Why did we even start “Little Genius”
Around March–April 2025, our whole team sat together — Suvajit Biswas, Suman Mondal, Suparna Polley, Priyanka Mandal, Himadri Kundu, Khairul Sheikh, and our seniors Subhajit Roy and Gargi Mazumdar — with one crazy idea:
“Can class 3–4 kids from rural and semi-urban schools give a proper, exam-like, inter-school challenge fully on mobile using the SLATO Exams App?”
We already had our Digi Disha programme running in 40 schools that year. But there was one big problem — most schools do not allow smartphones inside the campus for small kids. And we were saying, “Hello, please send the phone, we want to take the exam!”
So the first challenge was not tech.
It was convincing schools, teachers, and parents.
The real problem: “Phones are not allowed.”
Teachers told us very clearly:
- “Students are too small, they are only 7–8 years old.”
- “Parents will ask — who will guide them?”
- “We don’t allow phones inside the school.”
But we knew one thing:
If we don’t start now, these kids will never get the experience of inter-school level exams.
In many rural areas, schools don’t even know how to participate in such competitions. So we decided:
“We will go school by school. We will show, not just tell.”
So four of us — me, Khairul, Suvajit (Biswas), and Suman da — started visiting all 40 schools. One by one. Patiently. Repeating the same thing 40 times.
Demo, demo, demo!
We didn’t just say “app achha hai”.
We showed:
- Took a projector
- Called all teachers + management in one room
- Opened the SLATO Exams App
- Gave a live demo: how a child will open the app, select the exam, and submit
- Told them — exam is on English, Maths, Science (same as our books)
- Told them — “Your students will compete with students of other schools — this is the real value.”
Slowly, schools started to agree.
Then – a heatwave happened
We fixed the exam on 22nd May.
Enrollment: 8th May – 21st May.
Then suddenly — summer vacation + heat wave + government notice.
Schools closed. Kids at home.
How to inform parents now?
So we changed the plan.
We told schools:
“You call a parents’ meeting. We will come and show the process to parents.”
And many schools actually did it even during vacation:
- Radharghat Vidyasagar Shishu Niketan
- Genius English School, Jalilya
- Little Flower School
- Vivekananda Vidya Niketan, Andulberia
- Andulberia zone schools
- a few more…
Attendance was low in some places (vacation!) — but we still went. Because this was our first Little Genius — we had to make it work.
The Little Flower School story
This was one of the best experiences.
- We met Principal Ms. Anita Mandal and the Secretary
- Explained the whole concept — inter-school, app-based, child-friendly
- They loved it
- We sent them a write-up on WhatsApp
- They forwarded it to class 3–4 WhatsApp groups
- They called a parents’ meeting (during vacation!)
On the meeting day:
- Parents actually came
- We installed the SLATO Exams App on each parent’s phone
- Showed how to register
- Made kids try the demo exam then and there
- Parents said, “Yes, our children will participate.”
- Teachers also helped — very cooperative
- The principal even said, “Our students have never even given West Bengal Britti-like competitive exams — this will help them.”
This is when we knew — the model works.
22nd May — Level 1 exam day
Even with schools closed, many students took the exam.
Some schools opened the campus for 1 day and called parents with phones.
Some students gave it from home.
Result?
Almost 200 students participated in SLATO Little Genius Challenge – Level 1.
For a first-time, class 3–4, mobile-based, rural-area, vacation-time exam — this was a win.
Then came the prize distribution
We didn’t want to just say “result published”.
We wanted to celebrate.
So after the exam:
- We sent notifications, WhatsApps, and SMS blasts to keep parents warm
- We checked the result — there were many toppers in each rank (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
- We decided — every student will get a hardcopy certificate
- Toppers will get a book on Swami Vivekananda (bought by Suman da from College Street)
- On each book, we pasted a small inspirational write-up
But there was one mistake in Level 1
We did not collect the school name inside the exam data.
So when certificates came, we had names, marks — but no school!
So we had to manually call schools, check lists, segregate alphabetically on the bed 😅, and then schedule school-wise prize-giving.
Still… we did it.
We covered:
- Radharghat Vidyasagar Shishu Niketan
- Bes An Noor Model School, Gajadharpara
- Genius English School, Beldanga
- Jaliliya Shishu Academy, Beldanga
- Tehatta Children’s Academy
- Kisholay Nursery, Patkibari
- Vivekananda Vidya Niketan, Andulberia
- Dopukuriya Vidyasagar Vidyapith, Shaktipur
- Palashi Vivekananda Shishu Niketan
- Model Shiksha Niketan, Bolpur
- Little Flower School
- Swami Vivekananda Modern Academy, Shaktipur
- Palashipara Adarsha Shishu Niketan
- …and more
Prize distribution dates were between 23rd June and 1st August — school by school.
Everywhere we took photos, testimonials, and the principal spoke about SLATO.
The emotional Jaliliya story
During one prize distribution at Jaliliya Shishu Academy, we got to know:
- One boy from a very poor family had scored really well
- His mother works as a maid at the school
- His father had passed away
- She was trying hard to keep him in school
When she saw that her son got a good rank, she cried
That moment told us —
This exam is not just about marks.
It is about confidence.
What we learnt from Level 1
From the first Little Genius, we learnt:
- Always collect the school name in the app
- In vacation time, parent communication > student communication
- Offline parents’ meetings still work in rural areas
- Hardcopy certificate + book → massive motivation
- Schools like to share student photos when there is a proper event
- If you celebrate students, they ask for the next exam
And that is exactly what happened.
Parents, students, and teachers all started asking:
“When is the next one?”
So… we made Level 2.
