Sumeeti Mittal is the Founder & Trustee of Pratham Shiksha;
a Jaipur Rajasthan (India) based charitable organization promoting basic
education for underprivileged children living in slum areas of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Apart
from the regular morning shift of the school, the flexi timing classes are
conducted for the primary and high school.
Born in a family of Engineers, Sumeeti was a brilliant student and
had a bend towards engineering from an early age. Her father always inspired
her to focus on studies. He believes that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world. Her mother the pillar of the family imbibed the human values of
honesty, freedom, respect, equality and sensitivity toward others in her. Sumeeti
studied Civil
Engineering at MBM Engineering College, JNV University, Jodhpur. She was
conferred with the Bachelor of Engineering in Civil. She cleared RPSC
examination and was offered the position of Assistant Engineer in Public Health
Engineering Department. There she worked for about two years but her passion
for technology had sparked within.
An abroad trip to US made her ponder
over the thought that even the under privileged children in developed countries
go to school and are educated but not so in India. This inspired Sumeeti to
start ‘Pratham Shiksha’. The school
which started in a garage portion of her house has now evolved to become
full-fledged school up to 8th grade in a rented premise with seven
classrooms and other amenities along with conveyance facilities for students.
Till date 2500+ students have been educated at Pratham Shiksha. She plans to
expand the student base and upgrade school till 10th standard. School
runs vocational classes like electrician, plumbing and stitching courses for
boys, girls as well as for their mothers and elder sisters and brothers. These
courses will equip children with skills to move ahead in life and earn a
livelihood for themselves. This is inline with “Skill India” mission.
Jaipur city,
well known for its jewelry and carpet industry, creates huge demand for child labor. The children coming from small income are
lured in these industries to earn a livelihood for their families. The boys
help their parents in their jobs as helpers or find individual jobs for
themselves. The girls on the other hand are married at any early age or help
mothers with the daily household chores. They work in other people homes as
domestic helps; take care of younger siblings at home. With such
responsibilities, the motivation to study and learn is lost half way and at
times they even forget the basic aptitude learnt at school.
This leads to higher
dropout rate amongst girls and boys after primary school. To counter it,
Pratham Shiksha started flexi timing classes. A pioneering practice, it helped
the students to continue their education with job and personal
responsibilities. Also pre-primary classes have been introduced to get children
accustomed to school environment from an early age.
A number of students have benefitted from the
flexi-timing classes. For instance, some students run food joints at streets
during the day and study during afternoon free time. The school has also
supported the children with their further studies and financial support.
The Academy School, London & Pratham Shiksha, Jaipur
are friends and are supporting each other in their idea of exposing the
students to the global environment. Sumeeti also takes basic introductory
sessions for the students at The Academy School during her visits every year to
London.
Pratham
Shiksha has been recognized at Make In India Awards for Excellence – 2015 under
NGO Category for its contribution in social development.
Apart from Pratham Shiksha, Sumeeti Mittal has set up RoboGalaxy, an
e-learning portal and robotic lab catering to students from Grade 3 to Grade
10. In addition, Mittal is
also Co-founder & Director of Pratham Software (P) Ltd, a Jaipur based
global IT Service Company focusing on software development, IT consulting and
offering offshore outsourcing solutions to enterprises worldwide. She has also been instrumental in founding V-Technos, a global IT
training services company focusing on software training and development. V- Technos
is imparting a real-world training experience & assist in enhancing skills
through intensive hands-on exercises under the guidance of expert instructors.
She actively participates in various industry-academia
programs organised by institutes and colleges in Jaipur. She interacts with
students about emerging trends in corporate culture and IT industry. She
has also delivered lectures at International Robotics Conference, Russia in
2014.
A widely travelled and noted speaker, she is on the
board of various social forums. She is part of the ‘Mentoring Walk’ group
helping her mentees by discussing and resolving issues faced in their personal
and professional lives. She has also served on the governing body of FICCI
Ladies Organization (FLO), Jaipur Chapter.
Awards
1)
Selected as
#100Women in India by Women and Child department.
2)
Attended
lunch and felicitation ceremony hosted by President of India Sh Pranab
Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 22 Jan 2016-02-02
3) Pratham
Shiksha has been recognized at Make In India Awards for Excellence – 2015 under
NGO Category for its contribution in social development.
Awarded by Governor of Gujrat Sh Kalraj Mishr
4)
Honoured
with top 100 successful women in Rajasthan an initiative by NGO Tammana an
event called ‘Tamanna Udaan Ki’.
5)
She has
been felicitated by Mayor Jyoti Khandelwal on the
Women’s day for her outstanding contribution towards the society.
6)
Honoured
with “Vivekanand Sammaan” by Rajasthan Yuva Chhatra
Sansthan and Nehru Yuva Kendra .
Website URL: www.prathamshiksha.org/
You Tube Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssGM0vB5LdA
Nomination Video
URL: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153682455995337&pnref=story
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