Private School Students Perform Better than their Government Counterparts in Karnataka

 * The report released jointly by the Central Square Foundation and Omidyar Network India, highlights that nearly 40% of students in Karnataka attend private schools.

The recently released ‘State of the Sector Report – Private Schools in India’ highlights that Karnataka ranks 14th in private school enrollments with 41.1% school-going children attending private schools. This report by Central Square Foundation, a non-profit organisation working towards ensuring quality school education, and Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on social impact, also stresses that the number of students attending private schools in Karnataka has grown significantly over the past decade. It calls for improvement in student learning in private schools.

The report was released by Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog at a virtual webinar in July 2020, and gives a comprehensive analysis of existing research and evidence on the sector. It provides details on the size of the sector, dives into the challenges faced by it, and outlines potential reforms to ensure improved learning outcomes for students in each state. Specifically, in Karnataka, the report finds that reading and numeracy skills in rural private schools have witnessed a slight improvement in the last six years. It also emphasizes that private schools in the state perform better than their government counterparts on the reading and Mathematics parameters: 23% of grade 5 students in private schools are able to do division as compared to 19.6% of government school students. However, learning levels are not at par with grade-level learnings and this is a cause for worry.

Ashish Dhawan, Founder-Chairman, Central Square Foundation talks about how we can improve student learning in private schools: “It is important to acknowledge the significance of the private school sector which educates nearly 1 in 2 children in Karnataka. We need sectoral reforms to improve learning levels and ensure inclusion of regulations based on quality. Key stage assessments in grades 3, 5, and 8, as suggested in the new education policy, can help build a regulatory structure which focuses on learning outcomes. This can also become an indicator that empowers parents to compare learning across schools and choose the best school for their child.”

Roopa Kudva, Managing Director, Omidyar Network India adds: "We need to empower parents to make informed decisions based on learning quality when choosing a school. In the absence of meaningful information on how schools perform on learning, parents tend to give weightage to tangible parameters like school infrastructure or English as the medium of instruction. Philanthropic capital can play a vital role in setting the ground in three main areas: greater awareness building, increased transparency from the schools themselves and improving the quality of engagement between parents and the schools.”

Keeping in mind the challenges and the current needs of the sector, the report makes certain recommendations for sectoral reforms that will create an enabling environment for the private school sector:

●       Create a universal learning indicator to help parents compare learning performance across schools and make informed school choices

●       Develop a pragmatic accreditation framework that factors in constraints of low fee schools and state capacity to implement while focusing on learning outcomes and child safety                      

●       Establish an independent regulatory agency for the private school sector

●       Review non-profit mandate and existing fee regulations to attract investment and enable easy access to credit for schools

●       Strengthen RTE Section 12(1)(c) which mandates 25% reservations for underprivileged children to ensure more robust targeting and fee reimbursements

According to the demographics cited in the report, in Karnataka, 37.8% of girls and 44.2% of boys attend private schools. A higher share of OBCs but a smaller share of SCs and STs attend private schools than the state average. Further, Bengaluru U North, Bengaluru U South and Bengaluru Rural districts have the highest enrollment share, whereas Uttara Kannada Sirsa, Koppal and Haveri have the lowest. Among districts, Bengaluru U North has the greatest private enrollment share at 79.8% and Haveri has the lowest with 22.7%..

Vidyadhan Comes Forward to Support Kaushik for his Higher-Education

Vidyadhan, a flagship higher-education program under the aegis of The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives (SFPI) on Wednesday announced that it would support the higher education of Kaushik Acharya (15), a differently-abled boy residing in Kanchikar Pete in Bantwal district near Bengaluru (Karnataka). Kaushik will receive a scholarship from Vidyadhan starting from class 11th until he completes graduation in any stream of his choice.

"We are humbled to have Kaushik join the Vidyadhan family and glad to support him further in achieving his dreams. By overcoming his physical challenges with sheer hard work and determination to clear the board exams with exceptional marks, he has exemplified that one can conquer all difficulties if one wants to. Such meritorious students who overcome all odds serve as an inspiration to us all," said Mrs Kumari Shibulal, Founder and Chairperson, The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives.

