P&G Shiksha invites consumers to bridge the invisible gap in child education

P&G India has partnered with Leo Burnett India to launch a nationwide movement to address the issue of learning gaps in school students.

Many students fall behind in their classes, leading to a gap in their fundamental conceptual understanding. This invisible learning gap can have long-term consequences, including dropping out of school or struggling to achieve aspirations.

According to National Achievement Survey 2021, over 6 crore primary school students in India have learning levels lower than appropriate for their grades.

The film by P&G Shiksha aims to create awareness and urge meaningful action to bridge the invisible gap, as misconceptions about learning gaps often result from lack of awareness and understanding.

Conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett, the film is a story of Bindiya who is impacted by the invisible gap and struggles to cope in the classroom. Through various instances in school, the teacher notices that Bindiya is either missing, or she slides out of sight, almost deliberately trying to mischievously hide. While evaluating the children’s answer sheets, the teacher spots Bindiya’s sheet where most questions remain unanswered. Thus continues a game of hide and seek between the teacher and Bindiya, until he finally spots her hiding beneath a desk and confronts her calmly on why she is hiding. Bindiya reveals that she is afraid of questions, and if she is not visible in the class, the teacher will not be able to ask her any questions.

Watch the film here:

The film reveals the problem of invisible gaps and the impact they have on a child’s confidence and potential growth. It then goes on to highlight how the right kind of support and interventions, like that being driven by P&G Shiksha, can play a pivotal role in bridging these learning gaps.

Speaking about the new film, Girish Kalyanaraman, Vice President – Marketing Operations, P&G India, said, “P&G Shiksha has continued to work tirelessly to provide access to education to millions of underprivileged children since its inception 18 years ago. Taking this journey forward with the new campaign, we are attempting to spark conversations around the pertinent learning crisis impacting crores of children in our country. This #InvisibleGap arises when children fall behind and the current learning level is not in line with the expected learning level.

“To bridge this gap, P&G has been working with its partners through various programs – from leveraging advanced Machine-learning based tools to community-level learning camps. With the campaign, we aim to make the #InvisibleGap visible by driving nationwide awareness about this issue which is often misunderstood as the child being mischievous or disinterested in learning. I hope this film will inspire the audience in identifying this gap in children around them and taking necessary corrective measures to bridge it,” he added.

Rajdeepak Das, CEO & Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett – South Asia, said, “It’s a simple human insight, when we don’t know something and we don’t want people to ask about it, we hide. And from that insight we narrate the story of Bindiya – a primary school student who is trying hard to make herself invisible so that she doesn’t have to answer questions in class. We realised that despite having access to education, there are still ‘invisible gaps’ – which means there are students who are learning at a level lower than their class. This puts them in a negative cycle of knowledge and often leads to students dropping out of school completely. This year, we want to address this gap and help students bridge it to ensure they can complete their education. It’s a true HumanKind idea.”

To improve learning outcomes in children, P&G Shiksha leverages AI-backed technology with ‘Mindspark’, a computer-based adaptive learning tool, in partnership with Educational Initiatives. The program also implements on-ground remedial learning interventions in partnership with Pratham Education Foundation, using both community-based and in-school models supported by trained volunteers and teachers. Additionally, P&G Shiksha focuses on early childhood education through Pratham Education Foundation, developing motor, cognitive, social-emotional, language, and creative skills in children for a strong foundation as they begin school.

Film Credits:

P&G India

Vice President, Brand Operations: Girish Kalyanaraman

Vice-President, Brand Building Integrated Communications: Rohini Miglani

IPM Brand Building Integrated Communications: Mitalee Prabhu

Head, Corporate Communications and CSR: Enakshee Deva

Manager, Corporate Communications and CSR: Vishesh Bohre

Director, Brand Operations: Jasnoor Sibia

Director, Design – Baby Care & Brand Operations: Somdutt Sarkar

Senior Manager, Design – Brand Operations: Kruti Parikh

Senior Brand Manager, Brand Operations: Shambhavi Narvekar

Director – Purchases: Kartik Harugoli