In a bid to create the largest free-of-cost edutech initiative in India and the world, First In Class (FIC) edutech platform has signed an MoU with Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM). As part of the initiative, 1,00,000 tablet PCs to be distributed to families of armed & police forces martyrs to provide e-learning & live teaching modules free of cost. The beneficiaries of the initiative will also include Covid warriors & EWS beneficiaries.
Marking the occasion of the 75th year of India’s Independence – Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav, First In Class will provide K to 12 high quality curated content in line with CBSE-NCERT curricula in Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi & 6 other regional languages. This will facilitate inclusion, access & mother tongue learning.
More than 10,000 hours of audio-visual & graphical interface content will be part of the course libraries. This will be linked with interactive testing & assessment nodules. The coursework will be facilitated with live teaching. A special continuous review deck for parents to track the progress of their wards will be available in a user-interface friendly format. Cultural learning, language learning, linguistic training and spiritual learning modules will also be available through the platform, along with entrance test modules and specialisation in UPSC, Law & Engineering.
RILM Chairman Kamal Sanghvi and ITV Network Founder Kartikeya Sharma signed the MOU in a virtual ceremony, which was also witnessed by Rotary International President Mr. Shekhar Mehta, and senior Rotarians Mr. A.S. Venkatesh, Mr. Vivek Tankha and Dr. Mahesh Kotbagi.
Kamal Sanghvi, Chairman, RILM, said, “The government is keen to promote digital learning. In this context, RILM already has an MoU with NCERT to provide E-learning content. In this new year, in line with public priority in vocational training, First In Class in collaboration with RILM will create content for vocational education for higher classes”.
Kartikeya Sharma, Founder, ITV Network, expressed, “The coursework is structured and curated by some of the best educationists in the country in line with the CBSE NCERT curriculum. Crucially, it is being offered in Hindi, English and many regional languages to ensure inclusivity and mother tongue learning. All of this is the fruit of years of research and hard-graft to create content using the latest pedagogical techniques to ensure students benefit from holistic learning”.
Talking about the vision behind First In Class, Mrs. Aishwarya Sharma, Founder, First In Class, said, “First in Class is born out of the vision that every child is unique and deserves equal opportunity to learn and think. Our curriculum is a result of extensive research on new digital learning techniques. Our highly experienced teachers have carefully curated the curriculum to prioritise the student perspective. We at FIC believe we have a duty towards children of martyrs and those from the armed forces and corona warriors in addition to students in cities across India who have made sacrifices for the nation and we need to assist their families towards a brighter future”.
Member of Parliament and Rotarian Mr. Vivek Tankha said “What is being done today, the world will remember. This MoU is an organised effort to tell the Rotary and corporate world that we are ready to educate one lakh deserving children”.
Mr. A.S. Venkatesh, an IIT-M & IIM-A alumnus and Rotary International Director added “This is a significant MoU that is going to change the way India is going to be in the years to come”.
Dr. Mahesh Kotbagi, Rotary International Director, added,”Dedicating e-learning facilities free of cost to martyrs children is a great way of showcasing our Indian philosophy”.
Meanwhile, Rotary International President Mr. Shekhar Mehta concluded by stressing on the significance of the initiative. He said, “This is our way of saluting our martyrs in the 75th year of independence. While there is no way we can fulfill our debt to those who sacrificed their lives, it is our tribute. We have been working on E-learning in India for 10 years, reaching out to thousands of schools providing world-class audio-visual content”.
