December 2009 Dialogue

Panel Discussion on Challenges Facing India's Education in 2010

The School Choice Campaign brought together three experts, Mr Vijay Thadani, CEO, NIIT Ltd and Chairman of CII National Committee on Education, Ms Rashmi Krishnan, Additional Director, Directorate of Education (Delhi) and Director, SCERT and Mr Oscar Fernandes, senior leader, Indian National Congress and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Human Resource Development for the December dialogue which focused on the assessment of the nation’s preparedness for the Challenges Facing India’s Education Section in 2010.

“How do we go from policy to action, how do we handle education as a concurrent subject, where will the resources come from and what do we expect the role of the private sector in order to ensure a win-win situation for all,” said Mr Vijay Thadani who expressed the need to create a new standard and structure which the rest of the world could emulate. Mr Rasmi Krishnan highlighted the need for vocalization, skill development, better teaching materials and teacher quality, technology upgradation and infrastucture development in order to address the acute challenge of poverty in India. Mr Oscar Fernandes emphasized on the role of the local government to ensure that every child in his/her district goes to school. He summed up with the belief that the role of the private sector was huge and that more public private partnerships would lead to a better educated India.

The highlight of the discussion, an animated interactive open forum saw mixed views from representatives of schools, NGOs, education consultants, government departments and the youth.