P&G Shiksha launches new campaign "Bridging The #InvisibleGap"

Since 2005, Procter & Gamble India (P&G India) has been on a mission to create access to holistic education for underprivileged children in the country through P&G Shiksha - the Company’s flagship CSR program, impacting over 35 lakh children. Today, P&G India launched a nationwide movement to bring to light a hidden issue. Often, school students can fall behind in keeping pace with their classes. One concept, one subject, one class, can give way to a larger issue where the child develops a gap in the fundamental conceptual understanding. When the child falls behind and the current learning level is not in line with the expected learning level as per the defined curriculum, it leads to an invisible learning gap. In a first-of-its-kind thought-provoking film, P&G Shiksha aims to make this #InvisibleGap visible, by creating awareness and urging meaningful action to bridge the invisible gap.

As per the National Achievement Survey 2021, over 6* crore primary school students were found to have learning levels lower than appropriate for their grades. This ‘learning gap’ significantly impacts children who perpetually keep trying to cope, and without the right support system drop out of school or have a degree which does not help them achieve their aspirations. Over time, in the absence of remedial interventions, this gap manifests itself in multiple ways in children. Often, the indicators of learning gap are misunderstood as the child being naughty or disinterested in learning, which leads to the symptoms only widening due to lack of understanding and support. These misconceptions often stem from lack of awareness and understanding of learning gap. This highlights the urgent need for driving awareness around learning gaps and collective action to identify such gaps in children and take remedial measures to bridge them.

Speaking about the new film, Girish Kalyanaraman, Vice President – Marketing Operations, P&G India said, “P&G Shiksha has continued to work tirelessly to provide access to education to millions of underprivileged children since its inception 18 years ago. Taking this journey forward with the new campaign, we are attempting to spark conversations around the pertinent learning crisis impacting crores of children in our country.  This #InvisibleGap arises when children fall behind and the current learning level is not in line with the expected learning level.

To bridge this gap, P&G has been working with its partners through various programs – from leveraging advanced Machine-learning based tools to community-level learning camps. With the campaign, we aim to make the #InvisibleGap visible by driving nationwide awareness about this issue which is often misunderstood as the child being mischievous or disinterested in learning. I hope this film will inspire the audience in identifying this gap in children around them and taking necessary corrective measures to bridge it.”

Conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett, the film is a compelling story of Bindiya who is impacted by the invisible gap and struggles to cope in the classroom. Through various instances in school, the teacher notices that Bindiya is either missing, or she slides out of sight, almost deliberately trying to mischievously hide. While evaluating the children’s answer sheets, the teacher spots Bindiya’s sheet where most questions remain unanswered. Thus continues a game of hide and seek between the teacher and Bindiya, until he finally spots her hiding beneath a desk and confronts her calmly on why she is hiding. Bindiya reveals that she is afraid of questions, and if she is not visible in the class, the teacher will not be able to ask her any questions.

The film reveals the problem of ‘invisible gaps and the impact they have on a child’s confidence and potential growth. It then goes on to highlight how the right kind of support and interventions, like that being driven by P&G Shiksha, can play a pivotal role in bridging these learning gaps. The campaign was launched with a thought-provoking panel discussion in Mumbai with leaders from diverse walks of life including Girish Kalyanaraman, Vice President – Brand Operations, P&G India; Ritesh Agarwal, Assistant Vice President, Educational Initiatives; and Sagar Singh, Faculty Mathematics, Gov. High School Banah Ki Ser, Sirmour (HP). It was moderated by Priyanka Khanna, Author and Former Journalist.

Rajdeepak Das, CEO & Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett – South Asia said, “It’s a simple human insight, when we don’t know something and we don’t want people to ask about it, we hide. And from that insight we narrate the story of Bindiya – a primary school student who is trying hard to make herself invisible so that she doesn’t have to answer questions in class. We realised that despite having access to education, there are still ‘invisible gaps’ – which means there are students who are learning at a level lower than their class. This puts them in a negative cycle of knowledge and often leads to students dropping out of school completely. This year, we want to address this gap and help students bridge it to ensure they can complete their education. It’s a true HumanKind idea.”

P&G India's flagship CSR program, P&G Shiksha, has been working to provide access to education to underprivileged children since 2005.

As part of this, to improve learning outcomes in children, P&G Shiksha leverages AI-backed technology with 'Mindspark', a computer-based adaptive learning tool, in partnership with Educational Initiatives. The program also implements on-ground remedial learning interventions in partnership with Pratham Education Foundation, using both community-based and in-school models supported by trained volunteers and teachers. Additionally, P&G Shiksha focuses on early childhood education through Pratham Education Foundation, developing motor, cognitive, social-emotional, language, and creative skills in children for a strong foundation as they begin school.