NITI Aayog, BYJU's ink deal to provide free education to children in 112 aspirational districts

Edtech giant BYJU'Ssaid it has partnered with NITI Aayog to provide children from 112 aspirational districts free access to high-quality education and tech-driven learning programmes.

Aspirational districts, which refers to India's most developmentally challenged districts across sectors including education, healthcare, basic infrastructure and finance - include states such as Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Karnataka, Sikkim, and others.

BYJU's said its career-plus programme will identify and provide high-quality test prep coaching to 3,000 meritorious students of classes 11 and 12 who wish to appear for NEET and JEE.

Students for the career-plug programme will be administered a pre-designed test, and provided course content material, mentoring, and support. The courses will be conducted at dedicated centres as well as online.

"Technology has played a key role in helping ensure continuity, and a lot of classrooms have moved to an “online” format. In many ways, this has catalysed the development of innovations in the education space, and it is imperative for us to reimagine education and keep pace with these innovations," said NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant.

"Effective use of technology in education can aid transformation, and with BYJU’S joining us, the students in these aspirational districts will get an opportunity to access quality education," he added.

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The project also includes a voluntary programme for children of school-going age, from classes 6 to 12, who can choose to receive scholastic content from BYJU's Learning App for three years.

Ultimately, the aim is to establish a dedicated working group that will create knowledge, and a support system for students. The team will also actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of the programme to ensure it remains efficient.

"Through our Education for All programme, we have been empowering and impacting millions of children across the country, and by partnering with NITI Aayog, our efforts are being strengthened further. Education holds the key to driving society forward, and we believe that every child, irrespective of their socio-economic background, deserves to have access to quality education," said Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of BYJU’S.