Mumbai, August 14, 2025: Sampark Foundation, in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has launched the ‘Smart School-Smart Block’ programme across 217 municipal schools in Mumbai. The initiative aims to enhance foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) outcomes through technology-enabled learning tools and teacher training.
The programme was inaugurated by Mr. Bhushan Gagrani, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator, BMC, in the presence of senior officials including Dr. Amit Saini, Additional Municipal Commissioner, BMC; Mr. Vineet Nayar, Founder & Chairman, Sampark Foundation; and Dr. K. Rajeswara Rao, Chairman, Sampark Foundation.
Under the initiative, 273 classrooms will be transformed into smart learning spaces, benefiting 3,078 students and equipping 434 teachers with training in Sampark’s Teaching Learning Material and pedagogy. Additionally, 159 smart TV panels will be installed in schools across several wards.
“The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has joined an initiative that marks the next step in education. This is a transformative change in the education sector. Through this programme, we will be delivering foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) tools to many schools. As these tools are user-friendly, teachers will be able to use them easily. Students will benefit from them directly. This initiative will also help make students digitally literate. The Corporation is fully capable of taking this initiative forward,” said Mr. Gagrani.
The programme is part of a five-year MoU (2023-2028) between Sampark Foundation and the Government of Maharashtra, which has already reached 13,128 schools across 13 districts in the state. Sampark Foundation has committed ₹100 crore to strengthen foundational learning, with Mr. Nayar noting, “This commitment to Maharashtra holds a special place in my heart. My journey in education began here, in the vibrant city of Nagpur in a government school. It was here that I first understood the transformative power of education. This pledge is a way of giving back to the Maharashtra that has given me so much that I am grateful for.”
The ‘Smart School-Smart Block’ model is part of the offline, tech-enabled Sampark Smart Shala initiative, which includes the Sampark FLN TV – a device that turns regular televisions into interactive smart classrooms with over 1,000 hours of preloaded, curriculum-aligned content. The programme also includes teacher and official training, regular monitoring, and community engagement to ensure sustained impact.
Nationally, the Sampark Smart Shala programme has reached over 1.8 crore children in more than 1.4 lakh government schools, trained over 8.5 lakh teachers, and set up over 40,000 smart classrooms, contributing to notable improvements in FLN learning outcomes.
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