Page 10 - Education World September 2021

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it’s school promoters, principals and ity primary education for all. Instead,
teachers who have gone out of their he focused his attention on higher
way to ensure that children continue education and building elite IITs
their education. The nation owes to educate a handful of privileged
teachers a great debt of gratitude for students. We are to this day paying
the efforts they are making to reach for his huge mistake.
education to children, especially in Pallavi K.
the rural hinterland. BENGALURU
Tracy D’Souza
GOA
Misleading & biased
WE HAVE been informed of Techno
Justified reduction India University, West Bengal’s
I FULLY endorse the decision of the #6 rank only after the publication
Maharashtra government to impose of the EW India Higher Education
a fees reduction by 15 percent for the Rankings 2021-22 (EW June). No
AUGUST 2021 new academic year 2021-22 on all one from EducationWorld has till
private schools in the state (Educa- date approached us for any primary
tion News, EW August). I am amazed institutional data.
Exemplary teachers to learn that private school manage- Although it was a commendable
CONGRATULATIONS ON your ments are raising objections to this effort to publish the EW India
unique cover story ‘30 Eduleaders proposal. The pandemic lockdown Higher Education Rankings 2021-22,
Weathering Covid Tsunami’ (EW of business, industry and trade has it falls short of current relevance.
August). It was comforting to read resulted in widespread economic The parameters of assessment
about several principals’ creative re- distress and most parents have lost of higher education institutions
sponses to the pandemic disruption jobs and incomes. It’s shocking that (HEIs) as defined in the assessment
of education and the world’s longest instead of providing parents finan- criteria of Outcome Based Education
schools lockdown. cial support and concessions, school (OBE) are vastly different from
In particular, it was distressing managements are trying to profit the conventional criteria you have
to learn about Ganesh Prasad, the even during a pandemic. used and which have completely
dedicated principal of the govern- With schools shut for 16 months lost their relevance post-Covid,
ment-aided Sadguru High School in and counting, private schools have given that industry requirements
a remote tribal hamlet of Karnataka made substantial savings under have drastically changed. Under
deprived of Internet connectivity, many heads of expenditure. the circumstances, your published
who along with seven teachers is Sunil Nivane analysis does not appear to be data-
obliged to trek 10 km through hilly MUMBAI driven and is therefore misleading
forest terrain to reach education to and biased.
children. Please share with us the higher
I hope the Karnataka government Huge mistake education rankings methodology.
will provide additional support to I AM A regular reader of Education- Dr. Goutam Sengupta
these exemplary teachers for their World. Your candid interview (EW Vice chancellor, Techno India
commitment to their students. August) with eminent historian- University, WEST BENGAL
Shalini S. biographer Ramachandra Guha was
MYSURU insightful. His erudite answers about The EW India Higher Education
the contributions of Mahatma Gan- Rankings 2021-22 survey is based
dhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar on the perceptions of over 4,000
Gratitude debt Patel to India’s freedom movement knowledgeable sample respondents
THANK YOU for highlighting and were very informative. including university faculty, final
recognising the selfless work being In a country that eulogised Nehru year college/university students and
done by numerous teachers and for the most part of its independent industry representatives who rated
principals to continue children’s years, Dr. Guha rightly points out India’s Top 300 universities on ten
education through the pandemic that his biggest failure was to neglect parameters of higher education
lockdown (EW August cover story). primary education. The first prior- excellence. The survey methodology
While the country’s politicians ity of free India should have been to is detailed in the cover story. Please
are busy making empty promises, wipe out illiteracy and provide qual- see p.38 EW June issue — Editor

10 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2021