SMART School

We are focusing on providing Quality Education and progressive environment particularly to those who are affected by poverty and disabled. Currently, we are solving this problem in the area called Addagutta, which is one of the  Asia's largest slum areas located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. We have been providing quality education at an Average cost $1 dollar per month per student for the past 25 years for more than 10000 students successfully till now.  Globally, more than 25 million children are suffering on the similar lines, we would like to extend the same initiative to solve the problem globally in a phased manner covering as much as possible and make the difference in the lives of those children. 

To address this Global Learning Challenge, we propose Simple, Mobile, Accessible, Result Oriented & Technology Driven (SMART) School.  The salient features of the SMART School is as follows:

1. Phygital: It is a combination of Physical & Digital blended Interactive learning with a very low investment.  

2. Infrastructure: We do not need big buildings or high-end hardware with huge investments. All we need to have is:-

• Class Rooms or Demo Tent with a Board, Tables, Benches, Stationery, etc.
• Laptop (low end) or Mobile with internet connectivity/External Hard drive
• Projector connected to Screen

3. Human Resources:  We need just 1 Regional  Facilitator who is good in English and the regional language which he need to operates where provide the Educational services.

4. Educational Content & Resources:  We will be giving Lab in a Box (Kits)  which will have the  Text/notebooks, material for hands on activities etc. In addition, the digital content of the whole syllabus is also available on the cloud which can be accessed anytime anywhere alternatively it can be stored and used in external hard drive.

5. STEM Curriculum:  The curriculum will be STEM (Science, Technology, English & Mathematics). These subjects will be focusing on building the corresponding Next Generation Skills like Creative skill through Science, Technical skills through Technology, Communication / Collaboration skills through English (content blended with Arts like Social) and Critical thinking / Problem Solving skills through Mathematics.  Each subject is taught for 40 mins in a Fun and activity based model. Four subjects will be covering 160 mins with a short break which is equal to watching a movie time. Education is broadly categorized into 3 stages 1. Foundational 2. Elementary and 3.  Higher which is further sub-categorized in to Class-wise Levels.

6. Pedagogy:  The pedagogy will be multi disciplinary approach to develop Multiple Intelligence wherein concepts / topics  will be taught in the multiple iterations with different style/approach for differentiated Learners and effective learning to excel in Academics in the following order: 

1. Demonstration method catering to Auditory Learners

2. Video / Movie clipping interactive method catering to Visual learners

3. Classroom/ In house activity based method catering to Kinesthetic learners

4. Project based / Inquiry based method catering to Naturalistic learners 

After which, the child is expected to take Written Assessment and give a presentation with demonstration on the topic.  This approach will be ideal to have Inclusive Learning and caters to the needs of differentiated learning.   

In addition to improve and ensure the excellent Learning Outcomes we follow a scientific based Personalized System of Learning for Performance Improvement which will address the challenges of Slow Learners wherein Slow Learner will be improved on each and every concept/topic till they attain mastery and perfection.

Having successfully implemented this approach in the current School and have been instrumental in improving more than 10,000 children.  With this approach, we should be able to solve the Global Learning Challenge and make the difference in the lives of 250 million children across the World.

We are focusing on providing Quality Education and progressive environment particularly to those who are affected by poverty and disabled. Currently, are solving this problem in the area called Addagutta, which is one of the  Asia's largest slum areas located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. We have been providing quality education at a of $1 dollar per month per student for the past 25 years for more than 10,000 students successfully till now.

We have studied in Government schools which were in pathetic conditions from the same area and have become successful in our professional and personal lives. Having come from the same background we understand the practical challenges and at the same time we understand what solution will be working out to solve the issues on the ground. Initially, we have vacated one of the premises of our house which is more like a cattle shed and started the school.  Along with our family members we have created awareness about the quality education by going door to door in the slums and campaigned. Once few children have joined in our school, we have provided the high quality education at  a $1 cost per month per student. The teachers were  highly qualified and the curriculum was bench marked along with the top schools in the city and the same standard were delivered with a team of committed teachers who share a similar background but with a high commitment.

