Nestlé India, in collaboration with Agastya International Foundation, has expanded the scope of Project Jigyasa, bringing its advantages to five new schools in Haryana's Samalkha area. The establishment of a scientific laboratory and a library in each newly incorporated school is a critical component of this growth. Project Jigyasa, a flagship project of the Nestlé Healthy Kids program, will launch in 2022 to improve scientific education and instill a love of reading in young kids.

The Journey So Far

In the one year since its launch in Goa, Project Jigyasa has traversed great heights, spreading its light across 15 schools spanning three states of India. The initiative has directly benefited over 5,000 students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. These children can now immerse in scientific experiments, broaden their perspectives through books, and access digital learning - opportunities previously beyond their reach.

Project Jigyasa schools have observed more female students proactively borrowing books from libraries and participating in science activities. Installing sanitation facilities exclusively for female students has made them feel safer and encouraged greater involvement.

By facilitating capacity building for teachers as well, Project Jigyasa has enriched the science teaching methodology of the Agastya Foundation. Over 50 teachers have been covered under tailor-made training programs so far. At the heart of Project Jigyasa beats the ethos of shared value creation. The initiative represents the potential of public-private partnerships to uplift communities sustainably.

The Ripple Effect of Shared Value Creation

While Project Jigyasa stems from Nestlé India’s standalone CSR mandate, its impact reaches beyond company boundaries. Guided by the ‘Creating Shared Value’ framework, the initiative simultaneously generates value for society and community stakeholders.

Project Jigyasa helps schools transform into local catalysts for rural development. Students exposed to well-rounded education and skills development can uplift families by breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty.

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Teachers enriched with new-age training can pay it forward by shaping hundreds more students. Children familiarized with digital learning can bridge digital divides affecting rural communities

Within Nestlé India, Project Jigyasa mobilizes human capital for the public good. Employees volunteer time to visit schools and engage students through interactive science and reading sessions. Such involvement makes learning enjoyable and boosts students’ confidence. By facilitating such cross-pollination of resources, competencies, and action, Project Jigyasa creates life-changing education access at scale - the true spirit of ‘Creating Shared Value.’

Sparking Curiosity Through Experiential Learning

A key component of Project Jigyasa is enabling experiential learning for students through hands-on science experiments. The program provides critical lab infrastructure for schools and trains teachers to conduct innovative science experiments spanning biology, chemistry, physics, electronics, robotics, and more. This exposes children to scientific concepts in an engaging way, spurring curiosity and interest in the sciences from a young age.

As shared by a teacher from a Project Jigyasa school, “The experiments we conduct as part of this program teach abstract concepts through practical demonstration. Students grasp these concepts faster and enjoy conducting experiments themselves.” This shift towards interactive learning has boosted enthusiasm and participation among students during science classes in these rural schools.

Building Foundational Literacy Through Reading

Project Jigyasa also focuses on building strong literacy foundations in students by improving reading habits. The initiative has established libraries in Project Jigyasa schools, providing students access to age-appropriate fictional and non-fictional reading materials across diverse subjects. Teachers conduct special reading sessions to develop essential literacy skills in children.

As conveyed by a headmaster, “The school library has exposed students to the wonderful world of books. Children who earlier shied away from reading are now borrowing books enthusiastically. Their reading, writing, and comprehension abilities have shown definite improvement.”

By inculcating strong reading habits early on, Project Jigyasa equips rural students with the literacy competencies crucial for later education and life success.

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration to Enhance Rural Education

At its core, Project Jigyasa represents the power of collaboration between organizations to uplift public education in rural India. By leveraging their respective expertise, Nestlé India and Agastya Foundation have positively impacted thousands of children across multiple states, demonstrating a scalable and sustainable model for enhancing rural education.

The unique public-private partnership provides the ideal funding, technical know-how, local community connection, and on-ground execution ability to create lasting change. Both organizations remain committed to expanding the program’s reach, eventually empowering lakhs of students across India through experiential science learning and reading.

Impact Created

Facilitating the introduction of science labs and libraries to over 5,000 children in 15 rural schools has been a transformative endeavor, promoting hands-on, experiment-based learning. Through engaging science experiments spanning biology, chemistry, physics, and electronics, students have developed a keen curiosity and genuine interest in the sciences. 

This approach has not only heightened enthusiasm and active participation in science classes but has also fostered interactive and practical demonstrations. Simultaneously, the establishment of libraries and organized reading sessions has laid a robust foundation for literacy, resulting in noticeable enhancements in reading, writing, and comprehension skills among the students. The initiative has successfully pioneered a replicable and scalable model of public-private partnership, emphasizing rural education advancement. 

Ultimately, this holistic program has not only ignited curiosity but has also paved the way for growth and learning, establishing a sturdy foundation for students to excel in future academic and career pursuits, thereby bridging educational gaps in rural regions.

The Road Ahead

As Project Jigyasa enters its second year since inception, its impact is self-evident. Learning outcomes and student motivation levels have markedly increased within beneficiary schools over baseline marks. Girl student participation has surged upwards of 200% in some schools.

Drawing strength from such quantifiable transformation on the ground, plans are already underway to extend Project Jigyasa across 30-35 schools by the end of 2024, forging more public-private alliances along the way. With this five-fold scaleup goal, Nestlé India and Agastya Foundation hope to spark curiosity and future readiness in over 15,000 young minds.

When access to equitable education and skills remain distant dreams for millions of rural students, Project Jigyasa represents a pragmatic roadmap for change rooted in community needs and co-created through cross-sector convergence. By sustainably advancing grassroots education, Project Jigyasa brings to life the spirit of Creating Shared Value - generating economic and social value in tandem so that no one is left behind.

In just over a year, Project Jigyasa has already accomplished a significant impact through grassroots-level education intervention across three states. As the program continues to strengthen its presence, it lights sparks of knowledge and opens up a universe of possibilities for numerous rural children. Nestlé India’s commitment to driving impact through partnerships and focused CSR efforts continues to illustrate the transformative change that collaborative efforts can achieve.