On Teachers’ Day, Oxford University Press employees become teachers at charity schools!

On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, employees from Oxford University Press India (OUPI) found a unique way to thank the teaching community for their contribution to the society. OUP employees across Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata decided to become teachers’ at charity run schools so that the regular teachers could join a fun and engaging training workshop organised by OUP.

In addition to regular subjects, children enjoyed classes for Painting, classical dance, instrumental music, photography and sports.

In Delhi-NCR, OUP employees were present at Literacy India, Gurugram and Ritinjali, Delhi; in Chennai at Chudar Foundation and in Kolkata at the Hope Foundation. In addition to regular subjects, employees conducted engaging sessions on themes such as Photography, Dance, Drama and Music.

Speaking about the initiative, Sivaramakrishnan Venkateswaran, Managing Director, Oxford University Press India said: “We are extremely proud of the Indian teaching community for their strong contribution to learning and education. We owe it to them for playing a pivotal role in making India a Knowledge Powerhouse for the world, and I am delighted that OUP employees decided on this unique way to pay them the respect that they truly deserve.”

OUP India’s CSR commitments are driven by its organisational mission: to support the University of Oxford’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Speaking at the event, Capt. Indraani Singh, Founder, Literacy India said:  “OUP India have been partners with Literacy India since 2016, and their support helped us more than in numerous ways, especially empowering our teachers with an inspirational teacher training program. As a Non-Profit, we struggle with a lack of infrastructure, OUP helped us set up a Science Lab and Mobile Repair Unit, which assisted children and Youth with the Holistic, hands-on learning. They continuously encourage us to continue with our work and instil positive energy in us, therefore despite all the challenges, we are so lucky to have OUP walking with us in our journey”.

Speaking at the event, Karishma Handa, Director, Ritinjali said: "We are absolutely delighted with our meaningful engagement with the Oxford University Press team on the occasion of Teachers' day. It was a special day for the students and teachers in our Learning Centres. The teachers got a chance of being students for a day and were celebrated for their invaluable contributions. Our students at Nathupur Pahari Learning centre had a wonderful time with the volunteering team from OUP, who became their teachers for the day!”

OUP India and has been supporting Literacy India as its charity partner since 2016 and has recently partnered with Ritinjali. OUP supports the charities with book donations, teacher training, infrastructure support for learning and vocational training. OUP India recently helped Literacy India to set up a science laboratory and a mobile repair unit at the charity. In the last three years OUP has donated nearly 4 lac units of books to Literacy India. More recently, on the occasion of the World Art Day on 5th April 2019, 22 employees from OUP India’s Noida office got together with children from Ritinjali to paint a school run out of a slum area in Gurgaon. The wall art painted by OUP employees was based on important issues such as environment conservation, girl child literacy and importance of hygiene among others.