Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF), the philanthropic arm of Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), inaugurated the second phase of ‘Vidya Vahini Program’ for government school students in remote rural areas in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Aligned with the Government of India’s National Education Policy, Vidya Vahini is an initiative of HMIF which focuses on improving the quality of education imparted to government school students in remote areas.
Based on the success of the Vidya Vahini program, an expansion phase has been inaugurated which includes 5 Mobile science libraries and 15 Labs on Bikes. HMIF has invested Rs 2.38 cores in this program till date, with the aim of benefiting 30,000 students and it intends to further invest in the same. These vehicles will be deployed across 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and will cover various government schools in remote rural areas creating an outreach to students for helping them enhance their knowledge bank in the field of science.
Puneet Anand, Vertical Head - Corporate Communication and Social, HMIL, said, “The first phase of Vidya Vahini has been very successful as 10,000 students across 5 districts of Uttar Pradesh have been directly benefitted through this program.”
Sandeep Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Primary Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh said, “Hyundai Motor India Foundation’s initiative is a positive approach towards promotion of education in India and I hope the initiative becomes a success and inspires others to do the same.”
The program will also take up additional activities such as organising science fairs across government district schools to give students a platform to showcase their innovative skills and impart training on latest materials and scientific models to teachers which will help them impart the latest education modules to students.
With Agastya Foundation as the implementation partner, Vidya Vahini Program was launched in 2022 in the state of Uttar Pradesh across Ghazipur, Shamli, Gonda, Lalitpur and Shahjahanpur districts and became a success with 10,000 benefitting from the program. The students were given access to the latest study materials and exposure to various scientific experiments. The program also provided upskilling training to government school teachers so that the quality of education impartment is ensured for longer periods of time. As part of the program, 48 science fairs were organised at a district level wherein students were encouraged to participate and showcase their innovative skills.