Computer Shiksha

Computer Shiksha offers computer literacy programs as a service to schools who are already successfully engaging with communities but do not have the resources to produce an effective Digital Literacy program.

Our project aims to combat one of the troubling features of education inequality by providing technology access and instruction set for under-served children.

Computer Shiksha provides Free Computer literacy through Self-Learning Videos in schools catering to the under-served by delivering refurbished computers, training a teacher per school, providing video based course-ware, assisting in monitoring, evaluation and certification of students and assisting in life-long maintenance and other support to these schools.

At Computer Shiksha, our Mission is to build an ecosystem for providing Computer Knowledge and Training with passion and commitment; to deliver value in the form of Computer trained people, who use this skill for the betterment of their lives in every possible way.

The world faces a tremendous range of unmet needs related to education, health, food security and energy use. In India, having made considerable strides in improving access, efforts are now being made to improve the quality of education. As of the 2001 Census, there are more than 400 million school-age children who are not able to afford an adequate education. These disparities, driven by class, caste and regional disparities are one of the greatest challenges that the country will need to address in the 21st century.

Our project aims to combat one of the troubling features of education inequality by providing technology access and instruction set for under-served children. Computer Shiksha offers computer literacy programs as a service to schools who are already successfully engaging with communities but do not have the resources to produce an effective Digital Literacy program.

The organization believes that exposing children to the modern marvels of the personal computer can serve as a mechanism that will better their lives substantially. The impact ranges from attracting more children to come into the fold of formal education to a desire  to pursue further education.  

Computer Shiksha provides Free Computer literacy through in house developed Self-Learning Videos in schools catering to the under-served by delivering refurbished computers, training a teacher per school, providing video based course-ware, assisting in monitoring, evaluation and certification of students and assisting in life-long maintenance and other support to these schools.

We were absolutely clear that Computer education as an employ-ability tool is no more valid. There are no jobs of data entry anywhere in the world, and whatever may be still available, will soon vanish due to AI. Computer education is just as essential as Languages and Maths, because without this knowledge one just won’t be able to fit in the society, nor get any job in the future, because computer education like maths need to be inherently known to perform any job. So computer education shifts from an employ-ability tool to an essential skill just to survive in the society. This project will thus aim to enable students to use their knowledge of computers to better their lives.

We have developed our video course ware on MS Paint, Open Office suite, Internet and email over 2 years period and approximately 200k USD.

Simply put, the overarching desire of the Computer Shiksha team is to leave no one computer illiterate on the face of this Earth. We have made a beginning with initially targeting kids at schools that cater to the under-served communities in India and, to some extent, in Ghana, Africa. As many as 1,00,00+ such kids are already reaping benefits from this missionary work of Computer Shiksha.

We are currently working in 15 states of India and with support from an NGO in Ghana have trained teachers of 21 schools in Ghana where more than 500 kids are learning with the help of Computer Shiksha.

In this work on the ground, it has been reported that :

1. Whichever school started CS courses, the number of admission requests to that school increased dramatically, as word spread about computer education being available there.

2. On the days, computer literacy is provided, the attendance improves compared to the days when it is not the turn of the computer course.

3. The sheer confidence that children gain once they start computer education is awesome to watch.

4. This course will enable a child to work in any job more confidently in future when he/she enters job market and also integrate with the society better.

The Computer Shiksha Mission is to build an ecosystem for providing Computer Knowledge with passion and commitment; to deliver value in the form of Computer trained people, who use this skill for the betterment of their lives. We aim to combat one of the troubling features of education inequality by providing technology access and instruction for under-served children.

Exposing children to the modern marvels of the personal computer can serve as a mechanism that will better their lives substantially. The impact ranges from attracting more children to come into the fold of formal education and to pursue further education. 

After having taught 1300 children in 6 schools serving slum areas of Gurgaon for 3 years, Computer Shiksha spent 2 years in developing Computer Literacy video course-ware covering MS Paint, Open Office Suite, Internet and Email spending approximately 200,000 USD.

And now, we have deployed our complete solution of Video course-ware, refurbished computers, 8 days school teachers training, life-long hardware & software maintenance, 9 am to 5 pm CS helpline to support the school teachers, assessment services at all levels and finally certification at 550+ schools in 15 states in India serving 100,000+ children in these schools and expanding fast.

We intend to provide Computer Knowledge and Training from Pavements to High-rises, children to adults, villages to metros, with passion and commitment. Our dream is to ensure computer literacy for all!

