India is home to more than 400 million children. This is 30% of the country’s total population. Out of these, over 100 million have never been to school. This means that one in every four children in our country has had no access to formal education.
But the problem doesn’t stop there. The world average literacy rate stands at 84% and India’s average lies well below that number at 74%.
According to UNICEF studies, the dropout rates in India are unusually high. Around 80 million children are not even completing elementary school and 8 million others drop out at various levels. In fact, the dropout rate amongst adolescent girls is as high as 63.5%. This means that more than a fourth of our country’s future workforce will not be capable of holding the jobs meant for them.
How can CSR help change the education scenario in our country? And why should companies use their CSR money in education? Let’s take a look.
Securing Your Business’ Future
Most businesses strive to impact areas which have a correlation with their own business goals, and education is usually an important part of their plan. By sponsoring educational activities, companies can hire students that show high potential. Building a more educated workforce is extremely important and by doing this organisations can move towards specific goals and targets in the education ecology.
Project Genesis, run by Infosys, helps in developing the skill of the non-engineering graduates to ensure that they meet industry requirements. Through this scheme, they enabled 16,762 students to gain access to jobs in the IT sector.
Creating An Impact That Lasts
A key aspect of CSR in the education sector is following up on monetary and infrastructural handouts. For example, the Mahindra Satyam Computer Literacy/Distribution Program not only distributed over a 1000 computers to government/corporation schools, but also sends volunteers to conduct computer training programs for both students and teachers in these schools.
And in a bid to rapidly improve their workforce’s skill base, HCL’s Teach At Office program provides support staff with a range of workshops on basic etiquette, financial management, and health and hygiene. They are also taught basic computer skills and are trained in conversational English. This not only helps them become more dedicated employees, but empowers a section of society that is increasingly neglected in a tech-dominated world.
Raising The Infrastructural Bar
Investment from private and public companies can dramatically enhance the quality of education in a very short time. Especially since the biggest factor when driving nationwide educational reform is financial backing, needed to strengthen the educational infrastructure in underdeveloped regions.
Corporate India can contribute towards a change as it is equipped to provide these skill set rather than the NGOs and Govt. They can also provide highly effective teaching aids and other resources, and through partnerships with the government, play a vital role in higher education too. Cognizant, for example undertakes extensive infrastructural projects like rebuilding classrooms and setting up teaching labs. In 2011, they undertook 146 such projects across the country. But they aren’t the only ones investing in India’s educational foundations.
IBM, with the help of its Reinventing Education Program has integrated Information and Communication Technology and pedagogy tools in 50 government schools to make learning fun and simple. Aside from that, with the Transformed Classroom model, they have managed to empower over 600 teachers and given over 7000 students in 90 schools a better standard of learning.
A Multitude Of Returns
Most educational CSR initiatives can assist companies to sustain long term growth and profitability and increase their level of acceptance among local populations. Through this they can meet their CSR requirements and can potentially operate with an increased ability to hire and retain employees, fulfilling growth targets at a much faster pace.
Apart from the fact that involvement in educational development brings in heaps of goodwill, corporates also have the opportunity to raise public awareness about issues faced by our education system.
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Every company knows how hard it is to gain customers and retain them for a long time. CSR can help businesses reel in customers with relative ease, and keep them engaged for the long run. According to studies done in 2012 by Cone Communications and the results of the 2012 Corporate Social Return Trend Tracker, 86% of respondents were more likely to trust companies that reported the results of their CSR efforts. In addition, 82% of those surveyed were also more likely to purchase products or services from companies that demonstrated their CSR results over those that didn’t.
People want to support businesses that do good for the community, because if they help the organisation, they indirectly help themselves. Just to reiterate how important customer engagement is, 40% of those surveyed would not even consider purchasing from companies which didn’t publish their CSR results. If an organisation does careful market research, and involves itself—transparently— in a socially relevant cause, it could lead to a massive increase in its consumer base.
The beauty of CSR lies in the countless ways in which it can be implemented. You don’t always have to look for something on the outside to invest in. Allocating capital towards little things like recycling of waste or alternative sources of energy can save you a lot more money than you expect.
Smart businesses not only recycle waste but also try & use the waste to incorporate it in its business model. And if this happens in a manufacturing process it hugely impacts the bottom- line.
Energy costs are extremely high these days and any organisation can reduce this expenditure by implementing energy efficiency programs in their businesses. Not only do you conserve precious energy resources, you’re setting up a system that leads to huge savings at the end of the year.
A well-designed CSR strategy can be perfect bait for big investors. Being involved with a social cause outside your business domain makes you competitive and reduces the risk of sudden damage to your reputation, and your sales. Most investors will see this and readily invest in your company.
Adeline Hinderer, Trade Counselor for the European Union to the US, says, “Companies are actively demonstrating to investors that corporate social responsibility makes good business sense, and the firms are already seeing the benefits it can bring them in terms of risk management and attracting investment.” Additionally, investors are more likely to give money to businesses which are involved in supporting a cause they also support.
