BIAL's Namma Shikshana bags CSR award 2020

Bengaluru: Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) has won the Golden Peacock National CSR Award 2020 from the Institute of Directors for its flagship CSR programme, Namma Shikshana. Namma Shikshana is aimed at ensuring that children enrolled in government schools have access to high-quality primary and secondary education, leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

"BIAL's education programmes have had a meaningful impact by touching the lives of the community in the vicinity of the airport. We believe education is a long-term investment and makes a permanent impact on lives, and I am glad to see that we are achieving results in the right direction," said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL.

Under its CSR initiatives, BIAL, has redesigned and built 5 government schools, refurbished six schools with additional facilities and 21 anganwadis received infrastructure upgrades. The schools are equipped with renewable energy sources and have provisions for rainwater harvesting, as part of BIAL's sustainable initiative. A brand-new library surrounded by lush green gardens forms an integral part of a condusive learning environment.

The infrastructure upgrade brought about a transformation in terms of the creation of a safe and protected learning environment for students. Together with subject matter experts and enhanced facilities, student enrolment more than tripled at each school, with more private school students seeking admission in government schools. This reduced the financial stress on families. Overall, the initiative addressed multi-faceted challenges faced by government schools in terms of infrastructure, teaching resources and innovation and has impacted over 10,000 students in the last three years.

In addition to infrastructure upgrades, BIAL supported a unique programme providing focused training for slow learners studying in government & government-aided high schools in Bengaluru Rural district. This made a deeper impact as Bengaluru Rural district rose to second position – from 14th – in the overall SSLC ranking in Karnataka in the last two years.

To support talented and deserving students, BIAL provided scholarship to over 200 students to pursue higher education.

The projects under Namma Shikshana are broadly categorised into School Adoption Programme and Learning Enhancement Programme. Under each category are various projects related to nutrition, provision of uniforms, learning material and stationery, the augmentation of infrastructure and engagement of full-time resources persons. To improve the quality of education, subject matter experts were brought in and workshops conducted to encourage teachers to attempt new approaches to teaching.

FIVE GOALS

The foundation focuses on five thematic areas classified under flagship initiatives:

♦ Namma Shikshana for holistic education interventions

♦ Namma Ooru focusing on integrated development

♦ Namma Nela – Namma Jala focusing on water and sanitation

♦ Namma Parampare for conservation and promotion of heritage and culture

♦ Namma Arogya for promotion of health