Byju's, NITI partners for free education in 112 Aspirational Districts

Edtech major Byju's on Friday said it has partnered with NITI Aayog to provide free access to its tech-driven learning programmes for children from 112 'Aspirational districts' of the country.

The project envisages establishment of a dedicated working group that will create a knowledge, innovation, and strategy support system, a statement said.

The team will also actively monitor and evaluate programme implementation to enable efficacy and ensure better scope of delivery, it added.

The Aspirational Districts are India's most developmentally challenged districts across sectors such as health and nutrition; education; agriculture and water resources; basic infrastructure; and financial inclusion and skill development.

Technology has played a key role in helping ensure continuity and a lot of classrooms have moved to an 'online' format. In many ways, this has catalysed the development of innovations in the education space, and it is imperative for us to reimagine education and keep pace with these innovations," NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amitabh Kant said.

Effective use of technology in education can aid transformation and with Byju's joining in, the students in these aspirational districts will get an opportunity to access quality education, he added.

The collaboration will feature two main components, wherein Byju's Career-Plus programme (under Aakash+Byju's) will identify and provide high-quality test prep coaching to 3000 meritorious students of classes 11 and 12 who aspire to appear for NEET and JEE.

Also, a voluntary programme will be held for children of school-going age (classes 6-12) who can opt in to receive scholastic content from Byju's Learning App for three years, under its social impact initiative, Education for All, the statement said.

Through our Education for All programme, we have been empowering and impacting millions of children across the country, and by partnering with NITI Aayog, our efforts are being strengthened further," Byju's founder and CEO Byju Raveendran said.

Education holds the key to driving society forward, and we believe that every child, irrespective of their socio-economic background, deserves to have access to quality education, he added.

"We are confident that with this partnership, children from underserved communities and locations will be empowered with tech-enabled learning and bring in positive systemic changes in the education ecosystem, he said.

For the Career-Plus programme, students will be selected through a pre-designed test and provided teaching and content material, along with mentoring support and guidance.

This initiative will combine classroom and online learning, thus providing a hybrid model of education, the statement said.

Apart from dedicated centres for implementing support, students will also have access to digital infrastructure in the form of devices (tablets/smartphones), it added.