OREANDA-NEWS. Power management company Eaton today announced its association with iTeach Schools to support education of students from economically challenged backgrounds, currently studying in eighth to tenth standards at the Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Vidyalaya, Mundhwa.  This secondary school supports two of the 54 English-medium primary schools run by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Eaton’s chairman and CEO, Craig Arnold, as part of his ongoing India visit, today participated in an interactive session with the teachers and students at the school.

Eaton’s support to iTeach entails a financial grant, which over the next three years will cover teacher and support-staff salaries, student and staff development activities, administration and operation expenses, and a part of the infrastructure and capital costs. Also, as part of the collaboration, Eaton employees shall actively engage in distinct volunteering activities at the school, broadly focusing on industry exposure, co-curricular activities and career counselling – contributing to the overall development of the students.

Speaking at the occasion, Arnold said, “Eaton has always been committed to the communities in which we live and work. Our vision emphasizes improving the quality of life and making our communities stronger. This is embedded in our aspirational goals – a key to achieve our vision and staying true to who we are.”

iTeach is an organization that works in a public-private partnership model with local government schools that cater to students from low income backgrounds. “Pune's education landscape for students from lower income backgrounds had one large gaping hole – among the 54 English-medium schools run by the Pune Municipal Corporation, none went beyond the seventh standard,” remarked Soumya Jain, Founder and CEO of iTeach Schools, which was started in 2015 to address this very challenge. “In such a scenario children were left with three options - an impossible chance to get into a private school, switch to a Marathi medium school or drop out. Needless to say, the majority were forced into the third option.”  

iTeach currently serves more than 1,000 students across five schools in Pune. “We provide these children with free, quality education in English-medium from the eighth till the tenth standard and Eaton’s support to fund our operations at the Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Vidyalaya in Mundhwa is deeply appreciated,” Jain added.

Commenting on the association with iTeach, Nitin Chalke, managing director – India, Eaton said, “Eaton is passionate about giving back to our communities and making them stronger. I am confident that our support to iTeach can make a substantial difference to the students – empowering them with the required foundational knowledge and skills so that they are encouraged to pursue further education, become employable and contribute to social progress.”

Eaton in India has been consistently striving towards contributing to its communities through focused corporate social responsibility and community programs in the areas of education, health and the environment.

“In India, we have established the Eaton India Foundation – a public charitable trust that makes our community efforts more streamlined and strategic, allowing us to make a bigger difference and presenting our employees with more opportunities to be involved in initiatives and programs that have substantial impact on society,” Chalke added.