Nihar Shanti Amla launches education initiative 'Padhai Par Lockdown Nahi'

Driven by the conviction that children’s education is the cornerstone of progress of our country and should not get hampered under any circumstances, Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala has announced ‘Padhai Par Lockdown Nahi’- an initiative that ensures students can keep learning English even at home through the ‘Phone Uthao India ko Padhao’ program that was launched last year.  Free virtual classes are available for the next two months for grades 6th -10th through the Paathshala Funwala app on Google Playstore.

The modules are designed in partnership with AAS Vidyalaya and offer the complete school curriculum for CBSE, Uttar Pradesh State Board and the NIOS (The National Institute of Open Schooling). For the benefit of students, the lessons are taught using both Hindi and English as the conversational language. Further, sessions are in the form of videos, which are approximately up to 15 minutes long. Students also have the advantage of interacting with teachers on the app for better understanding and clarification of lessons taught. 

The campaign ‘Padhai Par Lockdown Nahi’ aims to encourage children in rural areas to learn and practice spoken English through ‘Phone Uthao India KoPadhao’ program. Students can call on a toll-free number and continue learning their English modules by phone conversations with an urban adult volunteer.Nihar Shanti Paathshala Funwala is inviting educated, urban consumers to volunteer just 10 minutes of their time a week and help these students practice spoken English through phone conversations. 

Commenting on these initiatives, Koshy George, Chief Marketing Officer, Marico Limited said, “Nihar Shanti Amla has always believed that education is the foundation of nation’s growth. COVID-19 pandemic has posed serious challenges to continuity of learning. We understand this and to ensure that learning doesn’t stop even during the lockdown, we have launched Padhai Par Lockdown Nahi campaign. This program gives an opportunity to urban adults sitting at home to teach spoken English to a rural child who can access it anytime, anywhere through a simple, convenient phone based intervention. In addition, the partnership with AAS Vidyalaya helps make all other subjects available free on our app for 2 months. It covers 6th-10th grade curriculum designed as per CBSE, UP State Board and NOIS board. Together we all can make a difference to these children’s lives and strive towards building a confident, educated young India.” 

Russell Barrett, CCO & Managing Partner, BBH India added, “Nihar Shanti Amla has been built on the promise of Look good, Do good. And for years now the brand has dedicated itself to doing good by educating India’s underprivileged children through various on- ground and digital initiatives. During these exceptional times, exceptional brands reinforce their worth by their actions and Nihar Shanti Amla has dedicated itself to ensuring there is no lockdown on learning.
We’ve used technology to give children in the remote interiors of India the same privileges that our own children enjoy during this time through the Phone Uthao India KoPadhao program. We’re so proud to partner Marico in this initiative and to ensure the next generation of India doesn’t stop their onward march to a better future.”

Nihar Shanti Amla has been continuously strengthening its mission to educate underprivileged children in far-flung areas by integrating the best of technology to not only reach, engage with and educate the children, but also improve the education outcomes.  

Over the past few years, Nihar Shanti Paathshala Funwala has led massive rural outreach programmes that have positively impacted 7500+ villages with call volumes of 10 lakh from 3 lakh children in these villages in the past year.  

Credit List

Agency: BBH India

Chief Creative Officer & Managing Partner: Russell Barrett

Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner: Subhash Kamath

Head of Planning & Managing Partner: Sanjay Sharma

General Manager: Sarita Raghavan

Creative Director: Deep Chhabria

Copywriter: Deep Chhabria, Aggremma Sethi, Heemuhn Major

Art Director: Shelton D'Souza, Radhika Subramanian, Rohit Ranjan

Animator: Nilesh Jadhav

Strategy Director: Purvi Mistry

Strategy Partner: Nikhil Chinnari

Senior Business Partner: Shivani Dand

Business Partner: Vimesh Salian