Modern enterprises have been encouraged by Maharashtra’s school education minister, Dadaji Bhuse, to make sure that their corporate social responsibility (CSR) donations are used methodically and in accordance with the actual needs of children and schools. On Wednesday, Bhuse was speaking at an interactive discussion with CSR leaders from a range of companies at the Maharashtra Primary Education Council office.

“As part of their social responsibility, several industries provide financial support to schools and students through CSR programmes. In order to satisfy the real needs of schools and kids, this help should now be placed under an organised framework, according to Bhuse. Coordination and openness in the use of CSR contributions for the advancement of schools throughout the state were the goals of the conference. “Maharashtra has more than one lakh schools and more than two crore students. The government is dedicated to giving them a good, happy, and values-based education that is motivated by the ‘Nation First’ principle,” Bhuse stated.

Bhuse pointed out that the state government has started a number of projects to improve the learning environment for kids, such as better classrooms, functional labs, access to clean drinking water, and adequate sanitation. He asked businesses to review the “Vidyanjali portal”, which contains comprehensive data on school needs, and make the appropriate contributions to close the gaps.

CSR leaders from a range of industries, Sanjay Yadav, Tushar Mahajan, the deputy secretary of the school education department, and Ranjitsingh Deol, the principal secretary, attended the meeting.

Deol underlined that industrial partnerships are already generating CSR funding and that detailed information on each school’s needs can be found on the central government’s Vidyanjali portal and the U-DISE system. According to Deol, the goal is to guarantee that CSR monies are utilised effectively, appropriately, and for the intended purpose. Deol added that businesses that adopt schools would have their names linked to those establishments under the state government’s recently established “Adopt-a-School” programme, which aims to forge closer, more enduring ties between business and academia. A presentation on the state’s school education system’s current situation, ongoing CSR-based initiatives, and areas that still require business involvement was given by representatives of the school education department during the meeting. Additionally, CSR professionals provided information about the industries they want to help as well as recommendations for productive cooperation. Better planning and use of CSR res