Samsung India Electronics expands its Smart Class

Vizianagaram, 21st September, 2015: Samsung India Electronics today announced 11 new Samsung Smart Class at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, taking the number of smart classes in the two states to 22.

Mr. Jehak Jang, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Korea and Dr. Hyunwoo Bang, Deputy Managing Director, Samsung Electronics India, inaugurated the Samsung Smart Class in Vizainagaram. This is the 251st Samsung Smart Class in India.

During the month, Samsung Smart Class–digitally interactive classrooms offering next-generation learning– will be also opened at Navodaya schools in Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore, Prakasam-I and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, and in Khammam-I, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Mahabubnagar in Telangana. This will take the number of Smart Class in Andhra Pradesh to 13 and in Telangana to 9.

Samsung Smart Class, the company’s flagship CSR initiative in India, aims to bridge the digital gap between rural and urban India and provide equal opportunities for quality education to children from all backgrounds. Every Smart Class is equipped with Samsung products such as Samsung interactive whiteboard, laptops, a printer and a Wi-Fi connection to enable students to access digital content and be part of an interactive learning environment. Students are taught Mathematics, Science, English and Social Science in an engaging and visually appealing manner, helping them learn better and retain more information. The Samsung Smart Class are set up at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools, a system of alternate schools under the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India targeting talented children in rural India.

Dr. Hyunwoo Bang, Deputy Managing Director, Samsung India Electronics, said, “Digital India envisions a future where everything from scholarship applications to hospital appointments and governance discussions will be online. Over the last two years, the Samsung Smart Class initiative has helped over 1.2 lakh children across India become digitally literate, enabling them to be contributors in the future of Digital India. I am delighted to welcome more JNV schools in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana into the Samsung Smart Class family and look forward to strengthening Samsung’s work in bridging the digital divide.”

Mr. Jehak Jang, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Korea said, “I am delighted to be at the inauguration of the 251st Samsung Smart Class in Vizianagaram. Unconditional sharing is a core aspect of Korean philosophy that applies to individual lives and to businesses; I am happy to see it at work through this initiative, which is taking technology and quality education to less-privileged children across India.”

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. D. Anjaiah, Principal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Vizianagaram said, “The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya seeks to provide a platform for talented children–no matter which socio-economic background they are from–to get an equal opportunity to quality education. We are delighted that our collabouration with Samsung since 2013 has been effectively aiding us in this mission. Feedback from school principals and teachers tells us that Samsung Smart Classes have been instrumental in improving student retention and interest in studies. We look forward to expanding this partnership to cover more Navodaya Vidyalaya schools across India.”

Samsung Smart Classes in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are already operational in JNV schools in Pandavulametta, Gachibowli, Krishna, Ananthapur, Chittoor, Medak, Vishakhapatnam, Warangal, Adilabad, Gajjalkonda and Pedavegi. Since its inauguration in 2013, Smart Classes have been set up in over 200 schools across the length and breadth of India, benefitting over 1.2 lakh students. By the end of 2015, Samsung will have added 200 new Smart Classes, enabling students in a total of 373 JNV schools to experience digitally interactive “smart” learning. Teachers with Samsung Smart Class in their school have reported better attention levels, higher enthusiasm and interest in participating in classroom discussions, as lessons can be taught in a personalised and digitally interactive learning environment.

Samsung CSR initiatives seek to leverage the company’s expertise in developing technological solutions that shape the future. In addition to the Samsung Smart Class initiative, the company has also established Samsung Technical Schools to address the need for talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience. Samsung Technical Schools are set up in collabouration with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Departments of Technical Education in states such as Bihar, Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The MSME-Samsung Technical School in Hyderabad was inaugurated in October 2014.