Bengaluru, July 01, 2022: NTT Ltd., a leading IT infrastructure and services company, along with The Akshaya Patra Foundation performed bhoomi pujan and laid the foundation stone of the Government Higher Primary School in Lakshmipura, Bengaluru, on Thursday, June 30, 2022, to further their collective efforts to address classroom hunger and malnutrition through education.

Both the organisations aim to complete the construction of the school, which is being built on a government-sanctioned plot, by the end of 2023. The INR ₹2 Crore project, spread across 7,500 sq ft, will have unique features such as a multi-purpose hall with a dedicated space for the consumption of mid-day meals, an amphitheatre, a computer lab, a library, solar power and rainwater harvesting systems. Other facilities planned are water purifying systems, classroom infrastructure, sports ground and CCTV cameras.

The event was graced by the presence of Shri Manjunath R, MLA, Dasarahalli Assembly Constituency, Bangalore, Shri Lohiteshwar Reddy, Deputy Director of Public Instruction (Bangalore – North), Shri Ashwath Narayana, Block Education Officer (Bangalore North – 4), Mr Sunil Kishore, Senior Executive Vice President, NTT, Mr Dilip Kumar, Chief Digital & Global Business Services Officer, NTT, Mr. Anant Arora, CSCO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Mr. Balaji MN, CFO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Manjunath R, MLA, Dasarahalli Assembly Constituency, Bangalore thanked NTT and Akshaya Patra for coming forward in building this modern government school. He assured his support to the fullest.

Speaking about the collaboration, Mr. Sunil Kishore, Senior Executive Vice President, NTT, said, “Access to quality education is a fundamental right of every child, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds. At NTT, we firmly believe that a holistic environment equipped with the latest technologies and digital inclusiveness can help create a world where children from economically-weaker sections do not have to forfeit opportunities because of affordability or accessibility issues. Our philosophy is to bring a tangible impact to our existing education ecosystem, and we are happy to have partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to strengthen our social impact initiative while also providing a safe space for the children who are the future of this country.”

Established in 1963, the school is currently housed in an old building and provides education to 201 children from vulnerable communities and low-income families.

On the occasion, Mr. Shridhar Venkat, CEO of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, said, “We are grateful to NTT Ltd. for reiterating their support towards our vision that ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger’. This collaboration will not only support us to provide children belonging to vulnerable communities with a holistic study space, but also help us maintain our conviction that education is one of the best approaches to nurture a happy future for our country. We are honoured to have partnered with NTT Ltd. and hope this collaboration will continue to make an on-ground impact for many more years to come.”

The project is a part of Akshaya Patra’s school rejuvenation program under the National Endeavour for Student Transformation (NEST), an initiative that focuses on addressing the various challenges faced at individual school levels. The Foundation firmly believes that every school has its unique challenges and the solutions will need to be customised to address these challenges with the expertise of the school administration. The program also focuses on community investment at a school level to engage parents and community members in stronger roles.

The objective of this initiative is to create an environment that will enhance the impact of education by focusing on infrastructural improvements, quality of education and community engagement. It is the Foundation’s attempt to create a sustainable and replicable model that will serve as a template for other schools in the future.

The project is one of the several collaborations between Akshaya Patra and NTT Ltd. Earlier, this year, both the organisations joined hands to provide Android tablets to 235 students of Government Girls High School and Government Girls PUC in Basavangudi to mark the launch of the Foundation’s Digital Education Initiative. Akshaya Patra implemented the initiative with the support of corporate donors to bridge the digital divide and further digital inclusiveness by providing students belonging to economically weaker sections of the society access to good quality, modern education for free of cost.