Also to highlight the issue of girl child enrollment. With our sincere efforts, we were successful in motivating the parents to send their girl child for education and we have also helped many a students in placements too.

We are focusing on providing Quality Education and progressive environment particularly to those who are affected by poverty and disabled. Currently, this solution has been launched "Locally" in the area called Addagutta, which is one of the  Asia's largest slum areas located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. We have been providing quality education at an average cost of $1 dollar per month per student for the past 20+ years and successfully educated and passed out Government Board Exams till Class 10 more than thousand children till date. 

Now, we are iterating on the design and business model of the proposed solution to take it from Local to Global level.  

We would like to make a difference in every child who is deprived of quality education due to poverty or disablement across the world. At an individual level we could able to make difference in more than 10000 children who are located in Asia's largest slum area with our limited resources. However, this is the tip of an iceberg.  There are more than 250 million children across the world who are suffering on the similar lines and we would like to provide quality education  to all of them as much as possible in phased manner.

We are looking forward to a prestigious body like MIT solve or any UN body who could help us providing financial and non financial resources so that we could provide quality education to all the 250 million children at a large scale and make a difference in their lives.

Our solution of SMART School is Simple, Mobile, Accessible, result oriented and Technology based.. this approach makes it unique.  

Firstly, it is very Simple and highly economical.  We do not require huge infra or big campuses, acres of lands buildings, other infrastructure.  All it require a Demo Tent, Laptop/Mobile with Internet/External Hard Drive and a Projector with Screen.  

It does not require huge manpower of highly qualified/experience Faculty from different subjects and do not require an army of administrative/support staff.  Hence it cut downs the investment and costs drastically.  All it requires a reasonably educated person who has completed K-12 and good in English Communication and conversant with the regional/local language for translation if needed, who will act like a Facilitator or Coordinator.

Second, the SMART School is Mobile.  Anytime and Anywhere the services can be provided.  You can take the Laptop/mobile with a small projector and fold-able screen, fold-able furniture of tables/benches, etc and "Lab in a Box" Activity Kits which contains, Text books, Note Books, material for hands-on activities and stationery.  In addition, the Content is in Cloud so it is online and can be accessed anytime and anywhere.  Alternatively, we can carry a Content filled Hard Drive in case there is no internet connectivity. 

Third, It is Accessible to all cutting across the Region, Religion, Race, Gender, Age-groups, illiterate, Caste, Creed, economical status, etc.  This solution cuts across the boundaries and the services can be delivered any part of the world getting into nook and corners of he world, whether it is deep African Tribal/jungle areas or devastated Afghan war affected areas so that the mission is accomplished.   The School can be lift and shift model on need based.  It is Flexible and can be scaled-up or down as per the needs of the requirement and availability of the resources.

Fourth, Result-oriented Approach meeting goal.  This solution follows STEM Curriculum which focuses on teaching and learning the basics skills of Science, Technology, English & Math.   Along with teaching subjects correspondingly will be teaching Next Generation Skills like, Creative, Technology, Communication, Critical Tinking and Problem Solving Skills, etc.  The Pedagogy focuses on getting Perfection and Result-oriented rather than passing. Firstly, it follows the Multi-disciplinary approach where the learning focuses on differentiated learners and the learners who can learn effectively with a style which is more effective for them.  Namely, Auditory, Visual, Kinesthetic, Natural, Musical, Aesthetic, etc.  

The next focus of the Pedagogy is Personalized System of Learning for Performance Improvement, a scientific based approach to improve the Academic Performance including the Slow Learners.  The child learns a particular concept/topic till he becomes perfect but not mere passing in the subject.

Fifth, Technology-Driven.  The solution focuses on Technology wherein we use the different technologies like Digital Learning, ERP, LMS, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, AR/VR, Robotics/Drone, Types of Engineering and the integrated Technologies.

Have changed the lives of the children in our Local.  Now, looking forward to make the difference in the lives of the children globally.

The Goal of the Program is to provide Quality Education and progressive environment, particularly to those who are affected by Poverty and Displacement.

