with her sister, who later formalized it and pushed it forward. said.
Evavisha
Members of E-Bhavishya have come up with a novel solution. They found that even without long-term means of recycling or charitable donations, India’s huge and growing middle class creates a steady supply of regularly working gadgets. -bhavishya is used to meet demand for devices from low-income students.
“Many of us regularly switch phones. We have an old working phone at home that we plan to donate to a recycling center, but this never happens. Phones degrade and eventually fail. On the other hand, there are people who urgently need such gadgets.e-bhavishya will help fill this gap between supply and demand,” shared the official.
On April 5th, she tweeted: Use @e_bhavishya to donate to the e-learning needs of needy students! Conceived by my sisters and funded by the World Bank, e-bhavishya is a used but still working device We aim to provide students who cannot afford to purchase ”
process
The e-bhavishya app has donor and beneficiary interfaces. A large-scale fundraising drive is already underway in a pilot phase targeting high-end societies, and a weekend fundraiser has begun.
“I urge everyone to donate old electronic gadgets (cell phones, tabs, laptops, computers) that can help those in need,” Shukla said. “We’re targeting large companies with multiple desktops and laptops because they change gadgets often and the old ones are still alive,” she explained.
They created a Google Spreadsheet that allows users to easily claim and donate devices. A freelance pickup representative from our team will then pick up your shipment from your home after signing a short agreement.
upgrade and use
Our tech team inspects gadgets, makes repairs, upgrades software and replaces lost attachments. Minor repairs will be billed to the beneficiary as part of the cost of the device.
“We don’t make it completely free to avoid misuse. People may try to take advantage of it and suck it up into the black market. $1000 for a laptop to cover shipping and repair costs to avoid situations like this.”
If the device stops working or becomes defective within one year of purchase, e-bhavishya will repair or replace the device at no additional cost.
inspection
So how are e-bhavishya beneficiaries identified? The officer explained that those interested in receiving the device must first upload their school/university ID to the app. I’m here. Staff will verify the authenticity of the beneficiary before proceeding with the delivery.
1K goal
The team is currently working on the donation portion of the project to gather a stockpile of gadgets, and once that is complete the beneficiary portion of the program will go live.
Apart from the full-time e-bhavishya team working on this project, a local NGO, the Nirantar Prayas Welfare Foundation, has also partnered with the team for field implementation and assistance programs for students in need. increase. impact.
Millions of children affected by the digital divide may not be able to return to school, according to UNICEF research. Child labor, gender-based violence, early marriage and teenage pregnancy could rise sharply, the report said. If e-bhavishya alleviates the plight of such students, it will work with millions of bright futures to write new success stories.
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