Site: Birla Carbon India, Gummidipoondi Plant 

Years: Transformation project undertaken in 2013  

The level and quality of education in any society is the barometer of its development. Hence, education is one of the key areas under the five pillars of Aditya Birla Group’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives. Birla Carbon Gummidipoondi adopted the SR Kandigai Govt. School for its all-round development. With more than 400 students who hail from nine nearby villages, this school was in a dilapidated condition, and infrastructure, discipline and quality of education were in need of improvement.

From a barren piece of land to a model school

It was back in the year 2013-14, when the Gummidipoondi unit took up the task of upgrading the school as part of its CSR initiative. At the onset, the plant partnered with the district rural development agency under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and constructed the compound wall to ensure the safety of the children who would come to study. Under the CSR initiative, the improvements brought by the plant have included –

• Supplementary teaching staff to ensure proper teacher-pupil ratio so that each child is given equal attention and care for their academic development.
• Provision of safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene under project WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in partnership with UNICEF.
• Renovation of Anganwadi – the kids play school.
• Arrangement of mid-day meals for students.
• Construction of a science and computer lab with computers.
• Construction of SMART classrooms.
• Arrangement of annual health camps.
• Arrangement of personality development classes.

With the continuous and focussed developmental initiatives, today this school has shown 100% results in the Tamil Nadu Public Exam and since the last six years, it has attained the status of a model school with recognition from the district collector.

Sustainability Focus: Quality Education for the local communities