MP partners with Magic Bus to bring life skills programme to govt schools

Magic Bus India Foundation, a non-profit organisation that provides education and skilling, on Monday said it has partnered with Madhya Pradesh government to introduce project 'Saksham' -- a life skills education programme -- in government schools.

The Department of Tribal Affairs of Madhya Pradesh has partnered with Magic Bus India Foundation to empower master trainers and government school teachers, equipping them to deliver life skills education while nurturing the well-rounded development of adolescents across 20 districts and 89 blocks in the state, the non-profit organisation said in a statement.

Magic Bus will provide training to master trainers, who will then train 18,000 government teachers, to impart life skills to around one million adolescents across 9,000 government schools that include CM Rise Schools, Middle Schools, Special Residential Schools including Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), Kanya Shiksha Parisar (KSP), Model Residential Schools (MRS) Hostels and Ashram, specifically targeting adolescents from grades 6 to 10.

This partnership is for a span of four years, with the initial phase encompassing 20 districts and 53 blocks.

As it progresses, the programme will cover all schools within the 89 tribal blocks by the second year.

"We are committed to translating the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 into tangible action. We firmly believe that arming our adolescents with the right skills is the catalyst for unlocking their boundless potential and shaping a future.

"Our partnership with Magic Bus India Foundation marks a crucial stride towards equipping our adolescents with life skills and empowering them to become self-reliant," MP Principal Secretary, Department of Tribal Affairs, Pallavi Jain Govil said.

Magic Bus India Foundation Global CEO Jayant Rastogi said, "In this partnership we are committed to co-creating a contextualised curriculum and building capacities within the system to train teachers to deliver life skills education in line with NEP 2020 priorities. This initiative is aimed at equipping adolescents for the 21st century and it is our proud privilege to contribute to the ambitious education goals of the government and the objectives of NEP.