Fashioning
Possibilities

Education

Gyanda

Gyanda is Arvind’s flagship educational programme under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Gyanda literally means ‘Fountain of Knowledge’ What the programme attempts to do is to mentor children from the urban poor families, studying in municipal schools run by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, and provide them with supplementary education. The idea is to ensure that these children not only complete their education up to Class XII, but go on to graduate.

At the heart of this programme is to equip these children to break the vicious circle of poverty. Here is how the programme works.

  • Background

    Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation runs over 450 schools that provides free education to over 1.3 Lacs students. Most students in these schools come from the urban poor families living in congested urban settings.

    Given the social and economic constraints, many students tend to drop out after primary education. They need guidance and financial support and hand holding to continue their education at least till higher secondary.

  • Concept

    Gyanda is a unique initiative that provides educational, financial and motivational support to help students from economic backward sections of society to complete their education till Class 12 and further, if they have the merit and desire to study

    The objective is to ensure that these children get quality education that results in gainful employment, thereby ensuring that theirs is the last generation in poverty.

Implementation

The Primary School programme
This programme works with students of Class 5, 6 and 7 studying in Municipal Schools in Ahmedabad. Teachers from SHARDA Trust, a charitable Trust under the umbrella of Arvind Foundation teach Mathematics, English, Computers and Gujarati in these schools during school hours, with emphasis on easy learning and practical applications.
The Secondary School programme
Selected through a sensitive and careful process, students from primary sections join the secondary sections. The academic curriculum expands tremendously once a student reaches Class 8 and above. To cope with this, students require a great deal of personalized attention and subject-wise guidance.
SHARDA Trust
conducts three-hour classes for these students after school hours. Currently, there are two centers where these classes are conducted. Students from various schools who have been sponsored by SHARDA Trust come to these centers.
Financial support to students
To prevent students from dropping out of the education system, we facilitate their admission in higher classes in various schools, based on their merit and choice. We also provide all-round support, including payment of education fees, financial support to buy uniforms, books.
Scholarships to pursue professional degrees
Meritorious and needy students get financial support for higher education after the 12th, in professional streams of their choice at reputed colleges.
  • Reach

    Gyanda today supports about 1300 students. By 2020, it aims to extend the programme to cover 6,600 students; about 10% of the upper primary students of Ahmedabad’s Municipal Schools.

  • Impact

    Initiated in 2006-7 the Gyanda project has been in operation for ten years. The first batch of students who enrolled for higher education is about to graduate.

    A study on livelihood prospects of children who dropped out of school and those who were in the Gyanda programme has decisively shown that while the former are struggling to find work in the unskilled or semi-skilled market, the Gyanda students are poised to enter the organized sector.

Education
Health
Slum Rehabilitation
Empowering Tribal Women

Gyanda is Arvind’s flagship programme in the field of education. It is a unique supplementary education model designed for primary, secondary and higher secondary school-going children studying in Municipal Schools. It prevents these children from dropping out and helps them complete their basic education from standard V to XII, while focusing on improving their academic performance and overall personality development.

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Arvind undertook another initiative in association with Swasth India Foundation to launch Arvind Medical Centres to provide quality healthcare services such as Doctor Consultations, Basic Diagnosis, Quality medicines, Dental Care Services, etc. at affordable costs to the underprivileged section of the society.

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Established in association with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, this 1996 CSR project was envisioned to provide safer, better-built and comfortable houses to the slum dwellers of Sanjay Nagar and majestically transformed the slums of Sanjay Nagar into modern homes and upscale towers.

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Women, educated upto class XII are chosen on the basis of their aptitude, Health conditions, dexterity, etc. and all their basic needs are taken care of by the company while they pursue higher education. Also known as CSR in Spirit, this unique residential programme aims at educating tribal women in order to make them self-reliant.

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Fashioning Possibilities

Fashioning a better tomorrow

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