New Delhi: As I walked back to my car along with my daughters after the group photo-session at 10, Rajaji Marg, I was sure that the only way India can achieve her Vision2020 was through education.
Satya Narayan, chairman, Career Launcher Private Ltd
I had just finished interacting with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at his residence along with a select group of CEOs from across the world. The core matters that kept us occupied were merely two, namely how does India get to her Vision 2020 and what should we do to realize our potential as a nation?
Quite unsurprisingly, both answers were centered around education. Of course, there was talk of the nuclear issue, water crisis and infrastructure development but it was education that remained the central theme of discussion.
Budget presentation by the Finance Minister should evaluate our own performance as a nation during the year gone by; set new short-term and medium-term directions and targets; undertake course corrections or come up with brand new plans in alignment with goals. It should also address the following issues:
Focus on primary and secondary education
• Enhance reach as well as ensure dropout management
• Promote education vouchers: The scheme of ‘fund the child and feed the child’ needs greater visibility. While this is happening in states where there is stronger policy entrepreneurship, a central scheme, clearly planned out in the annual budget, would help. The central budgets that are created would go directly to the beneficiary (child and poor parents. Educational vouchers, a practice that is commonplace in a number of countries is being experimented in India too. The FM should take concrete measures to push this further.
• Reinvent mid-day meal scheme: Similarly, the mid-day meals scheme needs to go through another re-invention. Collaborating with NGOs would help stretch the rupee further
• PPP for primary and secondary schools: It is a foregone conclusion that the government machinery is incapable of meeting the demand for newer schools. Old and established schools need a fresh bout of professional management.
I wish that the FM is able to announce at least a few schemes to attract private players to collaborate with the governments through PPP for creating and running primary schools — in rural, and urban areas. I am unwilling to buy the argument that private players are interested only in setting up facilities in urban areas.
We need at least 3,000–4,000 new schools every year for the next decade and a half, at least. This is after counting all the schools that the Governments across the country plan to set up. The task is huge and needs to be actioned, now!
Establish vocational senior secondary schools
In India, almost 92% of children drop out of schools by the age of 14. Does that sound incredible? Surely not! In fact, the figure is almost the same when we compare with developed economies.