D.L. Shah Trust’s Major Projects.

MAJOR PROJECTS

1) QCI- D L SHAH QUALITY AWARDS

Quality Council of India: Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), to establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality through National Quality Campaign. QCI is registered as a non-profit society with its own Memorandum of Association. QCI is governed by a Council of 38 members with equal representations of government, industry and consumers. Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Government of India on recommendation of the industry.

It functions through the executive boards like –

  1. Quality Council of India – QCI
  2. National Accreditation Board of Education & Training (NABET)
  3. National Accreditation Board for Hospitals  (NABET)
  4. National Board for Quality Promotion (NBQP)
  5. National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Tools (NABL)

The D L Shah Trust’s support is for the ‘QCI-DL Shah Quality Award’, which is awarded every year. The Trust has sanctioned an amount of Rs 47 Lakhs for the 14th cycle of the Award.

This award is open to all type of organizations/sectors and project can be from any function or department of the organization.

The following 3 categories of the awards are given to individual project based on the merit of the project.

  1. Platinum Award
  2. Gold Award
  3. Silver Award

 

Quality Best Practices (Selected QCI D. L Shah Quality Award Winning Case Study)

It was realized both by QCI and the Trust that over the last few years (since the inception of the award presentations) that they are sitting on a mine of very useful information and innovative ideas which the award winners have used to win these awards. QCI and the Trust then decided to jointly explore the idea of publishing some of the winning presentations in the form of case-studies after taking the due permission from the concerned authors/organizations. One is happy to record that none of the organizations/ authors raised any objections. On the contrary they willingly endorsed the idea. It was proposed to publish a similar book of award winning case studies each year based on the feed-back received from our readers. Till date 6 volumes of Quality Best Practices (Selected QCI D. L Shah Quality Award Winning Case Study) have been published and printed. These are distributed to major engineering institutions, management colleges, industries etc. They are also available for sale at QCI office, New Delhi and at the Trust office, Mumbai.

 

2) ROTARY INDIA LITERACY MISSION

 The Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM), formerly known as Rotary South Asia Society for Development and Cooperation (RSAS) works with an objective of enabling Total literacy and Quality Education in India. To achieve that RILM has designed a comprehensive program called “T-E-A-C-H” where:

T – Teacher Support, E – e-learning, A – Adult Literacy, C – Child Development & H – Happy School.

Each of these programs has a specific focus and it is interlinked with each other in achieving the common goal of bringing total literacy and improving the learning outcomes of primary education,

E-learning which aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning experience through the use of curriculum-based audio-visual modules in local languages especially in Govt. & Govt. aided schools. It is a single classroom installation through an integrated solution of hardware and software. In past 5 years over 30,000 Govt./aided schools in the country have been digitized so far.

RILM stepped forward and joined hands with PM e-Vidya program in bringing E-learning content to the nation’s children who are currently locked in their homes, through free and easy accessibility in present Covid-19 phase which would potentially benefit around 10 crore students across the nation.

Also, as agreed with MHRD and NCERT, the content will be available for distribution to all govt / govt-aided schools in the country which has Projector and Computer facilities, and are interested to have RILM content available in their school, for eLearning support in the post covid phase (as part of Rotary India’s eLearning project Implementation plan).

D L SHAH TRUST wanted to carry out a Project in the area of enabling digital education. Accordingly, D L SHAH TRUST has chosen RILM to carry out the project as outlined.

  • RILM would produce national curriculum mapped e-content modules, in accessible MP4 format, for Science subjects for classes 12 , and English Language subject for class 11.
  • Multimedia content would be created by RILM by engaging vendors who has technical competency in eLearning, utilising teachers who are connected with NCERT/SCERTs and all content would be duly vetted and approved by subject expert committee of NCERT, and the NCERT approval whereof would be  provided to D L Shah Trust.
  • At the end of every such sponsored episode, D L SHAH TRUST acknowledgement will be displayed as per agreed template.
  • The e-content modules would be provided to the children of the country for free, would be available for perpetuity, to be conveyed by NCERT, through various IT platforms in order to make it available for all children in order to continue their learning at their home during and post lock down phase

These modules would be telecast through the following modes:

  • National Television channels of NCERT in Hindi & English through service providers mainly Jio TV, DD free Dish, and DISH TV and others that may start broadcasting.
  • Government of India’s national educational mobile App, DIKSHA
  • The eLearning content would also be made available for free in schools (those already having eLearning facilities using Smart TV/Projectors), in the post-covid phase where RILM have MOUs signed with state governments who follow the NCERT curriculum. More states are expected to sign MOUs with RILM in the post Covid situation.

 

 

3) D L SHAH TRUST – KHUSHI BABY PROJECT

The joint objectives of this association is to uplift the quality of services provided to maternal and child health beneficiaries attending the well-baby and well-mother clinics of the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children (BJWHC) through use of Khushi Baby’s digital health solution, heretoafter referred to as the “D. L. Shah Trust – Khushi Baby Project”.