SLATO Little Genius Challenge — Level 2
(The Paid / Coin-based Experiment)
Why Level 2 was different
- Level 1 → Free
- Level 2 → 25 coins to enroll
This was intentional.
We wanted to test:
Can rural parents actually pay (or earn coins) for a digital exam if they see value?
Answer: Yes. But only if we guide them properly.
Dates
- Enrollment: 20th Aug – 2nd Sept
- Exam: 3rd September 2025 (Wednesday)
We chose a weekday because schools told us —
“If it’s on school day, we can make all students take the exam from the school campus.”
Smart.
The coin challenge
For many parents, UPI + in-app purchase + exam + coin — this was new.
So again, we did school-wise awareness.
Best part:
At Nutan Mahula Sharada Shishu Vidyapith, while you were guiding the teacher, you asked the principal, Arup Kundu sir, to record the whole process.
That video became the standard guide.
We shared it with:
- Beldanga schools (Genius, Jaliliya)
- Palashi Vivekananda Shishu Niketan
- Other groups
Teachers also helped: they took money from parents and paid for multiple students from their own UPI. Very grassroots, very Indian-style solution
Some parents even paid extra (₹50, ₹100) → got more coins → no problem.
In the background, there was also a small tech issue: some invite-based coins were not getting credited. You immediately looped in IT + Suparna, fixed it, and informed schools again — this continuous communication is what kept trust.
Finally, ~100 students enrolled for Level 2 — even though it was not free. That’s big.
Exam day — Level 2
Because it was a weekday:
- Many schools conducted it inside the school
- Parents were told, “Bring your phones.”
- Teachers monitored
- Some students gave from home
- A few small issues came on exam day → solved on call
Overall: smooth
Result delay (and how you handled it)
This time, there was a backend/dev team shortage.
So the result got delayed.
But you did the smart thing — you informed schools early:
“The result will be after the Puja vacation.”
So schools stayed calm.
Then, finally result came just before Puja — you again blasted:
- WhatsApp
- SMS
- School groups
- “How to see/download the result” guidance
So expectation was managed.
Prize distribution for Level 2 (planned)
- Certificates (soft copy already received)
- Printing to be done by Suman da
- Books/prizes for 1st/2nd/3rd
- Prize distribution planned for November
- School-wise events again
- This time, no problem of missing school name — because you fixed it after Level 1
What this whole Little Genius journey actually proved
This was not just an exam.
This was a field test of SLATO in real rural conditions.
It proved:
- Parents will use apps — if you sit beside them and install it.
- Teachers are the bridge — if the teacher supports, 20–30 students join easily.
- School-level events are powerful — parents trust certificates more than in-app badges.
- Kids love digital exams — once they try the demo, they want more.
- Payment is possible — but needs handholding + videos.
- Communication must be multi-channel — demo → meeting → WhatsApp → SMS → personal call.
Data design matters — missing school name = extra 1 month of manual work
What should be improved in the next edition
Based on your own learnings from Level 1 & 2:
- Make school mandatory in exam registration
- Auto-generate school-wise result sheets
- Auto-generate certificate PDFs with the school name
- Keep a “School Coordinator Panel” inside SLATO
- Create 1 universal video: “How to buy coins + how to enrol + how to see results”
- Keep an “offline pay” option for schools (teacher collects ₹, pays from school UPI)
- Announce all dates (enrolment/exam/result/prize) in advance
The heart of it
The most beautiful thing in the whole story?
After every prize distribution, parents and students asked: “When is the next exam?”
That means:
- They felt seen
- They felt proud
- They felt their school was doing something modern
- They felt SLATO is for their child
Final Note
SLATO Little Genius Challenge (Level 1 & 2) became a template for how to run app-based exams in rural schools:
- Visit
- Demo
- Parents’ meeting
- School WhatsApp group
- Exam
- Result
- Prize distribution
- Testimonials
- Repeat
You didn’t just run an exam.
You built a repeatable model for 7–8-year-old kids in rural Bengal to enter the digital exam world
1. “What we will do differently from Level 3 onwards”
You already have the learnings — let’s state them clearly like a roadmap:
- School-first registration
- Every exam form will have: School → Class → Section → Student name → Phone (mandatory)
- Reason: easy prize distribution, school-wise leaderboard, and CSR reporting.
- Every exam form will have: School → Class → Section → Student name → Phone (mandatory)
- Auto school dashboards
- Each school gets a link/login where they can see:
- How many enrolled
- How many attempted
- Toppers (their own students)
- Certificates to download
- How many enrolled
- This reduces the need to call you again and again.
- Each school gets a link/login where they can see:
- Standard communication kit
- 1 poster (WhatsApp format)
- 1 parent video (how to install + enrol + pay/coins)
- 1 teacher video (how to guide parents)
- 1 principal message template
- You just send → school just forwards.
- 1 poster (WhatsApp format)
- Offline enrolment mode
- For places with weak internet: teacher collects list + money → SLATO backend bulk-enrolls → SMS goes to parent.
- This is very useful for rural government schools.
- For places with weak internet: teacher collects list + money → SLATO backend bulk-enrolls → SMS goes to parent.
- Prize + storytelling pack
- Along with the certificate, add a “Your child is exam-ready” note for parents.
- This increases retention for the next exam.
- Along with the certificate, add a “Your child is exam-ready” note for parents.
If you write this in the blog, it shows: you are improving the model every time.
2. “Impact numbers from a small geography”
Donors / school owners / new principals love numbers.
Add a short section like:
Impact at a glance (2025)
- 40 schools activated
- 200+ students (Level 1, vacation time)
- 100+ students (Level 2, coin-based)
- 10+ prize distribution events
- 1 emotional success story (child of a school maid)
- 90%+ schools asked for the next exam