Apple CEO Tim Cook says seeing children in India learning through technology makes my heart sing
Apple has always believed that education is a great equalizer for people, and the tech giant continues to expand its education and skills initiatives in India to connect disadvantaged children with the mainstream, Apple CEO Tim Cook told IANS on Wednesday.
Returning to India after seven years to launch Apple’s first own-brand retail store here, Cook visited Sitaram Mill Compound Municipal School in Mumbai’s Lower Parel district, where Apple has integrated iPads and Apple TVs into classrooms.
The BMC English School is run by teachers and staff members who are part of the non-profit Akanksha Foundation. The school currently has 470 students and 55 alumni, with a maximum of 40 students per class.
“Since the founding of the company, we have been very focused on training. It’s very deep in our DNA. Programs like this make my heart sing because we get to see our product live in a learning environment,” Cook told IANS.
Akanksha Foundation now runs 26 Junior Kindergarten through Class 10 schools in economically disadvantaged areas of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
Student selection is done by lottery to ensure equality, and Akanksha strongly emphasizes socio-emotional and ethical learning in addition to core academic subjects.
Apple has sponsored their work since 2015. In addition to financial support, the company helped them integrate iPads and Apple TV into their classrooms, and several of their teachers have been designated Apple Professional Learning Specialists.
“You can clearly see how the learning cycles accelerate these kids and the commitment they bring is simply amazing. This training program makes me really happy and we would expand such programs in India to help more children take advantage of our technology,” Cook enthused as local Mumbai trains continue to pass by.
Mandira Purohit is the head of the school and has been with Akanksha Foundation for 17 years.
According to him, iPads help children develop creative and reading skills in a natural way, and Cook’s first visit to the school instilled a lot of confidence not only in the children, but also in the entire teaching staff.
“iPads have changed the way teaching and learning is delivered here. We share a lot of software skills as the children work in groups or collaborate on different topics. Also, Cook’s reactions to the children when he visited their classrooms was very inspiring for all of us,” he told IANS.
Cook also met Nirjala, an alumna of the school who comes from a large family of six children that was hit hard financially by the pandemic.
Nirjala surprised her teachers by ranking in the top 10 of her class in two years. After graduating two years ago, she was selected as an alumni ambassador for her class, where she connects and coordinates engagement events for her classmates.
She represented Akanksha at a New York fundraiser hosted by Bollywood actor Boman Irani.
“It became so easy for us to learn on the iPad and Apple TV in the classroom in addition to books. Apps like Book Creator and iMovie and many other animation apps on the iPad opened up a new world for us,” Nirjala told Cook.
According to Director of Communications and Development Chitra Pandit, they have been fortunate to have this partnership with Apple since 2015.
“It’s just gone from strength to strength. Next year. We have iPads in all 26 of our schools and we can’t wait for all our kids to learn better and more efficiently so they can perform at a higher level than kids anywhere,” Pandit told IANS.
For Cook, the visit to the Sitaram Mill Compounding municipal school was a defining experience, and the attempt is to expand such initiatives to more schools and children in the country.
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