The future of computer training will be the use of digital media to instruct the user. Computer Shiksha has been quick to adopt this philosophy and has successfully transitioned all of its services from the traditional live classroom structure to the more innovative digital media format.

We created content to cover the entire curriculum in such a way that learning could happen in almost the same way as in a live class with a trainer. We have been able to build in Expected Student Responses. The instructional content is

• in the form of power point integrated video modules (with audio voice-over)
• Hardware / Software Troubleshooting manual
• Trainer's Manual for all the modules of the course for helping the trainers in the classroom

Thus our approach is to "enable" the schools that are already serving the children of under-served communities and add full end-to-end computer literacy course solution to their portfolio , that will include, free computers, free complete computer literacy courseware, free 8 days training to teachers from schools who may be 12th standard and who may have never ever seen a computer, this training will not only enable him/her to deliver world class computer literacy course with help of CS course videos but also help solve 95% of hardware and software problems with the help of CS help line, free lifetime maintenance of computers hardware & software, complete module wise assessment support and finally certification.

As on March 31, 2021 Computer Shiksha is currently reaching out to 104,734 students in 558 schools; their teachers and families.

Keeping in view the current Covid situation, we should be able to reach 170,000 students by March, 2022; plus their teachers and families.

By March, 2026 we aim to reach out to 1,100,000 students; their teachers and families.

We provide free Computer Literacy to students from the under-served communities right from KG to college levels. Indirectly, we also impact the community - teachers from schools and parents and siblings of these children.

The specific measurable indicators that we measure all the time are

• No of Schools tied up with to implement CS course of computer literacy in the school
• No of children covered in the course
• No of States in India covered
• No of students certified in any module
• Level of Quality delivery schools wise , category wise divided

Computer Shiksha is imbibing in these kids a way of life which enables them to at least stand on an equal footing with their better privileged  friends. We are building the requisite confidence and pride in these kids which will allow them to succeed in multiple walks of life.

It has been reported that :  (Not measurable)

1. Admission requests to schools offering CS courses increased dramatically, as word spread around about computer education becoming available there

2. On the days computer literacy is provided attendance improves

3. The sheer confidence that children gain once they start computer education is awesome to watch

Testimonials, like the one below, from students have been recorded and are available on our You Tube page.These not only convey what students feel about computer education that they are being provided, but also are heart-warming stories, as they share their dreams and aspirations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbMtst-PU_c

20 full-time and 1 part-time staff.

>90% staff come from the same background as the beneficiaries and their empathy level naturally remains high.

They are trained extensively on various functions and develop into a multi-role capable contributor.

Indirectly, 1 teacher per school (563 today) become indirect employees of CS

Computer Shiksha(CS) is led by leading professionals who have run global organizations in IT and Management. Dr. Rakesh Suri, Founder President at CS has over 36 years’ experience in the global IT industry. For him, this is his Life’s Mission and he devotes full time to this activity.

More than 90% staff come from the same background as the beneficiaries and their empathy level naturally remains high.

 We have 7 trustees at the helm who are responsible for the running of CS and are its conscience keepers legally as well as morally.  Patrons in CS are the group which represents Computer Shiksha's intellectual depth and philanthropic intent.  CS depends on its Patrons to evangelize the cause to the communities they belong to for spreading the word and mustering resources to make Computer Shiksha grow and expand its footprint. They also form the sounding board for the trustees for any decisions which involve large investments or a long term impact.

Operations is headed by a Vice President ably supported by a General Manager and a couple of Programme Managers. Together, they evaluate and select schools for offering CS courses. Further, we have our people strategically located in the North, West and Central parts of India who also help us in operations and help our Program Manager in monitoring and evaluation.

Each role is extremely vital to achieve our overall goal. The backbone of the entire staff is the shared desire to promote innovative and progressive change in the world.

On 15th March 2012 we came together to articulate our dream of social service and got to the drawing board. Computer Shiksha(CS) is a team of professionals with a varied background in the domain of Management, Education and IT. We believe everybody has the desire to 'give-back' to Society. We had arrived at a stage in life where our basic needs could be met and it was a ripe time to put into action our 'giving-back' endeavors. Looking at our combined experiences and the needs of the Nation, we narrowed down to working in education for the under-served. From here to focusing on computer literacy was an expected step since we came from the IT and ITES industries and hoped we could bank on support from our friends for say, end-of-life computers etc.