Specific Aims:

  1. Digitize antenatal care and child checkup history taking to guide provision of informed care and reduce time for documentation on the part of health care providers
  2. Provide hospital officials with analytics to improve assessment of service delivery and to improve evaluation of health outcomes at BJWHC
  3. Provide beneficiaries with a digital copy of their longitudinal health history and encourage their timely follow-up and adherence to best practices with dialect-specific, automated voice calls.

Accordingly, a MOU was signed between D. L. Shah Trust, Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children and Khushi Baby Association on 1st March 2021.

Near Field Communication (NFC) phones and NFC cards have been developed and have been given to BJWHC. Since then around 5000 child patients have been registered and given KB NFC Cards which will be help full for the counseling and adoption of various help services and practices like vaccination, nutrition intake, breast feeding etc.

Maternal module of this application has been developed and will be incorporated vary soon.

 

4)  “D L SHAH WARD” (ISOLATION WARD AT WADIA HOSPITAL)

 (Isolation Facility with Intensive Care and Diagnostic Facilities)

Bai Jerbai Wadia Childrens Hospital was desirous of developing an Isolation Facility with intensive care and diagnostic facilities in order to reduce mortality and morbidity in children as per the outcome of treatment currently for COVID 19 and other infectious diseases going forward. The Trust decided to donate a ward for the above requirement in the name of the founder of the Trust. The ward will be called “D L Shah Ward”   

Objectives are

  • To create a platform to help dissemination of services in 20-bedded setup for isolation and diagnosis of suspected/ identified cased of COVID 19 in the city of Mumbai and the State of Maharashtra.
  • To create a multidisciplinary team at BJWHC for Isolation facilities of Covid 19 for Intensive care and diagnosis of patients.
  • Once the Pandemic is over to utilize the facility for isolation of the sick children with communicable diseases and for providing intensive care services.
  • To set up a role model for such services across other organizations in Healthcare.

Consequently a MOU was signed between D. L. Shah Trust and Bai Jerbai Wadia Childrens Hospital on 30th March 2020.

The isolation facilities at the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children (BJWHC), dedicated exclusively for children affected by COVID 19 Pandemic were commenced on 19th March 2020. Over 4033 children and neonates including 355 COVID positive patients and other critical cases have benefited from the facility. Over 10,235 COVID tests have been conducted since the facility started RT-PCR testing in August 2020.

 

5) INSTITUTE OF MARINE ENGINEERS (INDIA)

The Institute of Marine Engineers existed in India as a division of Institute of Marine Engineers, London. Thereafter the national institute, named as The Institute of Marine Engineers (India) was registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 on 29 October 1977. The first Governing Council of the Institute was formed in 1980. The Institute was subsequently registered as a Charitable Organization under Bombay Public Trust Act 1950 on 31 May 1982.

The objects and purposes for which the Institute is constituted are to promote the scientific development of Marine Engineering in all its branches and in the furtherance of such knowledge, to enable Marine Engineers to meet and correspond to facilitate the inter change of ideas in respect of improvements and improved methods of working machinery

In April 2018  officials of IME(I) had conveyed to the Trustees the need of purchasing a Full Mission Engine Room Simulator (FMERS) that would be a great help to further instructing and training of engineer members of the institution. Accordingly the Trustees granted their approval for the purchase of the Simulator for the institute for an amount not exceeding Rs 1 Crore, with the understanding that the remaining amount would be paid by IME (I). The Simulator Room and Simulator would be dedicated to the memory of Late Mr. D. L Shah and D. L. Shah Trust. Accordingly, IME (I) floated tenders for the purchase of the Simulator.  Cost of the Simulator was estimated around Rs. 1.36 crore. FMERS would enable high quality training in every aspect of the complex behavior of a ship’s engine room machinery, from single sub and auxiliary systems to the overall running of operations. FMERS offers a physical familiarity with the real shipboard environment and includes a fully equipped engine control room, interactive remix panels, consoles and instructor room. Its provides an opportunity for the learner to apply theoretical knowledge by performing critical operations, quickly learn from any mistakes without serious implications, develop and hone attitudes for situations that demands complex decision making and gain vital skills crucial for handling emergency. “Kongsberg Digital Make K-Sim Engine Full Mission Simulator Model L11MAL6570ME-SC” was selected.  Accordingly a MOA was signed between D. L. Shah Trust and IME(I) for the acquisition and installation of the mentioned Simulator.

In addition to the Simulator D L Shah Trust along with IME(I) has provided part (50%) sponsorship of the Simulator Training fee for 2 indigent candidates, per batch, under-going the Simulator Training. These candidates are referred as the “D L Shah Trust Scholars”

 

 6) D L SHAH QUALITY RESEARCH CENTRE – SKILL PASSBOOK ASSESSMENT PROJECT

A MOU was signed between QCI & D. L. Shah Trust on 8th March 2013 in New Delhi.

The Research Centre will specially focus on Social Sectors, such as Primary Education and Primary Health Care to ensure that these organizations provide good quality services at modest cost.

