Initiative aims to bridge the digital gap between rural and urban India and provide
equal opportunities for quality education to children from all backgrounds
NEW DELHI, India – June 7, 2018– Samsung India today announced that it has added 200 new Samsung Smart Class at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools across the country, Government schools in Tamil Nadu and at Delhi Police Public Schools, expanding its flagship citizenship initiative in the country.
With these additions, Samsung Smart Class is now available at 652 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools, 28 Government schools in Tamil Nadu and three Delhi Police Public Schools, taking the total number of Samsung Smart Class in India to 683.
Samsung is committed to harnessing its legacy of innovation to positively transform communities and create a better life for people through its citizenship initiatives. Samsung Smart Class, the company’s flagship citizenship initiative in India, aims to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban India and provide equal opportunities for quality education to children from all backgrounds.
Seventy Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools, which previously did not have a smart class, have got one Samsung Smart Class each, while a second Samsung Smart Class has been added at 99 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools across the country. JNVs are run by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India to make modern education available to talented children from rural India.
Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Human Resources & Development, Government of India, said, “Education is not just the ability to read and write, but also gain a huge amount of knowledge. Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision today is to improve the quality of education across the country that will help the less privileged gain the right kind of education. In this pursuit, we want technology to be used to increase the digital intensity in education. We are happy that Samsung is making a valuable contribution in our effort to move from blackboard to digital board across schools.”
“The Government of Tamil Nadu is working towards creating better facilities for quality education in the state. This collaboration for Samsung Smart Class is a step in that direction and will enable us to provide quality education to underprivileged students,” said Shri KA Sengottaiyan, School Education Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu.
One of the key challenges being faced by government schools in rural India is English literacy. To address this issue, Samsung has started offering a digital program on spoken English to all students at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools.
Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “We are elated with the phenomenal success of our flagship citizen program in India. Samsung Smart Class initiative has helped over 2.5 lakh children across the nation become digitally literate. This initiative is closely tied with India’s development agenda, and implemented in close partnership with government departments to ensure wider reach and impact among the less-privileged children. It is also in line with the government's mandate of bringing in technology to improve the quality of education and gradually move from blackboard to digital board.”
Since the first Samsung Smart Class was established in 2013 in association with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, over 2.5 lakh students have benefitted from it. In addition, over 8,000 teachers have been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach effectively, improving the quality of teaching and building capacity at government schools.
Teachers and school principals at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools have provided feedback that Samsung Smart Class has increased student attention, reduced rates of student absenteeism and increased student familiarity and comfort with technology such as smart boards, laptops and printers.
Additionally, teachers have also said that students learn complicated concepts more easily and that the digitally interactive environment encourages shy or hesitant students to participate better in classroom discussions.
Every Samsung Smart Class is equipped with an interactive Samsung Smartboards, Samsung tablets, a printer, Wi-Fi connectivity and power backup.