"Money invested in the promotion of learning gives a multiple return to the people even as a seed sown in good soil returns a luxurious crop."
Education
We are guided by our firm belief that by empowering people, we inspire communities to better themselves and reach for the stars. How do we do that? It’s quite simple really. The key to the development of any country or society is education. Not just any education, rather qualitative and wholesome education to ensure that our efforts to turn out responsible citizens and ideal human beings bear fruit.
To this end, NTPC has marked 15-20 % of its CSR-CD budget for education to individual stations. Among the various activities on education are:
- Facilitating primary education through adopting schools and introducing programmes to boost its universalisation.
- Promoting rural culture and sports; Adult Education Centres; programmes for educating girls.
- Providing of education aids, equipments, scholarships and sponsorship.
Schools
We are currently running 48 schools in the vicinity of various NTPC power projects, benefitting close to 40000 students. These schools are managed by premier academic societies like the DPS Society, the DAV Society, the Chinmaya Mission Trust, St. Joseph's Society and the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, among others. Our involvement takes the form of infrastructural and financial support, access to qualified teachers and quality annual educational plans for every institution.
Coaching Classes
NTPC encourages the passion for higher education by providing a 50% subsidy for arranging/organising coaching classes in the power project townships, for students who wish to pursue higher studies in engineering and medicine.
Refresher Courses for Principals and Teachers
Our support extends to the fountains of education as well – Principals and Teachers. NTPC conducts regular training programmes for teachers in order to upgrade their teaching and technical skills from time to time. Apart from this, workshops are also organised for principals through the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad - India's premier business school.
Our aim is to develop these institutions into centres of excellence that facilitates value education, improving educational standards and implementing professional management systems.
Extra-Curricular Activities
“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” goes an old English proverb. To ensure that the children receive a wholesome education and develop their individual personalities, NTPC has a slew of activities organised on a regular basis. These include competitions for the children at project, regional and national levels through Medha Pratiyogita, theatre workshops through reputed institutes like National School of Drama and SPIC MACAY, Scouts and Guides training, sports activities for children in the townships and coaching camps for various sports events. Each child is a unique soul. The children are encouraged to actively participate in cultural meets to discover their creative potential. Students are also encouraged to become ‘News Readers’ for the monthly video magazines of the project townships. Besides this educational films obtained from Children’s Film Society (CFSI) are regularly screened over the cable TV networks in these townships.
Inclusive Education
The purpose of education is to ensure that all children gain access to knowledge, skills, and information that will prepare them to contribute to their communities and the nation as a whole. Recognising that in diversity lays India’s greatest strength; NTPC has introduced the concept of Inclusive Education in its project schools so that children with special needs can study alongside other children. Inclusion is about making sure that each and every student feels welcome and that their unique needs and learning styles are attended to and valued. The main objective being to ensure easy and dignified integration of children with special needs into the social mainstream.
A pilot project on Inclusive Education has been taken up at Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. Children with special needs were identified from neighbouring villages and they have been integrated in its schools from the academic session 2005-2006. This model is also being adopted by NTPC run schools.
Adult Literacy
NTPC is as committed to the cause of adult literacy as it is to the education of our younger generation. The corporation aims at developing functional literacy skills in those who missed the education boat when they were young.
