Author: Smile Editorial Team

Summary

• CSR can help bridge gaps in STEM education: Corporate funding can support CSR STEM programs with science laboratories, practical learning kits, digital tools and teacher training, giving students from underserved communities more opportunities to learn through experimentation.
• Needs-based investment matters: Effective CSR STEM programs should respond to each school’s infrastructure, connectivity, equipment and teacher-training needs rather than prioritising technology for its own sake.
• Teachers turn resources into learning: Training educators in activity-based teaching, scientific inquiry and practical experiments helps students develop critical thinking, problem-solving and independent learning skills.
• Inclusive STEM programs expand participation: CSR initiatives can improve access for girls, children with disabilities and students in remote communities through accessible learning materials, mentorship and resources suited to local contexts.
• Impact must extend beyond infrastructure: Companies should assess improvements in students’ understanding, practical skills and confidence, alongside teacher capacity and the continued functioning of laboratories and equipment.
• Smile Foundation demonstrates a practical approach: Through Mission Education, STEM laboratories and STEM on Wheels, the foundation combines hands-on learning, infrastructure and teacher capacity building to expand STEM learning opportunities for underserved children.

A student learning about electricity in a school may be able to reproduce the definition of a circuit in an examination without ever having assembled one. In another classroom, a student might connect a battery, wires and a small bulb to understand how a circuit works. Both students encounter the same concept, but the opportunities available to them to explore it can be very different. This gap between learning science as theoretical knowledge and experiencing it through experimentation is one of the challenges facing schools with limited educational resources.

Inadequate laboratory facilities, shortages of equipment, limited access to digital tools and insufficient opportunities for practical teacher training can restrict how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are taught. 

In this scenario, a vital alternative can be corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that can help address these gaps by funding STEM laboratories, providing learning kits, training teachers and introducing students to applied science. 

Why CSR investment in STEM education matters 

Under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, qualifying companies are required to spend at least 2 per cent of their average net profits from the preceding three financial years on CSR activities. Schedule VII includes promoting education, including special education and employment-enhancing vocational skills, among the activities that companies may support. This provides a framework for companies to invest in educational interventions, including STEM learning, where the programme meets the applicable CSR requirements.

In India, the Right to Education framework and the National Education Policy 2020 emphasise quality and experiential learning. Thus, corporate investment in STEM education can complement public efforts to improve school infrastructure and learning outcomes. The challenge is to move beyond one-time donations towards programmes that build lasting teaching capacity. 

The opportunity is significant because companies can contribute resources that schools may otherwise struggle to access. Technology companies can support coding and digital literacy; engineering and manufacturing businesses can help develop practical science modules; and corporate foundations can partner with education-focused nonprofits to establish laboratories and deliver learning programmes across multiple schools. 

However, CSR investment should respond to the educational needs of the school rather than the technological interests of its corporate sponsor. A school without reliable electricity, for example, may benefit more from basic laboratory equipment and teacher support than from an advanced digital laboratory. Therefore, the effectiveness of CSR STEM programs rests on whether schools can integrate these resources into everyday teaching, whether teachers feel confident

using them and whether students gain the opportunity to investigate problems independently. The most effective investments thus, begin with a needs assessment. This involves understanding existing infrastructure, the subjects students struggle with, teachers’ training requirements, the availability of electricity and internet connectivity, and the resources needed to maintain equipment. 

CSR STEM programs to strengthen classroom learning 

A dedicated STEM laboratory in a school gives students opportunities to explore scientific concepts through experimentation and model-making. Depending on the school’s needs, it may include basic physics and chemistry equipment, electronics kits, robotics tools, coding resources and materials for engineering projects.

For younger students, activities such as building a bridge from everyday materials or constructing a simple electrical circuit can make abstract concepts easier to understand. Older students might experiment with sensors, program a robot or develop a model addressing a local problem, such as water wastage. However, the value of a laboratory lies in how frequently students use it, not simply in whether it exists. Companies funding such infrastructure should also budget for consumables, repairs, equipment replacement and teacher support alongside the initial installation. 

Additionally, teachers are central to successful STEM education. Equipment won’t help if educators are unfamiliar with the tools or lack the confidence to guide students through open-ended experiments. Corporate programmes can fund workshops that introduce teachers to activity-based teaching, scientific inquiry, coding fundamentals and the integration of practical experiments into existing lessons.

