Education is the cornerstone of societal development and technology which  is continuously advancing with the changing time and it is imperative for every living being, especially the future generation, to be abreast with the dynamic world. During Newgen’s interaction with the stakeholders, they realized that the government school students are in a dire need of digital education. This led to the origin of Newgen Digital Discovery Paathshala (NDDP), Newgen’s flagship CSR initiative.

NDDP is designed to impart knowledge to school children using web-based technology. This stems from the vision of Newgen’s Managing Director, Mr. Diwakar Nigam. It aims at transforming classroom sessions into fun–learning activities and to make school curriculum meaningful. Under the aegis of NDDP, students are taught how to browse internet and search for information using iPad. They use fun and interactive methodologies, such as role-plays, quizzes, movies, presentations, audio visual, iPads and other digital mediums during the digital literacy sessions. They also have a reward system in place to appreciate and encourage deserving students.

^{Students attending the NDDP session}

The initiative also aims at providing state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment to students. At Newgen, they believe that a safe atmosphere and child-friendly ambiance are enablers of successful educational initiative. They organize mid-session remedial camps during winter and summer vacations to help the less- proficient students who are selected on basis of their performance during quarterly assessments. During the camp, facilitators and student volunteers work with these students and try to bring them up to the desired level of proficiency.

The NDDP program is currently active in three schools, namely Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Harkesh Nagar, GGGSS, Tekhand, and Soami Nagar Model School. The program covers over 3000 students, under the NDDP program across the three adopted schools. The indirect beneficiary of this program include students’ parents, siblings, friends, and their community, at large, thereby reaching around 15000+ beneficiaries.

^{NDDP I-Pad session in GGGSS, Harkesh Nagar}  

The grim state of affairs for girls in India is a known fact. They are still deprived of education and have limited access to resources. To empower the girl child, NDDP adopted all-girls school in Harkesh Nagar & Tekhand.  The girl students from the marginalized neighbourhood community have enrolled in the program. To help them become independent, self-reliant and confident, we are empowering them with digital literacy and equipping them with the right skill set.

For instance Muskan, an 8^th grade student from Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Harkesh Nagar is one of those natural leaders who has been portraying a strong character in every session since the day she was enrolled. She showcased her leadership quality during one of the community sessions, which was conducted for the mothers of 8th standard students. The session was on financial literacy and was conducted using digital media such as audio-visuals, role plays, etc. During the session, Muskan came to know about Jan Dhan Yojana accounts. She took the ownership to open up an account for her mother, who didn’t have any bank account.  She successfully opened an account for her mother and disseminated the teaching from the digital session amongst her close relatives and neighbours.

Program Outcomes

The students are equipped and conscious about the ‘digital transformation’, which is certainly ruling the world and is definitely here to stay. With digital empowerment, the students can effortlessly access information via internet and use it for the good.  The mothers form an integral part of the community and the program and are also being trained to extend their helping hand and amplify the magnitude of change expected from the NDDP Program. They organize various sessions to generate awareness on various social issues.

Digital literacy instils a sense of confidence while making them feel empowered and knowledgeable. There’s a sense of curiosity and excitement  amongst children which is helping them to step up and  play a pivotal role in this ever growing digital world. 

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Impact-Story is a series on development and CSR interventions leading to some impacts on the ground. If you have a project, innovation or intervention that has changed the lives of a few people or a community, please share a brief note at csr@ngobox.org. Our Team will get back to you after validating the information for a detailed coverage.