The Issue:
In 2020, the penetration rate of smartphones in India reached 54 per cent and was estimated to reach 96 per cent in 2040.
However, only 8% of Indian homes with a young child are estimated to have a PC with internet.
Given this vast disparity, how are the young supposed to learn basic digital skills of working in an office and compete for the digital jobs of today and tomorrow?
The Solution:
To address this massive gap, Nishkam has decided to start a program in Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, India that focuses on bringing young children and introducing them to some basic digital skills.
Details about this basic course:
In batches of 10 and a maximum of 3 concurrent batches at this time, students are taught the following for 1 hour a day (Mon to Fri) for 4 months:
A. The use of MS Office (Word, Excel) and Google Docs
B. How to surf the web and use s search engine
C. How to create an email address and use email
D. How to create a resume and look for and apply for jobs online
The cost of each such student is Rs 2,000 (approx USD 28) for the entire 4 months.
Our goal is that with this introductory course, the children realize the scope of the jobs and careers that are on offer in the digital economy.
100% of your donations go towards the payment of the student fees that have been negotiated in bulk with a private computer institute in Sri Muktsar Sahib.
Current Status:
We started in Jan 2022 with a capacity of 30 students at a time.
Our progress has been as follows:
January to April 2022 - 30 students at Sri Muktsar Sahib. Graduated.
May to August 2022 - 30 students at Sri Muktsar Sahib. Graduated.
September to December 2022 - 30 students at Sri Muktsar Sahib. Graduated.
March to June 2023 - 40 students (underway) at Sri Muktsar Sahib. Underway
April to July 2023 - 10 students (underway) at our new participating centre of Garhdiwala in Hoshiarpur District. Underway.
Thus since January 2022, we are on track to bring basic digital literacy to 140 youngsters in Punjab. We look forward to your continued support.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should be able to achieve a milestone of graduating approximately 190 children by the end of the calendar year 2023.