Amartya for public-private partnership in education
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen today called for synergy between industry and the teachers’ unions for improvement in the quality of education across the nation while asking for an early Central legislation for free and compulsory education.
Sen, who guided a workshop of over 200 industrialists on primary
education here today, said it could be a combination of industries led
by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the teachers’ unions
which could provide answers for the future.
Sen himself promised to come a year later for a follow-up with the industry on its initiatives in the field of primary education in the country.
Public-private partnership (PPP) in education was the main theme of the workshop, the cause and the objective, as CII officials put it.
CII chief mentor Tarun Das visualises partnership model for at least 200,000 schools in the future and his officials say that the workshop happened because partnerships are happening everywhere and, “We want the industry to scale up with the consciousness of the needs of all stakeholders concerned.”
Sen agreed with speakers from the industry that teachers were paid on par with the best but were not offered any incentives for good work. Amartya Sen’s call for a government teacher and industry partnership echoed what the industry leaders also were asking for through the ‘Right to Education: Action Now’, organised by the CII, The Aspen Institute India and Shiksha, on Wednesday.
Rakesh Mittal of the Bharti Foundation wanted a partnership between the government NGOs and industry in the running of schools.
He said the government must permit the NGOs and industry to take part in the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. The government must bring corporate bodies and NGOs into it as it cannot do everything itself, while talking of his Foundation’s programme of adoption of government schools.
His Foundation is adopting about 1,000 government schools in Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, while opening another 1,000 schools. The poor quality of teaching available for students engaged the industry throughout the sessions.
The industry leaders notably from Tata Trust, Satyam, Godrej, and Thermax Foundation held consultations with groups of teachers, government officials from various states and identified 10 areas where the industry can contribute including creation of imaginative textbooks, training of teachers, providing renewable energy to schools, forming portals for teachers for knowledge sharing, and partnership in various areas that empower schools.
The industry is currently in partnership with state governments like Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Source: Business Standard
Sen himself promised to come a year later for a follow-up with the industry on its initiatives in the field of primary education in the country.
Public-private partnership (PPP) in education was the main theme of the workshop, the cause and the objective, as CII officials put it.
CII chief mentor Tarun Das visualises partnership model for at least 200,000 schools in the future and his officials say that the workshop happened because partnerships are happening everywhere and, “We want the industry to scale up with the consciousness of the needs of all stakeholders concerned.”
Sen agreed with speakers from the industry that teachers were paid on par with the best but were not offered any incentives for good work. Amartya Sen’s call for a government teacher and industry partnership echoed what the industry leaders also were asking for through the ‘Right to Education: Action Now’, organised by the CII, The Aspen Institute India and Shiksha, on Wednesday.
Rakesh Mittal of the Bharti Foundation wanted a partnership between the government NGOs and industry in the running of schools.
He said the government must permit the NGOs and industry to take part in the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. The government must bring corporate bodies and NGOs into it as it cannot do everything itself, while talking of his Foundation’s programme of adoption of government schools.
His Foundation is adopting about 1,000 government schools in Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, while opening another 1,000 schools. The poor quality of teaching available for students engaged the industry throughout the sessions.
The industry leaders notably from Tata Trust, Satyam, Godrej, and Thermax Foundation held consultations with groups of teachers, government officials from various states and identified 10 areas where the industry can contribute including creation of imaginative textbooks, training of teachers, providing renewable energy to schools, forming portals for teachers for knowledge sharing, and partnership in various areas that empower schools.
The industry is currently in partnership with state governments like Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Source: Business Standard
