10th Sept 2024 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India The Association of 41 Clubs of India, a 44-year-old nationwide service institution, has equipped 250 schools across the country with smart classrooms and executed community projects worth Rs. 1.50 crores over the past year, benefiting 1.50 lakh students. Looking ahead, the association plans to expand its flagship program, Freedom Through Digital Education (FTDE), with the goal of reaching 1,000 schools and benefiting one million students within the next two years.
In his comments, Mr. Srinivasu Saraswatula, President, said, “We launched FTDE to bring digital smart classroom education to students from underprivileged backgrounds and rural areas, ensuring they have the same learning opportunities as those in metro cities. This program helps children learn faster and better, free from anxiety. So far, we have inaugurated smart classrooms in 250 schools and implemented additional community projects at a cost of Rs. 1.50 crore, benefiting 1.50 lakh students nationwide. Given the overwhelming success of the initiative, we are expanding the project to cover 1,000 schools over the next couple of years, transforming the education of over a million students for the better.”
FTDE equips government-run and aided schools, serving students from underprivileged backgrounds and vernacular medium, with essential hardware and software tools for digital education. The program’s objective is to bridge the digital divide and eliminate the geographic and economic disparities in education.
Mr. Saraswatula emphasized that for India to truly become a digital nation and achieve a 5-trillion-dollar economy, it is crucial to equip young minds with digital education tools. “We provide educational software aligned with state board or CBSE curriculum from Class 1 to 10, along with co-curricular software to make learning engaging and enjoyable. Our curriculum is available in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, and English. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, we provide only the hardware as in these states, the use of state-mandated educational software is compulsory.”
The hardware setup includes a TV or projector with a stand and screen, keyboard and mouse, voltage stabilizers, and more. This system operates without the need for an internet connection. Additionally, the association provides training for teachers on using digital software to deliver quality education, helping to address the shortage of teachers in these schools.
Among the other initiatives of the association is project Share Your Joy that touches wider segments of the society with immediate and basic needs. Under this initiative, the association takes up a wide range of projects such as building toilet blocks, providing desks, and boards in schools, and supporting orphanages, old age homes and hospitals. The association has also been donating food every day in many hospitals across the country. In 2024, it has built 18 toilet blocks in 6 schools at a cost outlay of Rs. 25 lakhs and is planning to add 25 toilet blocks.
Association 41 is actively involved in disaster relief efforts. It has extended support to the victims of the Chennai floods and the recent Wayanad calamity by implementing various projects, each costing between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 2,00,000.