Karnataka Government Launch an App to Monitor CSR Contributions to Schools

The Department of Primary and Secondary Education of government of Karnataka has decided to develop an app to meet the needs of government schools under CSR programmes as well as bring in transparency among donors. The Namma Shale – Namma Koduge (My School, My contribution) programme aims to provide accessibility to donors across the globe. The objective of the app, according to department officials, is to develop a sense of ownership among the public, alumni and stakeholders, and strengthen the public education system.

The government has requested the corporates and non-profits to help build smart classrooms at 43000 primary schools. The program requires an investment of Rs 875 crore at Rs 200,000 per school. The app will have one window for donors and another one for schools. Once a donor has logged into the app they will get a list of schools on a need-based format. Once the donor selects a school they will have an option to donate money or material.

The app aims to provide easy and quick access to schools without any human interface, and there would be fixed timelines for effective utilisation of donations. The department will also have a redressal cell at the head office. The names of donors will be up to put at a prominent place on the school premises, and in case of major contributions, the structure would be named as per the donor’s wish, officials said.

The children studying in private schools get early exposure to computers and technology-based learning. The department deems it necessary to ensure that the children studying in government schools should also have this privilege to be able to create fair competition among all the children. Thus, it plans to start smart classes at 4500 high schools in the next three years.

The government made these announcements at a meeting called on Friday, 17^th Jan with 150 corporates, NGOs and other entities. The meeting was attended by HP, IBM, Samsung, Accenture, Embassy and NGOs like Makkala Jagriti and Akshara.