“My brother and I are from Jodhpur in Rajasthan and we have seen many people struggling for access to quality education. In big cities like Mumbai, you always have provisions for tuitions, extra classes, etc. But small towns and cities do not always have good teachers and tuition classes at the same place. And the spending capacity of people is also comparatively low,” says Priya Bangard, the co-founder of AforAccounts.com – a website for people to access free audio-visual lectures on basic concepts of accountancy.
Designed for commerce students of Classes 11 and 12, the website has over 500 videos and is also used by MBA students and people running small businesses who want to improve their basic understanding of the subject and build a strong foundation in it.
“Anyone who is not familiar with various concepts of accountancy can use the website. This is something that is needed in every business and is not limited to a particular set of students,” says Priya.
The lectures are divided according to the syllabus of different school boards – ICSE, CBSE, Maharashtra Board, etc. Students of each Board have options to select packages with a certain number of videos, according to the prescribed syllabus. The videos begin with a question that is solved step by step with a voice-over to explain everything.
While school students can select the videos according to their syllabus, MBA students and businessmen choose videos based on their needs.
“The video lectures focus on conceptual understanding of accountancy along with solved practical questions and detailed explanations. These video lectures have been prepared to include the concept, questions related to that concept and the solutions to those questions – all on the same screen. In this way, the user is able to correlate things in a better manner,” says Priya, who is a Charted Accountant by profession and is working on the website with a team of five people. This resident of Mumbai has now decided to quit her job and dedicate her time to AforAccounts. The other team members have day jobs and they volunteer whenever they are free.
All the videos are free for users but the website follows an interesting format of referring friends and earning chapters.
After registering on AforAccounts, new users get access to the first few videos. For example, in a set of 16 videos, they first get access to only four. They have to then refer the website to three friends. When one friend registers on the website, the user gets access to another four videos, followed by another four, and so on. Users who cannot refer friends can call a number specified on the website, obtain a promo code and get access to all the videos in one go. Priya also provides promo codes to teachers and librarians, so that students who don’t own laptops or smartphones can still see the videos. The team came up with the referring model so that more students get a chance to know about the website. There is a comment section after each video for people to discuss their doubts too.
The entire project is self-funded by the team and Priya hopes to reach many more students in the coming months.
The website has over 1800 users and she receives constant feedback and appreciation from many of them. “A teacher from Punjab told me that in his one-hour-long lectures, he shows AforAccounts videos for about half an hour and then continues with the lesson, which is quite amazing. Students also write about how the videos are very helpful because they can have a look at them just before an exam and revise their lessons whenever they want,” she adds, happy to have made a difference in their lives.
Featured image for representation only. Source: Flickr
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