By Aftab Shaikh, Sr. Communication Associate, Rocket Learning
Programme Aarambh, launched in November 2024 by Hon’ble Education Minister of Punjab Shri Harjot Singh Bains, with support from with Rocket Learning, is transforming early childhood education through parental engagement and play-based learning. Initially rolled out across 8 districts, the programme has reached over 1.32 lakh students and 70,000 parents, creating a meaningful impact in pre-primary education. To delve deeper into this journey, we spoke with Mr. Digvijay Singh, Senior Program Manager in Punjab, who shares insights into the team’s efforts, the objectives of the programme, and its growing impact.
Logo of Programme Aarambh
Hon’ble Education Minister Shri Harjot Singh Bains addressing the gathering during the launch of Programme Aarambh in Punjab
Q: You have been one of the first employees of Rocket Learning’s Punjab team and have witnessed its growth since. Can you share the journey of Rocket Learning in Punjab and how were relationships with stakeholders built?
Digvijay Singh: I joined Rocket Learning on April 1, 2024, as its first employee in Punjab. Coming from a background in foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), I had seen how classroom interventions often struggled to improve children’s learning outcomes due to limited parental involvement. Rocket Learning’s focus on parental engagement offered a fresh perspective, and as a father, I saw firsthand how this approach positively impacted my own child’s learning.
Punjab, a frontrunner in early childhood education, had made remarkable strides by introducing pre-primary classes in government schools as early as 2018. However, despite commendable infrastructure and intent, implementation challenges remained. Rocket Learning identified an opportunity to bridge the gap through its parental engagement model, leveraging insights from other states and a survey conducted in Punjab. This survey revealed that 95% of households owned a smartphone, and around 40% of mothers had access to one—a significant advantage for program scalability.
To align with stakeholders, we adopted a top-down approach, beginning with senior state management and extending to districts and block-level officers. Collaborating with the Punjab Development Commission and SCERT, we integrated the programme into district administration workflows and weekly reviews. This systematic engagement ensured that Rocket Learning’s parental involvement strategy became a key component of Punjab’s early education framework, setting the stage for improved learning outcomes across the state.
Q: What is the objective of the programme Aarambh, and how has its model been implemented?
Digvijay Singh: Programme Aarambh is an innovative platform that connects parents to their child’s learning journey through technology. In Punjab, we have focused on delivering simple, play-based activities that parents can easily carry out using materials readily available at home. This approach ensures there is no burden on parents or children, as the activities are designed to be engaging and fun for kids.
We use WhatsApp as the primary platform to share activities since most parents are already familiar with it. This eliminates the need for introducing new technology, which can be time-consuming. Parents receive activities and share feedback and evidence of engagement directly on WhatsApp, creating a real-time feedback loop.
Field visits are also an essential part of our model. Our program managers interact with parents and educators to gather feedback on the activities and their effectiveness. This feedback is incorporated into the program to ensure continuous improvement. Additionally, we have divided Punjab into four zones—Malwa, Doaba, Majha, and Puadh—considering cultural and linguistic variations, ensuring tailored representation and outreach.
A key element of our implementation is the feedback mechanism. We collect real-time feedback directly from the field through our program managers. This ground-level input helps us refine activities and processes. Moreover, we’ve tailored our approach area-wise in Punjab, ensuring that the programme resonates with the diverse representation in the region.
Q: Achieving milestones is rarely smooth. Can you share the challenges faced in supporting the launch of Programme Aarambh?
Digvijay Singh: There were several opportunities for us to expand upon. Rocket Learning had previously worked in Hindi and Marathi speaking states, so it was an opportunity for us to expand our programme in another vernacular language. Contextualizing content and activities for Punjab’s local context ensured we connect directly with the masses. With substantial support from the government agencies and internal departments, we developed a proper mechanism to adapt the content, ensuring it was relatable for parents.
Technology adoption was another gap that we noticed in parents. Many parents needed additional technical help in using the platform effectively. Therefore, we offered support to the Punjab government by providing nudges, holding meetings, conducting YouTube sessions, and aligning with teachers and district administration at every level. We offered both in-person and online support to ensure everyone involved understood the programme’s value and could implement it successfully.
Q: What impact has the programme had so far?
Digvijay Singh: The programme, officially launched on November 14, 2024, by the Hon’ble Education Minister Shri Harjot Singh Bains under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Punjab Shri. Bhagwant Mann, has already shown promising progress. In its first phase, the programme was implemented across 8 districts, including Mohali, Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Shri Muktsar Sahib, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, and Rupnagar. The plan is to expand to all 23 districts in the next academic year.
Punjab has 12,800 government-run pre-primary schools, which are the primary focus of the programme, catering to 3.6 lakh students. In the current phase, the programme has been rolled out in 5,000 pre-primary schools across the 8 districts, of which 4,400 schools have already enrolled in Programme Aarambh. This translates to an impressive participation of 1.32 lakh students and approximately 70,000 parents.
Out of these engaged parents, 25,000 have shown high levels of involvement by actively sharing videos of their children participating in activities. This means 40% of parents are responding positively, which is incredibly encouraging and underscores the programme’s potential to drive meaningful change in early education practices.
Q: Can you share any message or feedback you’ve received from parents that stood out to you?
Digvijay Singh: Parents frequently share feedback, and one message from a single mother in Ludhiana truly resonated with us. She initially believed that early learning only begins in school—a common misconception even I held a few years ago. However, after being introduced to Programme Aarambh, she realized the critical role of early learning at home and the significance of parental engagement in shaping a child’s development.
Through the programme, she not only learned why early learning at home is important but also how to actively engage her child in simple, meaningful ways using resources readily available. She was thrilled to see the impact it had on her child, who had previously been shy and underconfident. Over time, the child began to show noticeable improvements in confidence, both in speaking and in participating in activities at home and school.
This transformation highlights the power of empowering parents with the right knowledge and tools. It’s stories like these that reinforce our belief in the programme’s ability to create lasting change for families and children.