Tata Play and UNICEF join hands to promote 'Child-Friendly Schools and Systems'
Kareena Kapoor, UNICEF India advocate to support the cause
4th December 2014: Tata Play, the leading Direct-to-home service provider in the country and UNICEF today announced their joint initiative to promote quality learning in a protective environment using the ‘Child-Friendly Schools and Systems’ (CFSS) package.
Supporting the UNICEF cause, Tata Play will offer its platform to raise funds from subscribers facilitating the CFSS package. Tata Play subscribers would be able to donate either Rs. 20/- or Rs. 50/- per recharge by simply giving a missed call on the two numbers (090154 90154 and 09015690156 respectively) allotted specifically for this cause.
With the launch of this three month long initiative, Tata Play reinforced its philosophy, of focusing on creating a platform for children’s educational and holistic development. For Tata Play, supporting UNICEF’s program on improving the quality of learning in a protective environment is another step in that direction.
“This initiative is an enabler as it leverages the wide outreach of Tata Play in remote parts of the country and raises mass awareness on the need for quality education and inclusive learning. It is an opportunity to engage with the growing middle class in India – the majority of Tata Play’s clientele – to contribute in creating a joyful and conducive school environment for children,” said Louis Georges Arsenault, Representative, UNICEF India.
UNICEF India Celebrity Advocate, Kareena Kapoor Khan will support the communication campaign for the initiative which includes promotional films, mailers, and social media and advocates that every child should have the right to quality education.
Launching the partnership, Kareena Kapoor said, “I recently visited quite a few schools with UNICEF to see child-friendly schools and to meet some of the girls and boys that are benefitting from these programmes. I was inspired to see spaces which are child-friendly. These are places where children are full of joy when they interact with teachers, where children feel safe and secure and where interactive and creative tools are used to ensure that children are happy and learning.”
She added “Kisi aur ka sapna apnake dekho, achcha lagta hai!” (Own someone else’s dream, it feels good).
About UNICEF’s initiative – CFSS
The CFSS package, launched by UNICEF in September 2014, describes a typical child-friendly school where the infrastructure, learning environment and learning processes aim towards children’s well-being, holistic development and inclusive learning. The content and methods of teaching-learning centre around children’s best interests and encourage the joyful participation of every child. Community members are closely involved in supporting and monitoring the quality of the school’s learning environment.
It is four years since the historic Right to Children to Free & Compulsory Education (RTE) Act that ensures free and compulsory education for children in the age group 6-14 years, was enacted by the Government of India. The Child-friendly Schools and Systems’ (CFSS) package urges stakeholders to expand the focus beyond quantity and accelerate the shift from ‘Right of Access to Education’ to ‘Right to Learn and quality education’.
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org and www.unicef.org/india