Students of commerce and business studies at a city school have started an initiative to source, design, make and sell masks and mask covers to raise funds for Covid relief.
The girls of Mahadevi Birla World Academy are maintaining the accounts and records, learning to start a business and run it — a process that is teaching them real-time operations during the pandemic, the school said.
It is an initiative of Biz Teens, a school club, which has students from Classes XI and XII.
The project takes theory they are learning from books beyond the text and helps them learn and understand the subject better, said their teacher.
The project involves 115 girls, of whom five are core members.
The students have chosen masks and covers as business items after conducting a market survey. “Considering that we are in the middle of a pandemic, masks are mandatory and people require them. People are not ready to splurge and hence, we could not sell a luxury item but something that is reasonably priced and a must-buy,” said Tamanna Hirawat, a Class XII student and a core committee member who is playing the role of CEO.
Apart from Tamanna, the core members are Vanshi Pulsaria (production), Ebadika Dutta (technology), Dhwani Agarwal (finance) and Yashvi Nahata (marketing) — all in Class XII. The girls have created a website for the sale.
The masks are priced at Rs 25. They have got retail orders and an NGO has already placed an order for 500 masks.
“This project is keeping them engaged while they are learning real-time operations of a working business model. They have started something they could do on their own to bring the subject to life. The bulk order has given them a huge impetus and they are motivated to overcome the hurdles coming their way,” said principal Anjana Saha.
The amount raised will go towards relief work.
“The students have learnt the theories of identification of product, distribution, pricing and promotion, all of which are part of their syllabus. It also teaches them to face the situation if they make wrong business decisions,” said Suparna Roy, the head of the department of commerce and the teacher mentoring them.
