Page 48 - EducationWorld June 2020

Cover Story

Madhav Chavan of strengthening parents’ participa-
Co-founder, Pratham Education Foundation tion in children’s learning processes
is my third recommendation.
A What are your future plans for Pratham
chemistry postgrad of Mum-
Education Foundation?
bai and Ohio State universi-
ties, Dr. Madhav Chavan
is co-founder and director of the A lot has changed and much remains
the same. We have learned a lot
Pratham Education Foundation during the past three months. We
(estb.1994), nationally acclaimed were experimenting on a large scale
for its international fundraising, with digital devices and resources
national Read India campaign and to assist several state governments
sustained publication of the Annual and 200 NGOs, small and large.
Status of Education Report (ASER) We will continue to work with state
which measures learning outcomes governments to universalise pre-
in primary education countrywide primary education and improve
through field testing. literacy and numeracy in primary
education. Although Pratham
What are the major challenges con- is widely perceived as a rural
fronting primary education in the new development NGO, we also serve
Covid-19 era? underprivileged urban in addition to
Poor basic literacy, numeracy and couraging promotion of pre-primary rural communities. In the immediate
soft skills continue to be a major schools and stronger early childhood future, we will be focusing on
problem. Enrolment in primary education as per the recommenda- building capacities of volunteers and
schools is above 97-98 percent. tions of the draft National Education parents to participate in children’s
But we expect a sharp increase in Policy 2019 of the Dr. K. Kasturiran- learning. Digital resources and
temporary dropouts as a result of gan Committee. That is my second communication will play a pivotal
loss of livelihoods. A substantial shift proposal. Devising ways and means role in our work from hereon.
from fees-levying private schools to
free-of-charge government schools is
also on the cards, especially of rural
girl children.
Gunmeet Bindra with focus on developing scientific
How feasible/realistic is digital online Co-founder, DPS, Rajpura thinking and discovery.
education in rural India? The next challenge is to define
If children can be provided with digi- n alumna of Calcutta Univer- the role of parents in the education
tal devices, Internet connectivity at sity and the Delhi School of delivery process. Parents need to
no cost and if all teachers are trained AEconomics, Dr. Gunmeet Bin- become meaningfully involved to
to teach online, it is feasible. When dra was appointed the first woman enable their children as they switch
such questions are asked, it is often principal of a Top 10 ranked all-boys from conventional to blended learn-
overlooked that physical schools boarding school — Welham Boys, ing and increasingly, working from
where children gather together to Dehradun (WBS, estb.1937) in 2012. home. However, given the social,
learn from teachers will continue After an eight-year tenure at WBS physical and mental resilience
to exist. The question really is how during which the school was ranked developed by Indian society over the
can digital devices and resources #1 under the parameter of leadership centuries, our schools, parents and
help to address the lacunae in school for four years consecutively by Edu- children are likely to emerge stron-
education. Online education won’t cationWorld, Dr. Bindra resigned ger from the Covid-19 crisis.
necessarily address the problems her office in March to co-promote
of education but digital devices and the greenfield Delhi Public School, Several state governments have issued
fees waiver/deferment circulars to pri-
resources could possibly help in im- Rajpura.
proving learning outcomes if we use vate school managements. What’s your
comment?
the strengths of technology and don’t What are the major challenges confront-
forget that the child has to be at the ing K-12 education in the new Covid-19 These circulars and directives are
centre, not technology or teachers. era? re-affirmation of the dismally low
This pandemic has taken the world priority that the Central and state
What are your Top 3 proposals for reviv- by surprise. While the future is governments accord to education of
ing and reforming primary schooling in unpredictable, there’s no doubt the the country’s children and youth. It’s
India? education landscape will be radically important for government and par-
The government of India has de- different and schools will need to ents to grasp that although schools
clared that a National Mission for progress from educate to educare. are closed, education delivery has
Literacy and Numeracy for chil- More specifically, the biggest chal- not stopped. Teachers are work-
dren up to five years of age will be lenge confronting K-12 educators ing harder than before to ensure
launched in December 2020. Imple- is to introduce effective blended continuity of learning. Fee waivers
menting it committedly is my first learning — a blend of digital and and deferment proposals indicate
proposal. The government is also en- conventional classroom learning — disrespect for teachers. In fact, they

48 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2020