Madhya Pradesh’s Siya Umesh Zaria no longer blows the air in class. For a Class 8 student in a government school in Indore, studying has become fun now, as she studies regular subjects through animated videos and cartoons.
“Today, I learned about the structure and functions of cells. It was taught on television in our school. I like to study on TV, the videos show cartoons and drawings. Now, I remember what my teachers taught me and I don’t sleep,” says Sia, the daughter of a cook and laborer. Uttam India.
“Apart from science and mathematics, we are also taught English from YouTube. When I return home, I show my parents that I can speak English,” she added, noting that she aspires to become a doctor.
Sia is part of a group of 1 lakh students under Muskaan Dreams, whose founder Abhishek Dubey’s campaign to make learning fun in government schools. He does this through several interventions, including teaching NCERT syllabus to children through animations and fun videos. The non-profit organization aims to bridge the digital divide by transforming the education of marginalized children in rural communities without the burden of additional fees.
“We work on digital inclusion. Our focus is that every child should be digital Education (Education) is our future as technology. If these students do not adapt to digital methods, they are likely to miss out on good opportunities. With Smile Dreams, we wanted to help these children smile and fulfill their dreams of a better career,” added the 31-year-old.
Launched in 2017, the non-profit organization has so far collaborated with 1,000 government schools in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
‘When I took a stand’
Born and brought up in a farming family in rural Gwalior, Abhishek developed an interest in teaching underprivileged children during his college days. In 2013, while studying engineering in computer science, he began devoting his weekends to teaching children in government shelters.
“One day, I saw one of my classmates going to teach students in a shelter home. I went with him and saw how such children are deprived of education. Most of them are children of single parents and from tribal or rural backgrounds. Coming from a rural background, I connected with them and felt the desire to teach them,” he says.
Within two years, they formed a group of 200 volunteers and expanded their reach to Bhopal and Indore as well. Until now, this was not a weekend activity.
After he graduated in 2016, Abhishek wanted to devote himself fully to teaching children. This decision was not welcomed by his parents. “My father, who is a government official, was completely against the decision. He told me to do a good job and drop the idea. But I don’t want to quit,’ he adds.
After studying in a government school, he did not want to ignore the challenges he had to address. “My idea was to improve the learning experience of children so that when they enter the classroom, their interest is piqued and they come to school every day. We already know that dropout rate is one of the major challenges faced by government schools,” says Abhishek.
“I want to improve the quality of education in government schools because they don’t need tuition if they study well there. But my father was so angry at my decision that he stopped talking to me. If I was in the bedroom, he would move to the drawing room,’ he says, adding that this process continued for two years.
“I believe that no one should give up on their dreams. Dreams have the power to become reality. It motivated me when my father didn’t speak to me. It was the first time I took a stand,” she recalls.
But he is proud of what I have done today. In 2019, when we invited former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for a project launch, my father also joined us for the first time. I realized that I am serious about work,’ he smiles.
Changing the government school ecosystem
After starting a non-profit, Abhishek began his journey from a government school for girls. Discussing the impact of the work, he says, ‘In 2017, only 79 girls were enrolled in the school. After a year of working with the school to transform the educational system to digital learning methods, the enrollment of girls has increased to 129. This impact motivated us to understand that what we are doing is meaningful for children in the government ecosystem,” he adds. .
To start work, Abhishek’s Muskan Dreams signs MoUs (memorandums of agreement) with state governments for a specific period. Then, they conduct personal meetings with District Collectors who help them select government schools in rural areas based on availability of electricity to run electrical equipment.
“Then we organize meetings with teachers and students and engage them in discussions about future benefits and opportunities. This helps build enthusiasm and commitment among teachers and students and ensures their active involvement in the implementation phase,” he says.
“After collaborating with schools, we provide them with electronic devices, materials, and training for teachers. We are focusing on improving children’s performance in mathematics and science as there is a shortage of teachers for these subjects in government schools,” he added.
Muskaan Dreams also uses the unique “tic-tac” learning module of a third-party Tic Tac Learning app, in which they animate images and high-quality video content aligned with the NCERT syllabus. All chapters and exercises are converted into animated videos in Hindi, with a special focus on subjects like science and mathematics. For example, a chapter on nutrients and food is converted into an animated video to disseminate information in an interesting and engaging way, and as a story to help students retain what they have learned.
This is followed by teacher training and 1-1 feedback and support to teachers to ensure adoption of technology in teaching practices. “The training is divided into four modules that every teacher must attend. We introduce our teachers to the structure of digital texts, teaching, and learning models using technology and instructional methods. Investing in teacher training is important to foster a strong education ecosystem,” he says.
Abhishek said his team will work in any school for 2-3 years. After they leave, they provide virtual tech support to ensure teachers continue digital learning.
“Before we stop hand-holding schools, we try to build capacity in our team to reduce dependency so that they can exit efficiently. Besides, we have engaged private organizations like Pernod Ricard India Foundation, LTI Mindtree, Yash Technologies, and Acuity Knowledge Partners which provides the resources, expertise and funding to support the sustainability of our initiative for at least two years,” he says.
‘1 million by 2025’
Abhishek says that an annual survey is conducted every year to understand the experience of children in the digital classroom. “We found that 95.2 percent of children were enjoying the digital learning experience compared to before our intervention,” he says.
But it also came with a set of challenges. Abhishek says, “Our biggest challenge was getting 40-year-old government school teachers to adapt to technology. But thankfully, over the years we have been able to achieve this with our interventions.”
Explaining the challenge of continuing to use digital mediums after leaving schools, he says: “As an external organization, we cannot guarantee a school’s operations after our direct involvement ends. But we track the usage and effectiveness of smart TVs and digital devices through regular evaluations. We also support schools in maintaining their digital infrastructure. We strive to create an environment where smart TVs and digital devices become an integral part of the school’s educational practices.”
Abhishek will not charge any fee from the students for this initiative. Expenses are managed through CSR activities and corporate collaborations from partners like Amazon India, Linkedin, ONGC, and Hindustan Zinc. To further the cause, he plans to expand the project to schools in Karnataka by the end of this year and reach one million students by 2025.
Aiming big, Abhishek talks about the decision he took years ago, “If I was placed in a company like my friends, I would have been just another corporate employee. I’m glad I took the stand. Whatever happened, it was for a good reason. Although we spend 10-12 days a day Hours work, I love this roller coaster ride.
Edited by Divya Sethu; All photos: Smile Dreams