Nexus of Good: Quintessential Transformation

An innovative programme, ‘Balashakthi’, was launched in Nirmal District, Telangana, in September 2024 to ensure the overall well-being and development of government school children/students from Classes 1 to 12 in the district. The programme has focused on health awareness, financial literacy, skill development, and exposure to social institutions. The stakeholders in this innovative programme include students, teachers, parents, NGO volunteers, the District Education Officer, the District Medical & Health Officer, the Lead Bank Manager, the District Welfare Officer, ASHA workers as Nodal Officers, the District Rural Development Officer, the General Manager of Industries, etc. The programme, started in September 2024, has already created a considerable impact. To date, more than 9,000 students have been covered across around 30 schools.

As a part of the initiative, one of the key objectives has been to create health awareness. To begin with, health profiles of students have been created with a view to addressing issues such as anaemia, thyroid problems, malnutrition, obesity, vitamin deficiencies, vision issues, menstrual hygiene, eye screenings, and mental health counselling. For this, multidisciplinary teams have been formed at the district level, encompassing the Medical Department, local bodies, and the Education Department. These medical teams have been visiting residential schools and conducting health check-ups for students. A health profile of each student has been created. Major parameters in this profile include complete blood picture, thyroid, diabetes, anaemia, BMI, vision issues, mental health, and others.

To ensure the mental well-being of students, psychologists are conducting “Happiness and Well-being” sessions in each school. Out of the 9,000 students covered so far, 239 students were found to be anaemic, 2,618 students underweight, 65 suspected thyroid cases, and 143 with refractive errors. This survey is being followed up with medical interventions, and students are being referred for specialist opinions at the district level. Moreover, required medication is being administered, and additional nutritional counselling is provided. For cases with refractive errors, spectacles will be distributed by the District Health Society. The health profiles already created are being maintained, and further connective interventions are underway.

In today’s world, financial management is the need of the hour. It is imperative that young minds are exposed to financial systems with basic skills. To achieve this, the Lead Bank, along with 30+ public and private banks, has come forward to contribute to this initiative. The RBI’s financial literacy outreach for the public is being taken up through bankers across all schools in the district.

The primary objective of this part of the initiative is to teach students about banking and financial skills. This effort involves sensitizing students and creating awareness about opening savings accounts, mock banking, educating parents, cybersecurity, and developing saving and thrift habits. Accordingly, the Lead Bank Manager and their team visited 60 schools during the month and covered around 40,000 students. They also conducted campaigns and explained basic banking processes such as account opening, ATM transactions, online transactions, internet banking, mobile banking, DBT, educational loans, and fraudulent transactions. Through these efforts, they have managed to create awareness among students on fundamental financial aspects in the banking sector.

This initiative has been widely appreciated by parents and students, and the outcomes and feedback have been quite encouraging.

It is a well-known fact that life skills, along with confidence building, are key attributes for the overall well-being of students. Taking this into cognizance, multiple actions have been taken under Balashakthi.

This part of the initiative includes imparting training/skills such as self-defence, computational skills, stress management, and communication. It also includes yoga, meditation, artistic activities, and career guidance. This entire exercise is carried out by involving teachers, specialists, and NGOs. To date, training has been imparted in coding and related areas to more than 8,000 students. In the context of confidence and skill building among students, sessions on public speaking, mock elections in model polling stations, youth parliament sessions, and sensitization about laws—such as the one on child marriage—have also been taken up.

As a part of yet another objective of the programme—Exposure to Social Institutions—field visits have been the primary instruments for bringing about change. Students are visiting government institutions like the Collectorate (Nirmal), courts, police stations, gram panchayats, PHCs, small-scale industries, irrigation projects, and agricultural research centres. These are helping students become acquainted with the functioning of offices and the hierarchy in government departments. The planning for these visits is done meticulously and well in advance, in consultation with all stakeholders, including the concerned departments, to ensure optimum outcomes.

One of the positive fallouts of this initiative has been the interest shown by public and private companies to help and promote the programme through CSR funding. To date, around Rs 15 lakh has been raised through CSR funds for this effort.

There is still a long way to go, but what is happening under Balashakthi in Nirmal District, under the inspired leadership of its young Collector, Abhilasha Abhinav, is a wonderful example of the Nexus of Good. This effort to take a comprehensive look at the development of children is the need of the hour. The model that has been put in place is a simple one. All it requires is the convergence of what is already available in the district, without any additional financial burden. The key to success is taking all stakeholders on board. The efficacy of the model is already being demonstrated. It is both replicable and scalable through public-private partnership in the true spirit of the Nexus of Good. It addresses some critical issues relating to school-going youngsters, who are the future of our country. This initiative will help in their overall development.

Views expressed are personal