Why Ashok Leyland’s RTS Win Matters: Literacy, Numeracy and the Business of Lasting Change

When I read about Ashok Leyland’s RTS being recognised at the BL Changemaker Awards 2024 for boosting literacy and numeracy levels, I felt a familiar mix of relief and quiet hope. Relief because the conversation—finally—moves beyond cheque-writing and checkbox CSR toward measurable learning outcomes. Hope because a large industrial player committing to foundational education shows that impact can be operationalised at scale.

I don’t know all the internal details of RTS, but what matters is the intent and the evidence of results: a corporate program focused on improving basic reading and arithmetic, measured over time, and targeted where it really counts — the earliest, most fragile years of learning. That, to me, is the fulcrum of meaningful change.

Why foundational learning should be the corporate focus

There is an illusion that technology and jobs training alone will solve our employability puzzle. But without strong literacy and numeracy, higher-order skills — coding, problem-solving, digital fluency — cannot land. I see this every time I think about India’s talent pipeline and global mobility of labour. Policies and shocks — whether changes to visa regimes or tech disruptions — only amplify the gap if children never acquire the basics.

Evidence of this broader connection showed up repeatedly in recent public conversations. The debate over H‑1B policy and its sudden shocks reminded me how fragile pathways to opportunity can be when they rely solely on higher-end skills and migration Trump’s $100,000 H-1B fee shocks Indian students, tech workers in US. Meanwhile, our investments in science and technology (like instruments that observe the Sun) are inspiring, but they sit on top of an education foundation that must be rebuilt for broad-based benefit Aditya L-1: What has India learnt about the Sun in two years?. Corporate programs that shore up reading and numeracy are not charity in the old sense — they are long-term capacity building.

What good programs do (and why RTS likely stands out)

From my years watching workplace and education initiatives, the most successful programs share these features:

• Clear, measurable learning targets (not just inputs). Baselines, periodic assessments, and honest reporting.
• Teacher enablement, because one-off campaigns without in-classroom coaching rarely last.
• Low-cost, replicable tools — simple pedagogic kits, formative assessment checklists, and training cascades.
• Community engagement so learning is reinforced beyond the classroom.
• A mindset of iteration: pilots, learn, improve, scale.

If RTS has moved learners on validated metrics of literacy and numeracy, it has crossed the most important threshold: moving from good intent to demonstrable impact.

Corporates must stop treating CSR like a marketing line item

I’ve written before about how Indian industry must reinvent and adapt to structural disruptions — whether in hiring, remote delivery, or global policy shocks. In that vein, CSR should be reimagined not as episodic brand-building but as strategic social investment that feeds the ecosystem our businesses rely on. My earlier conversations about enabling digital education platforms and building remote capabilities (think OnlineJobsFair.com and teacher networks) were rooted in this belief: strengthen the base and the superstructure becomes resilient.

Those earlier notes weren’t wishful thinking. They were pragmatic: build scalable systems, align incentives, and measure outcomes. Seeing a company like Ashok Leyland win a changemaker award for a literacy programme is validation that big-business interventions can be systemic, not cosmetic.

The core idea I had brought up years ago — that industry can and should create lasting educational infrastructure and delivery mechanisms — feels especially relevant now. I had argued for platforms and networks that could deliver learning at scale; watching RTS succeed makes me feel that those ancient ideas were not flying blind but were, in fact, on a viable path.

A few uncomfortable truths

• Scale requires patience. Learning gains do not happen in a quarter. Donors, boards and executives must accept multi-year horizons.
• Measurement is hard, but non-negotiable. Without learning metrics, you are counting activity, not change.
• Local context matters. Pedagogy that works in one district may need adaptation in another.

Why this matters beyond the classroom

Strong literacy and numeracy feed everything: healthier communities, better civic participation, more productive workers, and a stronger pool of citizens capable of adopting advanced technologies. If an industrial manufacturer can direct operational discipline toward education and produce measurable gains — as Ashok Leyland’s RTS has been credited for — then we should rethink the narrow boundaries of corporate responsibility. Businesses don’t merely consume talent; they can co-create it.

Final reflection

When companies, NGOs and educators align around learning outcomes rather than PR, something rare happens: a virtuous cycle begins. Children receive basic skills; families see the value; enrollment and retention improve; the next generation of workers arrives more ready for higher education and skilled work. Ashok Leyland’s recognition is not just a trophy on a shelf. It is a signal: with the right design, private capital, and genuine measurement, we can restore foundational learning at scale.

I am pleased to see this recognition, and quietly encouraged to revisit some of the ideas I’ve written about over the years — the importance of scalable teaching platforms, remote delivery, and deliberate measurement. Those were not idle musings; they were proposals for durable change. Today, I see more reason to press on.

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Regards,
Hemen Parekh

References:

• Trump’s $100,000 H-1B fee shocks Indian students, tech workers in US
• Aditya L-1: What has India learnt about the Sun in two years?
• On earlier thinking about scalable education and workforce platforms (my past posts and projects such as OnlineJobsFair / My-Teacher): see my reflections in past blogs and initiatives (e.g., http://emailothers.blogspot.com/2017/05/seeing-opportunity.html).