Page 44 - EducationWorld June 2020

Cover Story

Shaheen Mistri What are your future plans for Akanksha and TFI?
At the moment, we’re regearing quickly to respond to our
Founder, Teach for India children’s needs during this crisis. In the medium term,
n alumna of Mumbai and Manchester (UK) our goal will be to build leadership for delivery of educa-
universities, Shaheen Mistri is promoter-director tional equity. Our alumni movement is growing with TFI
Aof the Akanksha Foundation (estb.1991) and the fellows at every level of the education system. We will
Teach for India Initiative (TFI, 2007) committed to end- continue to innovate, especially in the area of blended
ing education inequity in India. learning, using our teacher training platform, Firki.co.
And we will strive to elevate student voices and partner-
What are the major chal- ships to reimagine education. We are also committed to
lenges confronting K-12 supporting entrepreneurs all over India through our TFIx
education in the new programme.
Covid-19 era?
We will definitely see Dr. Bijaya Kumar Sahoo
a major shift towards Chairman, Sai International Group, Bhubaneswar
technology depen-
dence which puts former chartered accountant, Dr. Bijaya Kumar
additional pressure on A
Sahoo is promoter-chairman of the Bhubaneswar
schools and students (Odisha)-based Sai International Group. The
that cannot afford it or group comprises two schools including the SAI Inter-
may not have access national School, Bhubaneswar — ranked Odisha’s #1
to it. Some private day-cum-boarding school in the EW India School Rank-
schools may have to ings 2019-20 — and a preschool and college with a total
close down. There is enrolment of 5,260 students and 756 teachers. Dr. Sahoo
also uncertainty about is also special advisor with ministerial rank of the Odisha
when schools will Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan discharging the mission
reopen and duration of the next academic year. More- of promoting 314 CBSE English-medium government
over, mental health issues are coming to light as there is schools in every block of Odisha.
tremendous anxiety about the spread of the virus and its
consequences.
Our biggest challenge will be our lack of expertise in
blended learning delivery and the inadequate capacity to
upskill our teachers and staff for it. Since we anticipate
greater dependency on digital platforms, there is also ap-
prehension of increased disparity between low and high-
income students because of the digital divide.
Several state governments have issued fees waiver/deferment
circulars to private school managements. What’s your com-
ment?
While fee waivers will help students and their families
that have lost significant income at this time, they will
also force schools to take measures such as downsiz-
ing staff, cutting salaries etc. It’s important to note that
schools have significant costs even when students aren’t
in attendance. Simultaneously, many parents are expe- Sai Institutions’ Covid-19 response. The calamitous corona-
riencing financial difficulties because of the lockdown. A virus has shaken the world but not our conviction and
balanced approach to this issue is required. resolve to continue the education of our students. After
What are your Top 3 proposals for reviving and reforming the hundreds of hours of research we launched our SAI Cloud
K-12 education system in India? School on April 1. It focuses on scholastic and co-scho-
Get blended learning right. It offers educators per- lastic activities with teachers engaging children in online
haps for the first time ever, an opportunity to personalise classes as well as co-curricular activities such as yoga,
education and extend learning from the classroom to aerobics, art and crafts, dance, music and drama. And
homes. from June 1-15, we will be conducting an Online Summer
Change what we learn. Let’s use this as a chance to Camp for our kindergarten to class XII students.
really reimagine education. In the words of my friends Major challenges confronting Indian education in the Covid era.
Vishal and Suchetha from Dream-a-Dream, we need to Getting teachers accustomed to the new normal of online
pause and ask ‘what if’ questions. teaching is a major challenge. Simultaneously, we have
Infuse leadership into education. Education is our to be alert about the dangers of excessive screen time for
best option for truly transforming the country. It deserves students, and parents’ struggles to supervise home learn-
our most committed, competent people at all levels of the ing. Yet the biggest challenge will be to deliver digital
education system. Educators have to find innovative ways learning to children of government schools, especially in
to infuse the system with talent. rural India. The country does not have the infrastructure

44 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2020