With this thought in mind, we focused on Asia's Largest Slum called "Addagutta" located in Hyderabad, India where thousands of the children were deprived quality education due to poverty and displacement.  Initially, we have vacated one of the premises of our house which is more like a cattle yard with a shed and started the school with basic infra like a board and few benches and tables. 

We hired highly qualified teachers and the curriculum was benchmarked along with the top schools in the city and the same standard were delivered with a team of committed teachers who share a similar background but with a high commitment. 

Along with our family members we have created awareness about the quality education by campaigning door to door in the slums.  Also to highlight the issue of girl child enrollment. With our sincere efforts, we were successful in motivating the parents to send their children for education. 

First year 100+ children have joined and after decades it is 1000+ children.  Till now, we have successfully passed out thousands of children in the Government conducted X Class Board Exams.  On an average we have provided the high Quality Education at $1 cost per month per child thought the period.      

Currently, thousands of the students who have studied in our school are placed well in many Government, Multi-national Companies, IT Companies, Businesses, etc.  "1 Educated Child in a Poor family transformed the lives of entire Family into Rich with high standard of living and social values.  Now the so called “Slum” has become “Millionaire” Colony with a very high standard of living.  

The transformation in the lives of students that we have brought in is the testimony to the efforts and commitment with which we have delivered our work.  

The Goal of the Program is to provide Quality Education and progressive environment, particularly to those who are affected by Poverty and Displacement.  In this regard, few Key Impact Goals are targeted for our Solution which is aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals as well and the progress in them are as follows: -

•  Quality Education – The local area named “Addagutta” was one of the Asia’s largest slums a 2 decades back having Single Digit Literacy Rate in children due to non-availability of Quality Schools and the Government Schools were ineffective due to lack of commitment. 
• No Poverty – 2 Decades ago “Addagutta” locality was one of the Asia’s largest slum with huts and poor sanitation.  Now it is “Millionaire” colony having high rise individual buildings with good quality infrastructure with all facilities. One Educated child in a Poor Family transformed the lives of entire family into Rich and wealthy.  Like-wise we could able to make difference in entire locality by educating every child in the slum and transformed the locality into rich community.
• Gender Equality – Girl Child were treated and used completely for child labor or domestic help inevitably.  Our sincere efforts in educating the parents of the poor had brought the awareness of the importance of the girl education which resulted into 100% Girl Literacy Rate and currently most of the Girls are working on par with the Boys into MNCs, Govt bodies and establishing their enterprises.
• Reduced Inequalities – Earlier there used to be the Asia’s largest slum called “Addagutta” below the hill with below poverty line and next to it there used to be Millionaires colony called Mahendra Hills up the hills with huge difference of inequality.  Now after two decades, there is a drastic reduction in inequality wherein majority of the households in Addagutta are also Millionaires and most of them are above poverty line.  We hardly see any difference in the two societies with more or less equal standards.
• Decent Work and Economic Growth – Earlier the people in “Addagutta” used to be more than 90% are daily laborers and beggars, they hardly earn for their living which was not sufficient for their basic food and other essential needs with Very Low Economic conditions.  Now, majority of the children who got educated and started working decently in MNCs, IT Companies earning millions of income and having a very high economic growth purchasing multiple properties and doing investments.
• Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Two decades earlier, “Addagutta” locality used to be notorious for Roberry, Theft and Criminal activities, in fact it used to be black listed zone.  Now, the same locality is known for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.  Many of the people are employed in top MNCs, IT Companies, highly educated and strong in technical and functional skill pool of large resource.  We have International renowned Buddhist Temple, Hindu Temples, Mosques, Churches, strong law and order with well maintained civic amenities along with multiple big retails, educational institutions and corporate.

The solution focuses on Technology Driven wherein we use the Core Technologies that powers the solution are as follows: -

Digital Interactive and Remote Teaching and Learning – The content is in Digital and can be presented online effectively in different formats like videos, animated pictures, data, text, etc. and learning is done in an interactive mode.

Cloud Internet – The Digital content is accessed through Online from anytime and anywhere.

Artificial Intelligence – The Content and Questions/Answers are customized and personalized based on the level of performance of the children so that differentiated Learners can be benefited as per their performances rightly.

Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality – The Content can be made more realistic and effective showcasing through AR/VR to enhance the Experiential Learning.

Robotics/Drone Technologies – Different streams of Engineering Basics of Computers, Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical, etc. are explained and learnt and the Robotics and Drone Technologies are learnt and demonstrated practically.

Learning Management System (LMS) – Entire Learning process is managed by LMS and the child learning outcomes are effectively captured and tracked to improve and realize the learning outcomes.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) – Entire School Management process is automated and effectively managed through ERP

Mr. Sreedhar Manchala, CEO & President work on Designing and Solution part and Ms. Vidhya Manikantan, Executive Director work in executing and delivering part. 

The Shantiniketan (San) School which we are running has 1000+ students and close to 30+ full-time faculty staff, 10 part time staff and 10 Contractors or other workers are employed.

In the proposed SMART School. apart from 2 of us, we require 4 Back-end Online Faculty in Core Subjects of STEM.  In addition, 1 Faculty Facilitator.  The number of Faculty Facilitators will get increased based on the Number of SMART Schools and Number of Classes.

The established solution which myself Sreedhar Manchal, CEO & President and Vidhya Manikantan, Executive Director have worked earlier 20 years back has been successfully delivered and helped in providing Quality Education to 10,000 student in “Addagutta” area located in Hyderabad, India locally.

Now, we propose SMART School which we have been re-designing still iterating on design and business model for the past 1 year as a Pilot to take it from Local to Global addressing the Quality Education Challenge.

We at Shantiniketan (San) School focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness.

Diversity –  Diversity by providing employment to people who come from different backgrounds like Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, etc. different cultures like Anglo Indians, North India and South Indians, etc.

Equity – We have more Female gendered employees.  Even the Management is taken care by Executive Director, Ms. Vidhya Manikantan.

Inclusive – We have employed and are very supportive to Physically handicapped and challenged employees.

Partners + Key Stakeholders – Mr. Sreedhar Manchala, CEO and Ms. Vidhya Manikantan, Executive Director

Key Resources – Per SMART School : 4 Online Faculty for Core STEM Subjects & 1 Faculty Facilitator.  This will get increased based on number SMART Schools and Number of Classes it holds.

Key Activities – Providing Educational Services – Phygital blended both Online/Offline Services.  SMART School Platform with LMS and ERP, Educational Resources like, Laptop/mobile, Projector with Screen, Board, Tables, benches, Books, tools, stationery, etc.

Type of Interventions – Funding Bodies like MIT Solve, UN, etc.

Channels – Funding Bodies like MIT Solve, UN, Corporate, etc.

Segments – Poor localities/areas located in below Poverty Line across the World.

Value Proposition – International Standard Quality Education at a Affordable Cost to the below Poverty line children.

Cost Structure – 1) Physical Infra - Laptop, Mobile, Projector with Screen, Benches, Tables, Lab in a Box Kits contains books, resources, stationery, etc.

2) Human Resource – 4 Core Online Faculty for STEM Subjects and 1 Faculty Facilitator for 1 SMART School and this will get increased based on the number of SMART Schools and number of classes each SMART School holds.

Surplus – Surplus once the Self Sustain Model is in place.

Revenues – Initial Funding from bodies like MIT Solve, UN, Corporates and later Self-sustain model  

Existing Solution – Shantiniketan (San) School has been initiated 20 years back by me in a Cattle yard Shed by vacating part of our house and renovated to a School with an investment of $ 1,000 (One Thousand Dollars).  For initial 1st year had to invest another  $ 5,000 (Five Thousand Dollars) to sustain and cover the running and operational expenses.  From the 2nd year the Break-even happened and became Self-sustained School.  Third Year onwards started giving nominal profits and growing. 

Similarly, we expect the propose pilot model of 1 SMART School needs funding close to $ 10,000 (Dollars Ten Thousand only) as a Capital Investment and another $ 10,000 (Dollars Ten Thousand only) to sustain and cover the running and operational expenses.

From 2nd year the Break-even should be happening and become Self-sustained School and from 3rd Year onwards it should start giving nominal Profits and get growing.

These are indicative projections and may vary based on the requirements.