The scholarship offer letter was handed over in person to Kaushik on August 12th, 2020 by Vidyadhan’s State Coordinator Vishwanath K S, on behalf of the foundation.

“I am very happy and proud to receive the Vidyadhan scholarship. This will help me to pursue my higher education and fulfil my dream of becoming a government officer. It will be a huge help for my parents since this is not just a one-time scholarship but will be available to me until I complete my studies. I am very thankful to Vidyadhan and promise that in the future I will also help students like me who need support to the best of my abilities," said Kaushik. His parents believe that  apart from the scholarship, mentoring and training provided by Vidyadhan will help Kaushik to make the right decisions regarding further studies.

Kaushik didn’t let his inability become a hurdle in studies and wrote the SSLC final examination with his toes without taking help from anybody else. He passed in the first division by excellentmarks, thereby becoming a role model for all those who rise above difficulties in pursuit of knowledge and education. He even received praises from Mr. S Suresh Kumar, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Govt. of Karnataka), who personally commended his efforts by visiting him and lauded his achievement on social media as well.

Vidyadhan is currently supporting over 800 students from underserved backgrounds in Karnataka to help them pursue their studies in a field of their choice. The application process to avail the scholarship for this year is currently open and eligible students can apply through their website at www.vidyadhan.org.

About The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives:

Born out of a sense of responsibility to society, the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives has been actively supporting those in need through initiatives in education, healthcare and organic farming for the last 20 years, starting from 1999.

The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives started with a focus on education, based on the simple belief that the founders – Mrs. Kumari Shibulal and Mr. S.D. Shibulal achieved what they did because of it. All its initiatives such as Vidyadhan, Ankur, The Samhita Academy, Vidyarakshak, ShikshaLokam, EduMentum are based on the premise of uplifting the underserved communities and providing them with the opportunity to build a better future.

Mrs Kumari Shibulal is the Founder & Chairperson of the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives. Passionate about doing her bit for the underserved communities, her vision (and that of the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives) is to spread knowledge and create an environment focussed on social change through a solution-oriented approach.

About Vidyadhan:

Vidyadhan is the flagship higher education scholarship program ofThe Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives. We identify students in need of financial assistance after matriculation, to support them through senior school and graduation of their choice. We have given over 17000+ scholarships through this initiative. Many have gone on to become productive citizens after completing the program over the years. 4300 students across 10 states are currently in the program.

To make this program more scalable and self-sustainable, a new model has been introduced called ‘Each One, Teach One’. The primary mission is to bring together academically brilliant but financially weak students and individuals and corporates interested in supporting these students to achieve their dreams. Launched in May 2015, this initiative facilitates need-based financial assistance to those pursuing degree courses such as medicine, engineering, nursing, etc.  The SFPI has pledged their support to Each One, Teach One’s vision is to increasing the impact from 17,000 scholarships in 10 States to 100,000 scholarships in all States in the next 5-7 years. Vidyadhan was launched in Karnataka in the year 2014 and currently has around 800 students in the state.

New Education Policy 2020 Encourages Holistic Education Through Sports and Play

Sportz Village, India's largest youth sports platform, is in support of the emphasis on holistic development of children in the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 announced by the cabinet. Once the NEP gets implemented, children will benefit from the focus on balanced and all-round development from an early age.  

Commenting on the new initiative by the Modi government Saumil Majmudar, Co-founder, CEO and Managing Director, Sportz Village said that, “The new National Education Policy is a welcome change at a time when the health, happiness and immunity of children are becoming increasingly important due to the pandemic. The new NEP includes several key points that are instrumental for the holistic development of a child. By eliminating the rigid separation between curricular and extra-curricular activities, the NEP acknowledges sports to be equally important as any other subject like English or Science, thereby increasing the Fun and Engagement that children desperately seek in a school." 

