Students come up with model to bridge education gap
According to the Quikvitt team, the project involves only an initial cost for buying the OTG which does not require monthly subscription and can be plugged into a mobile phone.
ACCESS TO Education remains a major challenge
for children from the economically weaker sections of society even in urban
areas. To bridge this gap, students of MET Institute of Management (IOM),
Bandra, have proposed a feasible model that uses easily available and
inexpensive technology.
During a competition organised by the Mumbai
University, Team Quikvitt from MET had proposed to use Doordarshan’s On-The-Go
(OTG) device to bring ‘education to the doorstep’ of the urban poor. Their
project on the theme ‘Upliftment of the Urban Poor’ won the Mumbai University
New Initiative for Joint Action Now (MUNIJAN) competition.
According to the Quikvitt team, the project
involves only an initial cost for buying the OTG which does not require monthly
subscription and can be plugged into a mobile phone.
Akash Soni, a Quikvitt team member and a
first-year student of MET IOM, said, “Today, most households, even those from
EWS, own mobile phones. The idea is to provide them with OTG and collaborate
with Doordarshan to have a dedicated educational channel.”
The idea was hailed by judges and the
students managed to find investors to start the project.
“We now plan to start our own enterprise to
take this project forward,” said Karan Shukla and Sayali Prabhu, team members.
Nine teams were shortlisted for the
competition, aimed at encouraging students to work on projects that help
society. MUNIJAN was coordinated by the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management
Studies (JBIMS) which received several applications from management colleges of
the university. Other participants included teams from Welingkar Institute of
Management, JBIMS and Sydenham Institute of Management, Research and
Entrepreneurship Education.
A team from JBIMS suggested a food-service
chain where slum dwellers would be trained in cooking, cleaning and delivering
food at homes. “The ‘dabbas’ priced at Rs 30 and Rs 40 would provide a
sustainable lifestyle. We had proposed a financial model taking into
consideration inflation and losses,” said Ajit Singh, a second year student of
JBIMS.
“The objective of this initiative is to bring
positive changes to society by involving students in a series of constructive
and socially responsible activities,” said Chandrahauns Chavan, Director of
JBIMS and the chief coordinator of MUNIJAN.
He said the initiative, which started with participation
of management colleges of Mumbai University, has now been extended to all
universities in Maharashtra.
Source | Indian Express | 13 October
2016
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Library
Khaitan & Co
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