For example, a teacher introducing the concept of force could ask students to construct paper structures and test how much weight they hold. Rather than demonstrating the correct answer immediately, the teacher can encourage students to compare designs, identify weaknesses and modify their structures. This makes the classroom a place for investigation rather than the reproduction of textbook answers. CSR-funded teacher development should therefore be treated as a core programme component in addition to laboratory funding. 

Making STEM education inclusive 

Access to STEM learning is also shaped by gender, geography and household circumstances. Girls in some communities may have fewer opportunities to participate in technology-related activities, while students with disabilities may encounter learning materials or laboratory layouts that do not accommodate their needs. Children in remote areas can face additional barriers when programmes depend on reliable internet access. CSR initiatives should also account for these differences at the design stage. Companies should particularly support programmes that actively encourage girls to lead experiments, provide accessible learning materials, accommodate students with disabilities and offer resources in languages children understand. Mentorship from

women working in science, engineering and technology can also help students see STEM careers as attainable possibilities. 

Digital access requires similar attention. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 included a national assessment of digital access and skills among children aged 14–16 in rural India. It found that 82.2 per cent of children in this age group reported knowing how to use a smartphone, but only 57 per cent of those who could use one reported having used it for an educational activity during the preceding week. The findings suggest that familiarity with digital devices does not automatically translate into their educational use. 

One example of how corporate funding can support hands-on science learning is Smile Foundation’s Mission Education programme, which works with children from underserved communities. Its STEM interventions combine laboratory infrastructure, activity-based learning and teacher capacity building. The programme introduced STEM laboratories at 32 locations in 2025, engaging more than 22,000 students in experiential learning through science. Its STEM on Wheels initiative, supported by BMW India Foundation, takes mobile STEM learning resources to underserved schools and communities. The foundation has also collaborated with IIT Bombay to introduce students to areas such as robotics, 3D printing, astronomy and aero-modelling. 

Measuring impact beyond numbers 

A stronger monitoring framework among companies should examine what students and teachers are able to do as a result of the intervention. This can include assessing students’ understanding of scientific concepts before and after a programme, observing whether they can independently complete experiments, and tracking changes in their confidence and participation. Teacher assessments can examine how frequently practical activities are incorporated into lessons and whether teachers can use the equipment without external facilitators. Companies should also monitor whether the infrastructure remains functional after the initial investment. 

The National Education Policy 2020 provides a useful framework for this approach. It calls for a shift away from rote memorisation towards inquiry-based, discovery-based learning, with greater emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving. CSR-funded programmes can support these objectives when their activities are aligned with classroom learning and assessed against clearly defined educational outcomes. 

In conclusion, the most effective CSR STEM programs are built around the needs of schools and the realities of their classrooms. For companies, the task is to move beyond measuring how much infrastructure their funding has delivered and examine what students can do with it. When corporate partnerships help teachers create opportunities for experimentation, encourage children to ask questions and give underserved students sustained access to practical learning, STEM education becomes an investment in their ability to understand, question and shape the world around them. 

FAQs

1. What are CSR STEM programs?

CSR STEM programs are corporate social responsibility initiatives that support education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. They may fund school laboratories, practical learning kits, coding resources, robotics activities, teacher training and experiential learning opportunities, particularly in underserved communities.

2. Why is CSR investment important for STEM education in India?

Many schools face barriers such as inadequate laboratory facilities, shortages of equipment and limited opportunities for practical teacher training. CSR investment can help address these gaps by providing resources and building teaching capacity, complementing public efforts to improve the quality of education.

3. How can companies support STEM education through CSR?

Companies can fund school laboratories, provide science and robotics kits, organise teacher-training programmes, support digital learning and partner with education-focused nonprofits. The most effective initiatives begin with a needs assessment and include ongoing maintenance, teacher support and clear learning objectives.

4. What does the Companies Act, 2013 say about CSR investment in education?

Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 requires qualifying companies to spend at least 2% of their average net profits from the preceding three financial years on CSR activities. Schedule VII includes promoting education, including special education and employment-enhancing vocational skills, among eligible areas. Education-related programmes must meet the applicable CSR requirements.

