Malabar Charitable Trust with Pratham Education Foundation to Strengthen Micro Learning Centres for Underprivileged Children

Malabar Charitable Trust, the CSR wing of Malabar Group, has partnered with the Pratham Education Foundation to further strengthen its Micro Learning Centres (MLCs) initiative aimed at rehabilitating and supporting the education of underprivileged children across India.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Malabar Charitable Trust, social welfare organisation Thanal, and Pratham Education Foundation at the Malabar Group headquarters in Kozhikode.

The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. M. P. Ahammad, Chairman of Malabar Group Mr. Asher O, Managing Director - India Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds;  Ms. Preeti Pandey, Program Manager at Pratham Education Foundation; Dr. V. Idrees, Chairman of Thanal, Mr. Nishad A. K., Executive Director of Malabar Group; and Mr. U. V. Jose, Head - Public Affairs at Malabar Group.

Through this partnership, Pratham Education Foundation will support Malabar Group’s Micro Learning Centres with curriculum development, teacher training, learning assessments, and structured academic interventions, enabling children from vulnerable backgrounds to reintegrate into formal education systems.

Malabar Charitable Trust established the Micro Learning Centres in collaboration with Thanal to support children who, due to social and economic hardships, are forced to live on the streets, engage in child labour, or discontinue their schooling. The centres provide nutritious meals, foundational education, and academic support, helping children transition back into government schools.

Currently, 1,543 Micro Learning Centres are operational across 17 states and two union territories in India, benefiting 64,754 students. Of these, 39,892 children have successfully transitioned into formal government schools.

Malabar Group plans to expand the programme further and increase the number of beneficiaries to 100,000 children in the coming years.

Speaking on the partnership, Mr. M. P. Ahammed, Chairman of Malabar Group, said, “Our decision to collaborate with Pratham Education Foundation marks a significant milestone for the Micro Learning Centres initiative. We believe that providing quality education to children from disadvantaged backgrounds and enabling them to re-enter the mainstream education system is both a social responsibility and a long-term investment in society.

The Micro Learning Centres are part of Malabar Group’s flagship CSR initiative ‘Hunger Free World’, under which the organisation provides daily meals to over 115,000 beneficiaries across India and Zambia

ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) has been the primary commitment of the group since its inception. The key ESG focus area of Malabar Group are Health, Housing, Hunger Free World, Education, Environment and Women empowerment. Integrating the principles of responsibility and sustainability into its core business, Malabar Group periodically strengthens its ESG goals to remain a socially conscious and responsible organization. The group contributes 5% of its profit to such initiatives in the same country of operation. 

To date, the group has invested over USD 40 Million in social welfare initiatives, positively impacting more than 1.8 million lives.