Mr Majmudar adds that through Play, children can develop physically, mentally and socially. And we have also found Play to contribute positively to academic outcomes, classroom behaviour and attendance levels. Moreover, assessment-specific reforms such as the development of the National Assessment Centre and tracking a child's progress based on learning outcomes are great initiatives as they focus on the learning progress, thereby focusing on the all-round development of a child. We expect that sports and play, will be delivered and assessed with the same rigor and structure as core academic subjects, thereby ensuring all children experience the magic of Play and Sport, and we develop a nation of healthier and fitter children through the school system. The emphasis on Vocational Education is also a great step towards all-round development of children and we hope children will be able to choose Physical Activity and Sports as a Vocational subject. We look forward to the translation of the policy to reflect in a more playful, fun and engaging school environment for children while meeting the adult goals of learning outcomes.

About Sportz Village: 

Sportz Village is India's largest youth sports platform. Established in the year 2003, Sportz Village has a philosophy of: (i) Improving the health and fitness of children, (ii) Getting everyone to experience the magic of sports. 

Notebook Zero Hour India's Largest Online Inter-School Public Speaking Event from July 18, 2020

The new school year has seen students attending classes online due to the COVID restrictions. The limiting of engagement between the educational institutions and students has inspired Notebook, India’s first after-school learning app to launch the Notebook Zero Hour, the largest online inter-school public speaking event for school students. Powered by Stayfree®, India’s leading sanitary napkin brand, Zero Hour is the largest competitive public speaking event ever held for schools in India and abroad, where schools have a chance to pit themselves against the best speakers from other schools from India and across the world.

In its first edition this year, the online debates commenced from July 18 with 64 marquee schools from India and abroad ready to face off against each. Played in a league format, the initial face-offs will see 8 schools proceeding to the quarter-finals. The winners of the 4 quarter-finals will participate in 2 semi-finals and the subsequent winners will face off in the Grand Finale to be held on August 15, 2020 to mark India’s 74th Independence Day.

Manoj Gadgil, Vice President Marketing, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Division said, “We are glad to be associated with Notebook Zero Hour. With students stuck at home, the online debate competition offers the youngsters an opportunity to enhance their communication skills through fruitful interactions with their peers. It helps them overcome fear, encourages them to express their opinion and increases their self-confidence. Stayfree® has been driving safe menstrual health and hygiene education and adoption initiatives in schools and Notebook Zero Hour gives the brand a platform to continue to encourage young girls to be informed, feel confident, pursue their dreams and not let anything hold them back.”

The first online face-off on July 18th saw a scintillating debate between Orchids The International School Thane and Indian School, Al-Ghubra that was won by the team from the Muscat-based school. The quality of the debate and those that followed were indicative of the high level of preparation that the students had undergone with facts and figures backing the emotionally charged discussions.

Achin Bhattacharyya, Founder and CEO, Notebook said, “We at Notebook are extremely humbled at being able to host Zero Hour for students, powered by Stayfree® and also supported by Save the Children. Our Together for Education webinars for esteemed educators and parents have already been a huge success with more than 12,000 attendees from more than 50 countries during our last 27 sessions. Notebook Zero Hour is our effort to provide a platform to encourage young school-goers from across the nation and also from Middle East, Nepal and Africa to engage in meaningful discussions. It’s very important to encourage students during this hour of pandemic when they are confined  to their home for months, away from their schools, friends, and outdoor sports. Hence we wanted to connect all these isolated centres of excellence, to form a virtual community of like-minded educators and students through Notebook Zero Hour debates. We have been thrilled to have more than 300 schools registering, but could accommodate only 64 in the current format. We are very happy with the enthusiasm that we have seen in students and teachers who have worked hard to make this event a huge success. The art of public speaking is an indispensable asset in today’s fast paced world and irrespective of any profession that a student wants to pursue its role in ensuring career growth is unquestionable. Also debate, discussion and public discourse are at the heart of any vibrant democracy and hence it is very important that we encourage our future leaders to not only have articulate speaking skills but also tolerant listening skills and hence the format of the debate has been customised accordingly for rebuttals which also tests listening skills.”