5. How can CSR programs improve practical STEM learning in schools?

CSR programs can establish laboratories, supply age-appropriate learning kits and train teachers to incorporate experiments into lessons. Activities such as building electrical circuits, testing paper structures or programming simple robots help students explore scientific concepts through observation, experimentation and problem-solving.

6. How can CSR STEM programmes make science education more inclusive?

Companies can design programmes that encourage girls to participate actively, provide accessible learning materials for children with disabilities, offer resources in languages students understand and account for limited internet connectivity in remote areas. Mentorship from women in STEM fields can also help students see science and technology careers as attainable.

7. How can companies measure the impact of CSR STEM programmes?

Companies should assess more than the number of laboratories established or students reached. Useful indicators include changes in students’ understanding of scientific concepts, their ability to conduct experiments independently, their confidence and participation, teachers’ use of practical activities, and whether equipment remains functional over time. These measures help establish whether investments are translating into meaningful learning outcomes.

Summary

• After school programs give children somewhere to go once the school day ends, and a facilitator who has time to sit with them over their homework while parents are still at work.
• Close to 80% of a child’s waking hours are spent outside the classroom. In India, roughly half of all Class 5 children could not read a text meant for Class 2, and patient help after school lets many of them catch up.
• Regular attendance is linked with better results in class and greater confidence. In one long-running program, 63% of teenagers finished high school, against 42% of those outside it.
• Many centres serve a hot meal or a snack, and staff keep an eye on how each child is doing outside their studies too.
• Cost and distance still keep many children from reaching a centre, and programs funded by short-term grants can close when the money runs out.

“Every child deserves a champion.” — Rita Pierson

For many children in India, that champion is someone they meet only after the school day is over.

They come home in the afternoon with homework they cannot finish on their own. Their parents are usually at work until evening, and some never had the chance to study themselves. If a child got stuck on a sum in class, there is often nobody at home who can help work it out.

After school programs for children give them a place to take that sum. A facilitator sits beside the child and goes through it again at a slower pace, and there is still time to play outside before heading home with the homework done. Many of these children are the first in their families to study beyond primary school, and an hour of steady help each afternoon makes it easier for them to keep going.

What Are After School Programs?

After school programs for children are regular sessions held once school is over, usually in a school building or a community centre a short walk from home. What each centre offers depends on the children who come and what it can afford, though most have some mix of the following.

• Homework help and remedial classes: support with the day’s homework, and extra classes in reading and maths for children who need them.
• Creative activities: drawing, music, storytelling and drama, where children can try something new without worrying about marks.
• Sport and play: a chance to run around and play as a team after hours of sitting still.
• Digital learning: for some children, their first go on a computer.
• Meals and health support: a snack or a meal, and occasional health check-ups.

Why the Hours After School Matter

Children spend close to 80% of their waking hours outside the classroom. Most of what they learn in class needs practice during those hours before it sticks, and when that practice is missed year after year, the gaps grow wide. National learning surveys have found that roughly half of all Class 5 children in India could not read a text meant for Class 2.

How After School Programs Help Children Learn

Strengthening the basics

Reading and basic maths come into almost every other subject. A Class 6 child who is still unsure of multiplication will find fractions very hard, and may start to feel the whole subject is beyond them. Remedial classes go back to what the child has not yet mastered and build up from there in small steps, with plenty of practice. A 1994 study of low-income families in the United States found that children who went to after school programs earned better grades, and got on better with classmates, than those who went home alone or to a relative.

Confidence and a willingness to try

Children who struggle at school for long enough often decide they are simply bad at studying. They stop putting their hands up, and some start finding reasons to stay home. In a small group, a facilitator has time to notice when a child reads a whole paragraph alone for the first time and to tell them how well they did. Evaluations of programs over a decade found that children who attended regularly had higher self-esteem and fewer behaviour problems.

Creativity and life skills

A storytelling circle or a group drawing project gives children practice in speaking up in front of others, and in listening while someone else has their turn. For a shy child, being asked to tell one small part of a story can be the first time they have spoken to a group at all.

Staying in school

Household chores and money worries can keep a child away from school for a few days at a time, and the missed days slowly build up. Facilitators who see a child every afternoon, and know the family, are often the first to notice when something is wrong and can talk to the parents early. In one long-running program for teenagers from low-income families in the United States, 63% of those who stayed for four years finished high school, compared with 42% of similar teenagers outside it.

