Ricoh 2012 Annual Report Download - page 80

Ricoh Group Sustainability Report 201279
To Grow with Society
Rural villages facing a wide range of issues on
education
In May 2011, Ricoh launched the Education Support Program in the
Medak District in Andhra Pradesh State, situated in the southern part of
India, and has been working together with Save the Children (NGO) to
help improve local education conditions.
At the end of January 2011, prior to launch, Ricoh employees visited
the area where they conducted a field survey and interviewed school
faculty, educational bureau staff, parents and children, through which
various issues were identified.
For example, children of farmers tend to be absent from school for
a long period in the busy farming season in order to help with farming
chores, and often end up dropping out before finishing their primary
education. The survey also found that the situation with girls is even more
severe in terms of continuing to learn at school. Fundamentally, some
parents are not aware of the importance of education, and platforms that
are essential for proper school operations are generally fragile, causing
problems that include a lack of sufficient educational infrastructure and
declining quality of educational services due to a shortage in human
resources. The study also pointed out that most schools did not have any
printing machines or duplicators, which means that teachers did not have
any means to print tests and teaching materials and that communities
could not share information effectively.
To address these issues, Ricoh implemented a program under which
digital duplicators are donated to local schools and educational institutions
where training is provided to children, teachers, and officials of local
governments on how to
use them for the purpose
of improving the quality
of classes and helping
community residents
to share information
effectively. At the same
time, with the aim of
improving the educational
environment in the target
area, we are conducting
educational activities, for instance, hosting seminars for the school
management committee and organizing “children’s groups.” Through these
activities, we are supporting the establishment of networks among those
who are engaged in education.
Duplicators are contributing to the
improvement of classes and revitalization of
the community
Ricoh donated duplicators to ten schools and other educational
institutions beginning in July 2011 and also provided training on their
usage. In February 2012, we examined the effectiveness of our support
program. Through our review, we discovered that increasingly more class
In its value-creating CSR activities that revolve around local communities, the Ricoh Group provides its products, services and human resources for
the purpose of contributing to the resolution of social problems in developing countries.
In 2011, Ricoh launched the Education Support Program in India, aiming to solve education problems facing rural areas of the country.
Education Support Program in India
Ricoh’s digital duplicators serve as the driving force for the virtuous cycle to
improve educational standards that achieve high-quality education for children
in rural villages and provide a better future for fulfilling their dreams
Delhi
Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh state
Medak
District
■ Target region of the program
(Medak District)
■ Phases and the goal of the program
May 2011–
July 2011–June 2013
Current phase
Goal
Phase of
indepen-
dence
Collabora-
tion phase
Project
Launch
Every community independently implements measures
for sustainable enhancement of the educational
● Strengthening of networks between the Education Bureau, schools,
communities and children
● Continuous improvement of the learning environment (increase in the
enrollment rate of school-age children, decrease in the dropout rate)
● Lobbying to administrative bodies (reflection of policies)
● Education and capacity-building of the school management committee,
faculties, and community
● Activities of “children’s groups”
● Building networks between the Education Bureau, schools, communities
and children
● Donation of digital duplicators and PCs and provision of training on their usage
● Organization of “children’s groups,” a school management committee, and a
child protection committee
● Setting-up of a children’s center
● Installment of an opinion box
Use of digital duplicators ● Improving the standard of
classes (materials, tests)
● Information sharing among
teachers
● Information sharing in each
network
June 2013–March 2014
March 2014
Improving
children’s achieve-
ment level
Enhancing a
network among
related people
Enhancing the skills
of related people
Information sharing
Continuous
learning by children
Improving the
quality of education
■ Cycle to Improve the Educational
Environment Executed under Ricoh’s
Program to Support Education