ConnectEd Technologies, edtech social enterprise, today jointly announced an initiative with Everest Kanto Cylinders (EKC), manufacturer of high pressure gas cylinders, to provide free online access to curriculum-linked educational content across Gujarat government schools.

According to the press release ConnectEd Technologies aims to provide quality vernacular educational content to government school students, in a bid to improve learning outcomes, especially during the on-going Covid-19 pandemic.

The release further stated that more than 7,500 students from government schools under the District Administration of Kutch will be provided with free online access to a web and mobile app platform. The platform contains quality educational content in local languages, that is in-sync with the Gujarat State Board curriculum, and can be viewed online or downloaded onto a device for viewing later. Initially, the initiative aims to benefit students from Grade 9 and 10 across schools located in Gandhidham block of Kutch. Subsequently, the initiative will scale to students from other grades and regions of Gujarat. 

On the occasion of this announcement, Dr BN Prajapati, District Education Officer (DEO) – Kutch, Gujarat, said, “The recent surge in Covid-19 cases led to closure of schools across Gujarat. In such circumstances, government schools and their students are in need of a parallel digital framework through which quality education could be served to the government. school students. It gives me immense pleasure to announce this initiative for all our govt. school students. We are thankful to Everest Kanto Cylinders (EKC), and hope more organisations will come forward to support this initiative and ensure it benefits every student in Gujarat.”

Lavin Mirchandani and Lehar Tawde, Co-founder, ConnectEd Technologies, commented, “Entry of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, coupled with a rapid surge in cases, led to re-closure of government schools across India. This situation emphasises the need for a digital approach that makes quality education accessible to government school students in regional languages. We have been working in this direction since 2020, and are pleased with our association with Everest Kanto Cylinders (EKC), which marks our foray into Gujarat. We hope to scale our presence with support from authorities, EKC India and other organisations”

During the course of this initiative, ConnectEd Technologies will coordinate with government schools to sensitise parents and students about the platform, and educate them on using any device at their disposal to access quality educational content. Furthermore, the EdTech social enterprise will provide school teachers with valuable statistics pertaining to content consumption by each student, thereby enabling them to push parents and students to meet learning targets that have been set by the school. Currently, ConnectEd Technologies has deployed such programs across 8 states in India, benefiting 1,50,000+ students.

Also read: How ed-tech is changing the game for vernacular learning