Page 41 - EducationWorld June 2020

Rustom Kerawalla
Chairman, VIBGYOR Group of Schools

n alum of Manipal University, Rustom Kerawalla
is founder-chairman of the VIBGYOR Group of 39
Aschools with an aggregate 55,000 students in 14
cities countrywide, and founder-chairman of Ampersand
Group (estb.2004) that provides school management
services and skills education
programmes.
The Covid-19 crisis has majorly
disrupted the education system.
How have VIBGYOR Schools
responded to this challenge?
I believe the Covid-19
pandemic has served as an
of digital resources including project assignments, ques- overdue catalyst to revamp
tion banks and quizzes. the education system. In
Moreover, to enable smooth conduct of term-end immediate response, all
exams for a number of study programmes, we signed our schools switched to
up with EduVantage Pvt. Ltd, a Delhi-based assessment online teaching-learning.
and certification company. Virtual placement drives While there are short-term
and career and personality development webinars have challenges of poor Internet
also been organised for graduating students. Moreover, connectivity and lack of trained teachers, in the long run,
our association with Galway (Ireland)-based Alison this forced transition is good. At VIBGYOR, we have been
Free Online Learning has given our students access to working on building robust online education programmes
over 2,000 Moocs (massive open online courses) on our for over two years and had invested in our own platform
online learning platform aisectmoocs.com. and content. At the time, the project had encountered resis-
What are the major challenges confronting Indian skills edu- tance from parents and teachers. Today, it has proved very
cation in the Covid era? useful because blended learning is the future.
For hands-on skilling courses such as welding, automo- Several state governments have issued fees waiver/deferment
tive technicians, electricians, plumbing, etc, there is circulars to private schools. What’s your comment?
little or nil availability of standard digital content. It is The government already has a lot on its plate including
also difficult for faculty to assess and certify the skills of ensuring quality education in its own schools. From the
such students online. Moreover, the demand for some perspective of private schools, this is totally unnecessary
jobs may fluctuate in the post-Covid era, adversely af- interference. However, it is time to show compassion and
fecting our students’ future. This has compelled us to understanding and I believe all private schools have done
re-evaluate several job roles and prepare curricula for the best they can. Government should concentrate on
new skilled jobs. strengthening its own school system.
What are your Top 3 proposals for reforming higher education What are your Top 3 proposals for reviving and reforming K-12
in India and especially skills education? education in India?
• Curriculum revamp. Higher education in India First, the Central and state governments need to encour-
attaches too much importance to textual knowledge age private schools and devise processes and policies that
delivered in classrooms. For effective professional enable the private sector to do a lot more than they are
development, restructuring curriculums to include deep doing. Second, it should promote integration of technology
engagement of students with industry experts is abso- into education by ensuring better Internet connectivity,
lutely essential. provide access to digital devices and define online educa-
• Incorporating technological advancements. tion standards. Third, government needs to liberalise and
Embracing the latest ICT advancements in knowledge allow foreign investment in education. It’s time for govern-
dissemination is the prerequisite of skills development ment and the public to acknowledge that education is the
and vocational training. building block of national development.
• Blended learning. Promoting a culture that in-
tegrates skills development with traditional academic Future plans...
curriculums will result in a larger skilled workforce. We intend to continuously upgrade our online platforms to
enhance blended learning. We are also mulling venturing
What are your future plans for AISECT? into higher education. The Ampersand Group has rapidly
Our current focus is to accelerate digital online learning evolved and we are not just focusing on education but also
in rural and semi-urban India for whom we are design- on the United Nations SDGs (sustainable development
ing high quality content. In addition, we are working on goals). We will intensify our outreach to underprivileged
providing last-mile connectivity for services and prod- sections of society by ideating entrepreneurship and skill
ucts delivery using AISECT channels. Expansion of our development programmes.
network of multipurpose kiosks is also on the agenda.

JUNE 2020 EDUCATIONWORLD 41