Skill Passbook Project Summary

Many assessment reports namely (Global Monitoring Report (GMR) and achievement surveys (Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) periodically delineated a decline in learning outcomes of children. Performance of students in Haryana is significantly below the national average for both languages (English, Hindi) and mathematics (National Achievement Survey, 2018, conducted by NCERT). With the objective of improving learning outcomes and bringing quality education, QRC initiated its second project-Quality Intervention in teaching-learning process in 2017-19 in 5 Govt. schools of Haryana. After successful execution of this project, on recommendation of Government of Haryana, QRC started Skill Passbook Project in 2019 with QRC owned methods, process, benchmarks, timelines and interventions. QRC completed first cycle of the project in 2019 and identified learning gaps through skill passbook tool designed by Government of Haryana. On the basis of identified gaps, action plan was developed for the schools and based on competencies/skills, worksheets were prepared to practice with all the students for improving their conceptual building across all classes from 3rd to 8th in all 5 pilot schools. After completion of first cycle, QRC initiated second cycle of the project in 2020, but due to covid_19 induced situations, implementation of project shifted from physical mode to virtual mode and the entire project was executed through online mode. The project was divided into four phases.

1)         Development Phase: Identification of 10 basic competencies based on skill passbook tool, designing of worksheets based on identified competencies, identification of videos, development of assessment papers and; creation of 17 WhatsApp groups with 328 students and 20 teachers.

2)         Pre-Intervention Phase: Online workshop for teachers, sharing of relevant learning material in the form of 396 worksheets and 346 videos on WhatsApp group for 5 Months (June to Oct 2020), Pre-Assessment of 307 Students through telephonic mode and; analysis of data to understand the competencies attainment level of students.

3)         Intervention Phase:  Creation of remedial action based on pre-assessment findings and; sharing of 261 supporting remedial worksheets and 174 videos with students through WhatsApp groups.

4)         Post-Intervention Phase: Post assessment of 307 students through telephonic mode (3rd to 5th) & pen-paper based assessment (6th to 8th); and Comparative analysis for pre-post assessment of students.

Based on analysis it was found that performance of students have improved during post intervention, therefore it was inferred  that percentage of students  shown surge which shifted students  from low category to High category grade in all five pilot schools, inter-student variation also increased  which reflected better level of performance between high achievers and low achievers students in GHS Asanda, GPS Asanda & GPS Sankhol, whereas a decline was witnessed in GHS Bhaproda and GPS Bhaproda.  During analysis it was also observed, comparatively there was a satisfactory improvement in Mathematics and Hindi, English required more attention across schools but focus on competencies need to give in all the subjects which have improved during post intervention. Based on inferences it was suggested to schools and teachers to adopt learner-centric approach, give more attention towards slow learner, work on reading, writing and basic mathematical operations for more conceptual clarity, participation from parent and execution of practicing worksheets and videos would improve student’s performance in true sense and upgrade learning outcomes of the school.

Despite various challenges faced by QRC due to covid_19 induced situation; project was successfully executed. Major challenges were non-adaptability towards online education, lack of access to basic digital learning tool (Computer/laptops/smart phones), lack of technical skills among parent, difficulty in conducting assessment of students through telephonic mode. QRC took every challenge as an opportunity to grow and maintained its zeal to continue and work for the betterment of students. Challenges were tackled by applying suitable heuristics to simplify the problem.

The project mainly focused on developing learning standard, assessing outcomes and using the data obtained, to enhance learning outcomes of the students. Hence it is concluded that interventions initiated by QRC brought positive impact on students learning outcomes and elevated the performance of students during post interventions of the project. In consistent to this, various outcomes were achieved after completion of the project namely efficiently addressed  lacking areas among students, lessen the burden of teachers by providing  pool of activities, worksheets and videos based on  lacking competencies,  provided academic support to schools, a chance to teachers was also given to preserve academic content for future use, brought conceptual clarity against various competencies and ; enabled teachers to ascertain learning skills more accurately for  taking  corrective steps and provided  effective learning opportunities to all students.

After completion of project it was reviewed by team of experts (Mr. Vivek Sohal, Mrs. Sunita Dixit and Mrs. Ranju Aggarwal), all the records, evidences and documents  related to project were shared with them through Google drive, based on their observation and study, they reviewed the project and concluded that project objectives and students assessment procedures were satisfactory whereas project methodologies and project activities were found to be exceptional, they put forth their views and suggestions about the project in separate reports already shared with Trustees.

As the project came out to be successful, scaleable & replicable and must be implemented across all Government schools of Haryana, therefore based on  analysis and observation various recommendations were put forth  for  Govt. of Haryana, like benchmark evaluation, support from Government, capacity building workshops for teachers, community participation, defining role of teachers precisely, recognition to best performing schools, session for parent to upgrade their technical skills, execution of action plan provided by QRC and generate need-based plans for schools. QRC believe that another round of project will bring more improvements and sustained result across all schools.