When Covid-19, the worst pandemic of the century, struck us, the entire world was caught off guard. The pandemic affected every sector in a manner that was not imaginable before; the underprivileged were the worst. The education sector took a deep dive. With everything going online, the barely approachable education for underprivileged kids became unapproachable. Surekha, a house help worried about the same, approached her employer for her child’s education. Within these deep waters was one emerging opportunity for kids to learn online. Soon after the brainstorming sessions between Gautam Kumar and his enthusiastic students, they decided why not take this to a mass level, and thus the foundation stone of Puraskaar was set.
Puraskaar is an NGO that works with the motto of ‘Kalam se Kalaam Tak’ and provides students free of cost online education. Once a small group of 5 volunteers, it is now a community of 200+ volunteers working towards making quality education approachable for all. “Puraskaar is a family, with members working towards excellence of students in every field possible. We help students to swim when they dive into the ocean of knowledge,” says Gautam Kumar, the founder and the brain behind this noble cause. “We plan to keep our NGO free of cost as the time and dedication of the team is the best investment we can get. With the best-learned faculty and round-the-clock service, Puraskaar will help in all aspects. We want to make learning affordable and accessible to every child.” He adds.
With a vision to uplift and empower society through accessible education, this NGO is working pan India together to teach about 800+ students from diverse backgrounds. Working towards excellence and access to quality education for students of all sectors, Puraskaar not only works in basic academic subjects but also excels in non-conventional subjects like foreign languages and programming languages. From teaching academic subjects daily to school children, this NGO focuses on the all-round development of children through webinars on extra-curricular subjects like yoga, dance, art, and craft. Puraskaar can be your one-stop destination if your child needs school tuition or wants to enrol in hobby classes or you need to upgrade your professional skills. And all this just at the cost of your time. The boom in Information Technology increased the need for programming languages and foreign languages and thus surged the price of learning them. Puraskaar teaches subjects like Python and Web Development with regular classes and webinars. Along with this, the language department teaches multiple foreign subjects like Japanese, Spanish, French and more.
Picture- CUET Preparation Webinar was Conducted by Puraskaar
“We thrive on helping students in all aspects of their journey, academic and professional. We have started coaching for entrance exams like JNUEE and CUET. We also provide career counselling through one-to-one mentorship. We know how tough it is for students these days, and we have their back,” a Puraskaar volunteer says. “Two of our students have cleared JNUEE, and another cleared one JLPT N5. We love when students tell us their success stories, and we are a part of it.” She further adds, “When I was preparing for my JNU entrance exam, I faced a lot of problems. Thankfully, I found Puraskaar and got a direction. I cleared JNUEE 2021. Much thanks to Puraskaar.” Says Ms Pammi Kumari, a student of Puraskaar. When asked about further plans for the organization, Gautam says, “We are planning to implement things in an offline mode to reach the grass-root level. We are currently in a trial run in the Delhi-NCR region. If all goes well, Puraskaar will soon be at your doorsteps.” “We are soon to work in collaboration with government schools to reach the ground level”, Puraskaar Academic Head Nabanita adds.
With NGOs like Puraskaar, every child’s dream of education looks a step closer than it last was. Providing education is a noble cause but providing free education in today’s era of business is highly applaudable.
You can visit Puraskaar’s website at www.puraskaar.org or follow its Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn page.
The Entrepreneur Today Desk