Samsung Partners with Greater Chennai Corporation for Samsung Smart Class Citizenship Initiative

Dr. D Karthikeyan, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation and Mr. Sangjai Lee, Senior Vice President, Chief Relations Office, Samsung India signed the MoU

Samsung India today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Greater Chennai Corporation to set up Samsung Smart Class at 28 municipal schools in Chennai.

Samsung Smart Class, the Company’s flagship citizen program in India, promotes digital education among less privileged students and also aims to bridge the digital gap between rural and urban India. This initiative provides equal opportunities for quality education to children from all backgrounds.

Samsung Smart Class citizenship initiative was started by Samsung in 2013 with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. Since then, Samsung Smart Class has been set up in 476 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools across the country. So far, over 2.5 lakh students have benefitted from it. In addition, over 8,000 teachers have been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach.

Feedback from teachers and principals indicates that Samsung Smart Class has helped increase student attention in classrooms. It has also improved student familiarity and comfort with technology. Students are able to learn complicated concepts more easily and the digitally interactive environment encourages shy or hesitant students to participate better in classroom discussions.

Samsung Smart Class is now being extended to other school systems as well, including schools run by Greater Chennai Corporation. This is Samsung Smart Class’ first foray into Tamil Nadu and for the first time, Samsung Smart Class will be set up at the primary school level.

The memorandum of understanding was signed between Dr. D Karthikeyan, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation and Mr. Sangjai Lee, Senior Vice President, Chief Relations Office, Samsung India.

The MoU signing ceremony took place in the presence of Mr. MC Sampath, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Government of Tamil Nadu, Mr. SP Velumani, Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development and Implementation of Special Program, Mr. Sengottaiyan KA, Minister for School Education and Sports and Youth Welfare, Mr. Atulya Mishra, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Mr. Harmander Singh, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department and Mr. T Udhayachandran, Secretary, School Education Department.

“Education is a key priority for us. We are happy that Samsung India has made a contribution on that front and has come forward with its Samsung Smart Class initiative. On its part, the government is working towards creating better facilities for quality education for the public and to fulfil this vision and this collaboration with Samsung will enable us to provide quality education to underprivileged students across the city,” said Dr. D Karthikeyan, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation.

Every Samsung Smart Class is equipped with an interactive Samsung Smartboard, Samsung tablets, a printer, Wi-Fi connectivity and power backup.

“Samsung Smart Class initiative has helped over 2.5 lakh children across the nation become digitally literate. The program inspires young India to use technology to educate, train and up-skill as it rides government initiatives like Digital India, Make in India and Skill India, among others. This initiative is closely tied with India’s development agenda, and is implemented in close partnership with government departments at the centre and states to ensure wider reach and impact among less-privileged children. We are happy to bring Samsung Smart Class to Tamil Nadu and look forward to a deeper engagement with the state schooling system,” said Mr. Deepak Bhardwaj, Vice President, Samsung India.

Samsung Smart Class supplements regular lessons in mathematics, science and social science to explain concepts in an engaging and interactive manner that are more appealing to students. Teachers are trained on using the equipment effectively to make lessons come alive.

The results have started to show at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools with several students now qualifying for IITs and NITs across the country. Samsung recently highlighted one such success story of Sadanand Ugale, a young boy from Maharashtra, who secured a study trip to Australia from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Aurangabad. This was captured beautifully in a digital and television campaign #SapneHueBade