The 1,000-schools project promoted by the Tata Steel to improve the quality of education in Odisha has been moving from strength to strength since its inception two years ago.
As of July 21, 2019, the initiative has widened its scope in line with the company’s Sustainability Commitment towards the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The plantation drive will be conducted across 153 schools in Joda block, with the students being supported by school authorities and the community at large.
Till date, approximately 5,000 saplings of 35 different indigenous plants have already been planted across 91 schools. This has been made possible by the efforts of 1,619 students and 976 members of the community.
The 1,000 schools project, implemented by the Delhi-based NGO ASPIRE, is currently being run in six blocks (Joda, Harichandanpur, Danagadi, Sukinda, Koida and Kutra) under three districts (Keonjhar, Jajpur and Sundergarh) in the State.
The project is aimed at improving the quality of education in government schools as well as strengthening the school governance system. Initiatives such as summer camps to address learning gap, working towards strengthening governance against child labour and increasing access to the schooling system have benefited the children.