P&G India has launched a nationwide movement to shed light on an issue that often goes unnoticed. It’s not uncommon for students in school to struggle to keep up with their classes, causing them to fall behind in their fundamental conceptual understanding of a subject. This can result in an invisible learning gap, where a child’s current learning level is not aligned with the expected learning level as per the defined curriculum. P&G Shiksha has released a thought-provoking film to raise awareness of this #InvisibleGap and encourage meaningful action to bridge it. This is the first time such an initiative has been taken.
The film, which was created by Leo Burnett, aims to draw attention to the issue of children dropping out of school when they are unable to keep up with their classes. This can occur when children fall behind in their studies, leading to a learning gap that is difficult to bridge without appropriate support. The film seeks to bring this issue to light and encourage action to address the root causes of the problem.
The film’s opening scene takes place in a classroom where the teacher is questioning students on a particular subject. Despite several students raising their hands to answer, the teacher specifically asks for Bindiya, but she is nowhere to be seen. In subsequent scenes around the school, the teacher notices Bindiya attempting to conceal herself. Eventually, he discovers her hiding under a desk when the classroom is empty. When he inquires about her behavior, Bindiya confesses that she’s afraid of being asked too many questions and hopes to avoid answering any by hiding. The teacher recognizes her struggle and provides her with personalized attention and support to help her catch up with her studies.
According to the National Achievement Survey 2021, more than 6 crore primary school students in India have learning levels below the appropriate standard for their respective grades. This learning gap can have a significant impact on children who struggle to keep up with their peers, and without adequate support, may eventually drop out of school or fail to achieve their aspirations. If left unaddressed, this gap can lead to various challenges for children over time. However, the indicators of the learning gap are often misinterpreted as a lack of interest or misbehavior, which exacerbates the problem due to a lack of understanding and support. The root cause of such misconceptions is often a lack of awareness and understanding of the learning gap. Therefore, it is essential to raise awareness and take collective action to identify these gaps in children and implement remedial measures to bridge them.
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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.”
He added, “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.”
Rajdeepak Das, CEO and 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.”
P&G’s nationwide movement to raise awareness of the invisible learning gap that affects many children in India is a powerful and insightful campaign. By shedding light on this issue, P&G is highlighting the urgent need for action to bridge the gap and ensure that all children have access to quality education. The film created by Leo Burnett is a beautiful and thought-provoking piece of work that effectively conveys the message and impact of the learning gap. It serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of education and the need to support children who are struggling to keep up with their peers. P&G’s commitment to this cause is commendable, and it is hoped that this campaign will inspire others to take action and work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive education system.