The idea was to utilize our talents and provide Computer Education as a service to those who are already successfully engaged with communities similar to a B2B model. A small meeting with a street based NGO made it look possible and very exciting too. And thus was born what we call Computer Shiksha today. And from there this idea of a N2N (akin to B2B) initiative came. Now we partner with other NGOs already running educational establishments for communities and take computer education to their doorsteps.

We intend to provide Computer Knowledge and Training from Pavements to High-rises, children to adults, villages to metros, with passion and commitment. Our dream is to ensure computer literacy for all!

Just in India 240 million children await Computer Shiksha(CS). We need end-of-life systems in huge numbers and funds to re-furbish these. Additionally, funds are also needed to train teachers, provide video based course-ware, assist in monitoring, evaluation and certification; life-long maintenance; operating and administrative expenses.

We are applying to seek tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. 

For 1 million children target, we would need to tie-up with:

100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners

We need to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds 

We are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. We are looking at at-least 240 million   kids who need access to Computer Shiksha asap !

This is demand side and If we look at delivery side from CS, if we want to reach 1 million children, we require :

13 million USD, 72000 computers or 25 million USD (assuming zero computers received in donation) and 3 years.

We could always ramp up the organization to increase the target.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we would need to build on that.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. 

On the demand side our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. On the delivery side if we want to reach 1 million children, we require :

100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners

We need to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds - 13 million USD, 72000 computers or 25 million USD (assuming zero computers received in donation) and 3 years.

We would also need to ramp-up the organization to increase the target.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we would need to build on that.

Computer Shiksha looks forward to partnering with various State Governments in India; with organizations and people who can help us in reaching Computer Shiksha's model of computer Literacy to more needy people across the Globe.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we would need to build on that.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. 

We require :

100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners

We need to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds - 13 million USD, 72000 computers or 25 million USD (assuming zero computers received in donation) and 3 years.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. This Prize will help us advance our solution to more needy folks including those in the US.

On the demand side our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. On the delivery side if we want to reach 1 million children, we will be able to build-up tie-ups with 100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners.

We will be able to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds.

We will also be able to ramp-up the organization to increase the target.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we will be able  to build on that with this Prize.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. This Prize will help us advance our solution to more needy folks; which also include refugee kids.

On the demand side our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. On the delivery side if we want to reach 1 million children, we will be able to build-up tie-ups with 100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners.

We will be able to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds.

We will also be able to ramp-up the organization to increase the target.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we will be able  to build on that with this Prize.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. The HP Prize for Advancing Digital Equity will help us advance our solution to more needy folks.

On the demand side our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. On the delivery side if we want to reach 1 million children, we will be able to build-up tie-ups with 100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners.

We will be able to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds.

We will also be able to ramp-up the organization to increase the target.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we will be able  to build on that with this Prize.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. This Prize will help us advance our solution to more needy folks; which also includes women.

On the demand side our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. On the delivery side if we want to reach 1 million children, we will be able to build-up tie-ups with 100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners.

We will be able to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds.

We will also be able to ramp-up the organization to increase the target.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we will be able  to build on that with this Prize.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. This Prize will help us advance our solution by using AI and Data Sciences.

On the demand side our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. On the delivery side if we want to reach 1 million children, we will be able to build-up tie-ups with 100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners.

We will be able to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds.

We will also be able to ramp-up the organization to increase the target.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we will be able  to build on that with this Prize.

We are seeking tie-ups with partners who can help provide resources - technology, logistics, financial, end-of-life computers. This Prize will help us offer the CS models of Computer Literacy by adopting innovative technology powered solutions.

On the demand side our challenge now is meeting the numbers in a quick enough time-frame. On the delivery side if we want to reach 1 million children, we will be able to build-up tie-ups with 100 + corporate in India for End-of-life computer and funds donations. Currently we have 16 corporate partners.

We will be able to build relationship with US charity ecosystem for raising funds.

We will also be able to ramp-up the organization to increase the target.

As per NSSO 2014 figures, 293 million children don’t seem to have access to computer literacy and will not have it as no one (including Central and State Governments) has any project in place to deliver it. To make a serious dent in this daunting figure, we are starting our REACH 115 backward districts for raising awareness of need of computer literacy in schools from Jan 2022. We expect this to help schools and other stakeholders to start looking at and developing ‘resource-constrained’ innovative solutions with CS help.

This program will run for almost 10+ years and reach 80-100 million children.

Today CS doesn’t have a dedicated vertical to work with State Governments. To enable Government schools to offer CS course of Computer Literacy we will be able  to build on that with this Prize.