Sampark Foundation, in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has rolled out its flagship ‘Smart School-Smart Block’ programme across 217 municipal schools in Mumbai, advancing efforts to enhance learning outcomes in government schools through innovative, technology-driven solutions.
The programme is expected to directly benefit 3,078 students, turning 273 classrooms into dynamic smart learning spaces and equipping 434 teachers with training in Sampark’s innovative Teaching Learning Material and pedagogy. In addition, 159 smart TV panels will be provided to schools in wards including Chembur, Bhandup, Dadar, Parel, Byculla, Ghatkopar, Borivali, Kurla, and Goregaon.
This builds on Sampark Foundation’s five-year MoU (2023-2028) with the Government of Maharashtra, under which 13,128 schools across 13 districts have already seen the conversion of 14,344 classrooms into smart classrooms, training of 9,972 teachers, and distribution of 6,167 LED TVs.
The programme was inaugurated on Aug 13 by Mr. Bhushan Gagrani (IAS), Municipal Commissioner and Administrator, BMC, at the Commissioner’s Office. Among those who
present included Dr. Amit Saini (IAS), Additional Municipal Commissioner, BMC; Mr. Vineet Nayar, Founder & Chairman, Sampark Foundation and former CEO of HCL Technologies; and Dr. K. Rajeswara Rao (Retd. IAS), Chairman, Sampark Foundation and former Special Secretary, NITI Aayog, along with senior education department officials.
“The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has joined an initiative that marks the next step in education. This is a transformative change in the education sector. Through this programme, we will be delivering foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) tools to many schools. As these tools are user-friendly, teachers will be able to use them easily. Students will benefit from them directly. This initiative will also help make students digitally literate. The Corporation is fully capable of taking this initiative forward,” said Gagrani on the occasion.
Led by Chairman Mr. Vineet Nayar, Sampark Foundation has committed ₹100 crores to strengthening foundational learning across the state, with the aim of making education simpler, more engaging, and more effective. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Nayar shared, “This commitment to Maharashtra holds a special place in my heart. My journey in education began here, in the vibrant city of Nagpur in a government school. It was here that I first understood the transformative power of education. This pledge is a way of giving back to the Maharashtra that has given me so much that I am grateful for.”
Part of the 100% offline, tech-enabled Sampark Smart Shala initiative, the programme features Sampark FLN TV – a frugal plug-and-play innovation for Classes 1 to 5 that transforms any regular television into an interactive smart classroom. Each device, consisting of an Android set-top box and remote, comes pre-loaded with over 1,000 hours of offline content mapped to state textbooks and curriculum, including lesson plans, learning concept videos, subject- and class-wise worksheets, gamified assessment questions, stories, songs, and puzzles, brain exercise videos, science experiments, and competitive exam tricks videos.
The commitment will support extensive training programmes for teachers, master trainers, and education officials to enable effective classroom integration, orientation for district, block, and cluster-level education functionaries to monitor usage; and deployment of dedicated manpower at district and block levels for smooth implementation. Community engagement initiatives will further involve parents and local stakeholders in building a strong, supportive learning ecosystem.
With the active support of the BMC, the programme will be reviewed monthly at district and block levels, complemented by refresher training sessions and surveys – ensuring measurable improvements in learning outcomes and sustained impact in the classrooms.
Nationally, the Sampark Smart Shala programme has impacted over 1.8 crore children across more than 1.4 lakh government schools, trained over 8.5 lakh teachers, and established over 40,000 smart classrooms. This nationwide effort has driven notable gains in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) outcomes, with learning levels improving from 23% to 43% between 2024 and 2025 and stands as a decisive step towards ensuring every child has the tools, training, and opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive in the classrooms of tomorrow.
