Keeping up with their motto of ‘Making a difference’, Marico Limited has introduced multiple sustainability and social initiatives across their global operations. In line with this commitment to making a difference, Nihar Naturals- one of Marico’s flagship brands- has been dedicated to driving change through education and skill empowerment. The brand contributes 5% of its profits to children’s education and has done extensive work to promote girl child education in particular. Among its many initiatives, the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program has been a standout success. Launched in 2012 to further the cause of bettering children’s education, the programme intends to upskill teachers and increase the proficiency level of reading and speaking capabilities among students from underserved areas. 2.74 Lakh teachers were trained and 10.81 Lakh students benefitted under this program in FY23.
In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer & Group General Counsel and Secretary of the CSR Committee at Marico Limited, elaborates on the remarkable journey of the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program. He discusses the meticulous measurement of the program's effectiveness and shares ambitious plans for the future, aiming to make 10 lakh children literate by 2025.
Read to know more about how Nihar Naturals is strengthening the rural education system, one child at a time:
Q. Marico Limited states its motto as “Making a difference”. What is the difference that the group is striving to make and what role is your brand Nihar Naturals playing in this journey?
A. Our core purpose is to make a difference in the lives of individuals and the planet. In line with this, we have ingrained sustainability in our business activities by introducing multiple initiatives across our global operations. In this journey towards making a difference, our brand Nihar Shanti Amla plays a pivotal role. As a purpose-led brand, Nihar Shanti Amla not only focuses on providing haircare benefits to its users but goes beyond the business objectives to champion progress. The brand contributes 5% of its profits toward children’s education.
Q. What are the specific initiatives undertaken by Nihar Naturals for the promotion of girl child education and what has been the impact so far?
A. As one of Marico’s signature brands that keeps purpose at the centre of its existence, Nihar Naturals has always focused on education and skill empowerment in alignment with its overall value proposition. We launched the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala programme in 2012 to further the cause of bettering children’s education. The programme intends to upskill teachers and increase the proficiency level of reading and speaking capabilities among students from underserved areas. Through a comprehensive learning and development approach it has empowered teachers with subject-matter knowledge and enabled them to engage better with the students. Besides, access to digital learning platforms has improved the learning environment for students.
Under this initiative, in FY23, 2.74 Lakh teachers have been trained and 10.81 Lakh students have been benefitted. In our yearly survey, we saw that 85 per cent of the teachers agreed to benefit from teacher training techniques, and 95 per cent of teachers rated the quality of training material as ‘Good’. Furthermore, 100 per cent of teachers expressed interest in honing their training techniques. Overall, we recognised that the technology-enabled medium proved extremely beneficial in a virtual learning session.
Q. How does Nihar Naturals measure the success and effectiveness of the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program? How are the overall results of this program so far?
A. Nihar Naturals through their Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program has been providing opportunities to students for accelerating access to education. Further, the program concentrates on upskilling and empowering government school teachers.To enhance the outcome of the program and create a measurable impact on students as well as teachers, we deployed WhatsApp Enterprise model-based learning programs. The technologically fortified solutions helped to upgrade the capability of teachers to impart proper training for enhancing their English literacy. The innovative formats were designed to be engaging, practical, and rural-ready in nature to align with the specific needs of students and teachers. In the reporting year FY23, WhatsApp (online), as well as workbook (offline) led programs, were imparted in 50 Aspirational Districts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh. The program has positively impacted 1.3 million children, with over 50% being girls, distributed across 5 states encompassing approximately 1.45 lakh schools in 50 underperforming aspirational districts. Further, the program has been successful in improving the teaching skills of over 2 lakh teachers in government regional schools through phonetics-based pedagogy.
Q. Are there any particular success stories of young girls who benefited from your initiatives that you would like to share with us?
A. There are many success stories, however, one prominent one is the inspiring story of a student in Grade IV, who, with access to new-age teaching techniques and interactive quizzes, has improved her language proficiency so much that now she can understand the text from fifth grade. Further, parents of such students have also shared their excitement with us for the dynamic initiatives undertaken by Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala that have significantly improved the language proficiency of their children.
Q. Please tell us a little more about Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program- when was it launched, who are the implementation partners and what are the key components of the program?
A. The Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program was launched in 2012 along with its NGO partner LeapForWord. The program aims to boost literacy among students who have limited access to advanced educational systems.Through a comprehensive learning and development approach it has empowered teachers with subject-matter knowledge and enabled them to engage better with the students. We also designed scalable and fun-based learning models, supported by online as well as offline tools to make education engaging and usher in a transformation in the overall literacy quotient of our country.
Q. You also organize the annual Word Power Championship as a part of this program. Is this championship similar to the Annual Spelling Bee in the US? How has it helped target beneficiaries of the program?
A. The Word Power Championship in partnership with LeapForWord is an annual competition held in associated with government schools across states to enhance students’ confidence in the English language. The first-of-its-kind competition inspired by the renowned American 'Spelling Bee', has been adapted for schools in predominantly Hindi-speaking regions which has widened the exposure for teachers and students. We also train teachers with effective techniques and lesson plans to teach using Hindi or the regional language as the medium of instruction.
In its 10th edition of the Word Power Championship, this year, we witnessed enthusiastic participation from key States like Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The participation numbers were impressive, with over 8.9 lakh students and 2 lakh teachers taking part this year. Moreover, the support from all the State governments was overwhelming and boasted the scale of the championship.
Q. How does Nihar Naturals collaborate with government bodies and educational institutions to implement and expand its programs?
A. In tandem with good education, leveraging government partnerships has paved the way to expand the reach and access to rural areas. One of the consciously crafted features of the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program is the clear idea of not duplicating the existing government programs; rather the focus is on creating a system for the beneficiaries that are an extension and is in tandem with the State’s current efforts in education. Our collaboration with the Governments of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan has been very fruitful. Leveraging our relationships with the government at the cluster, block, and district levels, our program is readily adopted by both teachers and students.
Q. Looking ahead, what are the future plans and aspirations of Nihar Naturals in its mission to promote quality education among students and teachers?
A. Over the last few years, Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala has created a positive change in the lives of students by providing them with access to quality education, innovative learning solutions, and an opportunity to showcase their language proficiency. We aim to make 10 lakh children literate by 2025 with this program. By equipping and empowering rural students with the right learning and coaching tools, we can continue to shape generations of leaders who will drive our country’s growth.
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