‘Phone Uthao Classes Chalao’ – Hindware initiative facilitates ‘Shift to Digital Learning’ amid the pandemic

The year 2020 has been the year of the pandemic; the year that ushered in lockdowns brining life as we know it to a complete halt. With almost every aspect of our life affected by the pandemic; we soon evolved and adopted new ways of doing regular things. One such major shift was seen in the way students learned! Physical and in-person classes soon transformed into digital learning solutions, but not everyone was able to adopt this change easily.

With the unlikely scenario for reopening of schools in the near future, schools too became a part of the digital drive. As many students tried to switch and adapt to the online mode of education which eventually was tagged as the ‘new normal’, the normal did not come easy for many students. A section of students found it difficult to cope up with their studies because they did not have access to basic necessities such as smartphones. 

'Phone Uthao, Classes Chalao’

With several students unable to continue their studies due to the digital divide; Mr Shashvat Somany, Vice President- Strategy at HSIL decided to launch the initiative of providing such students with smartphones. An initiative that started with the campaign 'Phone Uthao, Classes Chalao’ wherein Mr Somany’s partnered with ‘MA My Anchor,’ a non-profit organization committed to the welfare of the underprivileged children. The organisation has been driven by its objective of creating awareness and to promote child education and sanitation. HSIL Ltd or its proprietary brand Hindware, on the other hand, is a household name in the Indian market and is a leading manufacturer of faucets, sanitary ware and packaging products.

Phone Uthao, Classes Chalao - Goals 

The initiative aims to eventually create a smartphone library in schools so that the phones are issued to students enabling them of their Fundamental Right to Education. The campaign has received over Rs. 5 Lakhs in funding and also partnered with phone manufacturers in India, for the supply. As of now, the initiative has forged partnered with two government schools where the smartphones are donated. In the next phase, partnerships are to be forged with other government schools across the country. The schools will also provide training to students on how to use a smartphone for online classes and they will also monitor the usage of the smartphones distributed.

Phone Uthao, Classes Chalao - Achievements

Mr Shashvat Somany said that he wishes that every child should be able to learn. Owing to the pandemic, however, there is a learning crisis causing millions of children in India to miss out on education. Given the fact that not every child has a computer or a smartphone with the internet, Mr Somany said that it might lead to many children, especially girls not ever going back to school. He said that the sole purpose of this campaign was a quick adoption of any of the innovative ways to ensure continuity in learning at home. As such the campaign requested for donating of spare smartphones for the cause. Mr Somany said that the drive is continuing and as of today, 50 phones have already been donated to two different schools, Govt Senior Secondary School in village Sherpur- Haryana and the Govt Secondary School in village Chowkaria- Rajasthan. He concluded by saying that the requirement for these two schools has been fulfilled so far and now the aim is to reach out to more schools to assess their requirement. 

Phone Uthao, Classes Chalao - How to Join the Drive

Anyone willing to donate a spare phone can be a part of the Phone Uthao, Classes Chalao initiative. You can reach out at phoneuthaoclasseschalao.com and a pick up adhering to all COVID-19 norms will be arranged any day between 9 AM and 6 PM. Phones with minor cosmetic damages are also accepted as long as there are no significant functional damages such as browser not working, camera not working, etc.