At Bharti Enterprises, there is absolute belief in education being the most important tool for social and economic development in India. Thus, Bharti Foundation was set up in 2000 as the philanthropic arm of the Bharti Group of Companies to bridge the existing education divide and make quality education accessible to underprivileged children in rural India. The Foundation aims to help underprivileged children and young people of our country realize their potential.
Satya Bharti School Program
The Satya Bharti School Program is the flagship program of Bharti Foundation. Launched in 2006, this education initiative supports the pursuit for excellence and aims to set benchmarks for quality education across the country. The schools are “temples of learning, radiating knowledge and excellence for underprivileged children” and provide free education to underprivileged children, with a special focus on the girl child, in the deepest rural pockets of the country.
Bharti Foundation has adopted multiple models of implementation to make a difference in the quality of elementary education in the country.
Green Field Schools: Bharti Foundation is establishing its own Satya Bharti Primary Schools, with an aim to reach out to underprivileged children in the remotest corners of the country.
Adoption of Government Schools: The Foundation has adopted 49 government schools to improve the quality of education being imparted. These schools are known as the Satya Bharti Government Primary Schools.
Public-Private Partnership Model: The first Satya Bharti Senior Secondary School has been set up in partnership with the Government of Punjab under the Adarsh Scheme of the Punjab Education Board and is known as the Government Satya Bharti Adarsh Senior Secondary School.
Bharti Foundation will set up 250 Primary and 25 Senior Secondary Satya Bharti Schools across the country as part of Phase I of operations of the Satya Bharti School Program. Currently 236 Satya Bharti Primary Schools are operational, reaching out to approximately 30,000 children and recruiting over 1200 teachers across the states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Of these 236 schools, 49 schools are adopted government schools, reaching out to approximately 6,000 children, across Neemrana and Amer blocks of Rajasthan.
The first senior secondary school has also been started in Punjab. The Government Satya Bharti Adarsh Senior Secondary School was launched in Chogawan, Amritsar on April 8, 2010 by Dr. Upinderjit Kaur, the Hon’ble Education Minister for Punjab. Five more schools are scheduled to be set up under this partnership with the Punjab Government.
Higher Education Programs
Bharti Foundation has partnered with premier institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2000 to set up the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management, IIT Delhi. Currently over 50 students are directly enrolled at the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management while approximately 150 students are supported through various facilities of the Bharti School to pursue courses in associated fields. Bharti Foundation has also set up the Bharti Centre for Communication, Bombay in partnership with IIT, Bombay.
The Bharti Scholarship and Mentorship program has also been instituted to support academically brilliant students from financially weak backgrounds. Under this program Bharti Foundation has also partnered with Udayan Care to support the Udayan Shalini Fellowship Program. Currently 137 scholars are being supported under the Bharti Scholarship and Mentorship Program.
The Bharti Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives, set up in a joint initiative with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) promotes, develops and facilitates entrepreneurship and works towards encouraging entrepreneurship among young individuals. The Bharti Entrepreneur Award honours first generation entrepreneurs and emphasizes the importance of structured training in the area of entrepreneurship.
