Ashok Leyland, the flagship Company of the Hinduja Group and India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, today announced its CSR initiative ‘Road to School’ (RTS) expanding its reach to 178 additional schools in Krishnagiri and Namakkal Districts. This holistic child development program will benefit additional 11,042 students.
The event was inaugurated by NV Balachandar, President-HR, CSR & Communication, along with Dr. V. Jaya Chandra Bhanu Reddy, I.A.S., Collector, Krishnagiri District, R Murugan, Chief Educational Officer, Krishnagiri District, D S Narayana, Asst. Project Officer-Samagara Siksha, Krishnagiri District, T Sasikumar, Vice President-HR & CSR, Ashok Leyland; S Girish, Project Director, Learning Links Foundation (LLF).
Speaking on the occasion, N.V Balachandar, said “Road To School has been transformational for many young students’ lives. We are humbled by the positive change that we see in students who are part of the programme. We take pride in our achievements like remarkable improvement in reading skills by 35% and an overall reduction in dropouts by about 20%.”
“There are many such metrics which prove that we are on the right path. But the most important one and the one which cannot be quantified is the sense of happiness and satisfaction that we are enabling our young children with education and social tools which will lead them to prosperity. Today with this addition of 178 schools benefiting 11,042 students makes our initiative much stronger and widens the impact that we want to have in our society. We look forward to the new students and we hope that we make a lasting impression in their lives.”, he said.
Road To School faced a challenge when people movement was restricted owing to the pandemic. The team at Ashok Leyland saw this as an opportunity and moved quickly towards digital platforms by launching the ‘iCare’ initiative.
The team, along with the help of Learning Links Foundation and 598 volunteers from 11 of Hinduja Group companies, ensured no child is left behind in education. The Resource Personnels (RPs) and the volunteers continue to engage students through online and offline activities across academic learning, health & wellness, communication skills and art & craft.
The program was started in 2015 with 36 Schools in Shoolagiri and Anchetty in Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu. The success of the program encouraged the company to spread further in the districts of Tamil Nadu in Tiruvallur (Minjur, Puzhal), Namakkal (Mohanur, Paramathy, Erumapatti and Kolli Hills), Krishnagiri (Shoolagiri, Anchetty, Thally, Kelamangalam) covering about 714 Schools impacting around 55000 plus Students today in Government Primary and Upper Primary schools. The ‘Road to School’ program, helps nurture both Scholastic and Co-Scholastic development of children at Government schools in remote locations covering Education, Health, Personal Hygiene, Wellness, Nutrition Supplement, Emotional Development including Sports and Music.