Looking After the Whole Child

A child who last ate at the school’s midday meal is often hungry again by four o’clock, and it shows in how long they can sit with a book. Many centres keep a hot meal or a simple snack ready for when the children arrive, and some help families find a doctor if a child seems unwell.

Staff at a good centre are carefully screened and trained before they work with children, and clear child-protection rules mean that a child or parent who is worried about anything knows who to go to.

A child who has gone quiet may be grieving someone at home, or worried about something they find hard to put into words. A facilitator who notices can ask what is wrong, and if the child needs more help than a chat can give, make sure they are put in touch with a trained counsellor.

What Makes After School Programs for Children Work

Programs that help children over several years usually have the following in place.

• Trained, steady facilitators: staff who stay for a few years come to know each child’s strengths and gaps, and good training helps them teach a group where every child is at a different level.
• Activities suited to each child: play-based learning for the youngest, and help with subjects or career choices for older children.
• Regular attendance: children who come often, for a year or more, see the biggest gains.
• Tracking progress: a simple reading and maths check at the start, repeated every few months, shows facilitators where each child still needs help.
• Access for every child: sessions held at times children can manage, in rooms a child with a disability can get into. Girls and children from migrant families often need a little extra encouragement to join.

The Access Gap

Private tuition and coaching cost money that most families on daily wages do not have. In poorer neighbourhoods, a free after school program is often the only extra help a child can get, if there is one close enough to reach.

Distance is a worry in villages and in settlements with poor transport, and parents are understandably wary of sending young children far from home. Many programs also run on short-term grants, so a centre doing good work can close when the money runs out, and the children who relied on it then have nowhere to go in the afternoons.

How Smile Foundation Supports Children’s Education Beyond the Classroom

Smile Foundation’s Mission Education works with underprivileged children across India and supports their nutrition and wellness alongside their learning. Its work covers foundational literacy and numeracy, STEM and digital learning, teacher training and scholarships. Parents and local communities are involved as well. In 2025, Mission Education reached more than 185,000 children through 242 centres and 1,008 government schools, and that figure covers all of its work across schools and centres.

After school programs for children give a child an adult who believes they can finish school and perhaps go further. Mission Education works towards the same goal in classrooms and centres across the country, because every child deserves that kind of support wherever they live. Anyone who would like to help can donate or volunteer through Smile Foundation’s donation page.

FAQs

• What are after school programs?
  They are regular sessions held once school is over, in a school building or a community centre near children’s homes. Most offer help with homework and extra reading and maths classes, along with time for sport and creative activities.

• How do after school programs help children from underserved communities?

Many of these children have nobody at home who can help with schoolwork. A program gives them that help every afternoon, and many centres also provide a meal and basic health support.

• Are after school programs only for children who are struggling?

No. Children who are doing well in school also enjoy the sport and creative activities, and some get their first chance to use a computer.

• What should a good after school program include?

Trained facilitators who stay long enough to know each child, and activities suited to the children’s ages and levels. Regular checks on reading and maths also show where a child still needs help.

• Are after school programs safe for young children?

A good centre screens and trains its staff before they work with children. It also has clear child-protection rules, so children and parents know who to go to with a worry.

• How long should a child attend to see a difference?

Children who come regularly, for a year or more, usually gain the most, because facilitators can build on what was covered the week before.

• Do families have to pay for after school programs?

Many programs run by NGOs and community groups are free for families who cannot afford fees. Some charge a small amount to cover materials or meals.

Sources:

• Every Kid Needs a Champion, TED, May 2013
• Out-of-School Programs Play an Outsized Role in Child Development, The 74, May 2025
• Annual Status of Education Report 2018, ASER Centre, January 2019
• Low-Income Children’s After-School Care: Are There Beneficial Effects of After-School Programs?, Child Development
• The Secrets of Successful Afterschool Programs, Harvard Graduate School of Education, August 2008
• After-School Opportunities, National Dropout Prevention Center
• Components of Effective After School Programs in Under Resourced Communities, University of Northern Iowa, May 2024
• Education Impact Report 2025, Smile Foundation, 2025