Empowering education:

Formal education in India is limited to traditional learning and mostly covers imparting universal literacy, especially in tribal regions. Along with the standard relevant teaching of subjects like literature, mathematics, sciences, and geography, it is important to impart education beyond classroom relevance. CASPR understands the need for economic literacy at the school level to ensure the ability to apply basic economic concepts in day-to-day life in future endeavours. It helps individuals to acquire skills to achieve financial and personal stability like savings, investment, economic crisis, business. Effective education of economy and policies will not only bridge the gap between economical and financial knowledge of deprived sections of the society but also foster an individual to learn how policymakers have an impact on the national economy.

According to the 2011 census, the tribal population in India stands at 8.6 percent (104 million people) of the total population. Economic developments and policymaking largely affect the livelihood of tribal citizens, and lack of understanding of these concepts has kept tribal communities out of the system. We realize that citizens should be aware of economic activities in the country and an informed citizen is a very important aspect of democracy.

We aim to achieve these objectives in two ways: first by inculcating economics and government policy courses in the higher secondary level curriculum for students from Std VIII, especially in tribal schools. It will create a foundation and develop the knowledge, reasoning, and analytical skills that are important to understand public policy and government behaviour at the local, national, and global level. Second, we aim to empower graduate students who are trained to be employed only, by guiding them and providing courses on economy and policies which will enhance their general knowledge and ability to understand the economic policies and its implication in their regular livelihood.

School competition:

Do you think economics is only about numbers, finances, and banking? Well, we would suggest you give it a second thought. Economics is beyond just managing finances-- gain or loss, in fact, it has greater social relevance. It enhances your ability to rise up in the personal and professional sphere. Along with understanding the complex trajectory of the market, learning economics helps in analytics and problem-solving skills. It helps you make wise decisions related to finances, investments, insurance, and many more.

Did you know even the minor government policies reflect on economic growth? Human behaviour, relationship, decision, family, society, laws, policies, all of these influence the national economy. Yes, economics is not just about learning fancy words, working in a huge business firm, but also studying sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science and other social sciences which are interrelated to each other to understand the social norms and developments. For example; schemes developed to ensure the majority of the population, including a larger number of girls, attain education, and every individual has a qualification or is eligible to earn an income can play a significant role in the economy. When the government forms a law or reforms any previous law, it has a direct impact on our economic growth. Achieving a sustainable development model will have a long-term positive effect on the economic graph. Nonetheless, studying economics enables us to gain knowledge about the world, how it works and how it impacts on the decisions taken at our level.

We treat economics as just a mere subject in social sciences, but it is indeed a life skill subject that has application-based relevance in one’s life.

Therefore to extract students who have a nose for economics and aspire to learn more, CASPR has launched a competition targeting students of tribal and rural schools. We aspire to provide them a platform to learn and build their career in economics and policies. Rural and tribal schools have limited resources and scope to seek myriad career opportunities available in the world. Our intention is to nurture them with guidance and stimulate their interest in economics and policy.

About the competition:

To allow students to critically think and solve problems, CASPR will be organising a yearly competition for high school students from Std VIII onwards. We are currently connected with 88 tribal schools in Maharashtra, and wish to expand our reach to the maximum tribal and rural schools in the state. The competition will be in a test format consisting of MCQ based on general knowledge questions regarding economics.

Qualification required to participate in this competition is simple-- the student has to have knowledge about basic economics or applied economics. For example; what is the RBI? What are its functions? Simple gain and loss calculations applied in day-to-day conduct.

If you think you have the aptitude and understand simple economics, then you may be the candidate we are looking for. Winners of the competition will be awarded certificates and reward money. Top three students specifically from Std X will be granted scholarships to support them to pursue higher studies.

The dates of the competitions and awards will be updated to the schools.

Objective:

We aim to develop an ecosystem wherein economics will be established as a fun, interesting, and life lesson subject for the high school students. We wish to create a foundation for students and open a career scope to help gauge a career of their choice. In today’s time, economic literacy, reasoning, and theories have greater application in various sectors wherever there is a monetary consideration that may be in politics, law, psychology, history, religion, marriage, family, social institution etcetera. Our purpose is to create opportunities for students to grow active, responsible, and reflective citizens of society.