The debate topics cover contemporary and relevant issues and range from online privacy to international trade that motivate the young students to research and widen their knowledge base while developing critical thinking skills. The debates will be moderated by Subhayu Roy, Co-founder, Notebook and judged by esteemed educators, eminent thought leaders and other luminaries from various walks of life.

For information on the team pools, schedule and leaderboard, please visit https://notebookzerohour.co.in/about/

About Notebook Zero Hour:

Inspired and encouraged by the phenomenal success of the Together for Education webinars, and on request from institutions to engage with students directly, Notebook now presents Zero Hour – India’s Largest Public Speaking Event for School Students. This is the largest competitive public speaking event ever held for schools in India,and schools have a chance to pit themselves against the best speakers from other schools from the farthest reaches of the country.

About Notebook:

Notebook is India’s first after-school learning app. Engaging audio-visual content is used to deliver lessons tailored to the school curriculum. Teachers have access to these videos in the classroom, using the content to introduce topics, build interest, and help students to better visualize concepts. At home, students access the same videos from their personal connected devices – smartphones, laptops, desktops and internet-enabled televisions – to revise topics, prepare for examinations and benefit from the freedom that on-demand lessons afford them.

Started in 2018, Notebook has now catered to over a million users across India and abroad. More than 10,000 videos cover topics from classes I to XII of the CBSE board, alongside vernacular-aided lessons for U.P. Board and W.B. Board. Over 250 professionals, experienced educators and creative artists work round the clock to ensure that curricular content is delivered to the students in the most engaging possible way.

At the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown, Notebook offered its content to all students free of charge, enabling schools to conduct online classes using Notebook videos. This has led to deep and meaningful engagement with schools, and empowered teachers to cope with the lockdown better. Notebook also conducts regular online training sessions for teachers to help them manage online classes with greater ease. Powered by Notebook videos, Ramakrishna Mission Schools in Gwalior, M.P. became India’s first school to announce a completely online academic session to ensure safety of their students.

Launch of Metamorphosis School of Entrepreneurship - Virtual Learning Platform for 6-12th Grade Students

Metamorphosis, an edu-tech company today announced the launch of their ambitious project - Metamorphosis School Of Entrepreneurship (MSE)- World’s First Virtual School for Entrepreneurship at middle and high school level. Students from 12+ cities from across the country have enrolled in the first cohort of Metamorphosis School of Entrepreneurship and the platform is planning to empower 1 million students by the end of year 2020.

MSE is a virtual, dynamic, practicalistic school of entrepreneurship with expertly curated content for the 6-12th grade students. It’s a two year long case-study based program and the entire curriculum comprises 3 divisions i.e Meta Core, Meta Electives, and Meta X. 

On the launch of the virtual entrepreneurship school, Mr. Pavan Allena, Founder & CEO of MetamorphosisEdu says, “We have always been dedicated towards our goal of creating a healthy startup ecosystem in the country. MSE is our next big step in the same direction and through the program we are trying to inculcate the nuts & bolts of Entrepreneurship among the middle and high school students”

Youth is the future of any nation and our prime focus at MetamorphosisEdu is to nourish and empower these seedlings so that they grow up into big Entrepreneurial success” - He further adds.

The MSE program takes students on an entrepreneurial journey (from idea generation to new venture creation) by imbibing the 21st century skill sets, idea pitching opportunities, b-plan competitions and many more. Each and every student works up their way as an entrepreneur under the guidance of 50+ mentors (who are real-time entrepreneurs) and personal proctors. The next cohort of Metamorphosis School of Entrepreneurship will start from October 1, 2020. 

Till date, MetamorphosisEdu has empowered 15000+ students across the country. The company is also responsible for 45 success stories of student entrepreneurs who have launched their ventures that have garnered accolades and market traction. 

About MetamorphosisEdu: (https://www.metamorphosisedu.com/)

Metamorphosis is the world’s first virtual school that teaches entrepreneurship to high school students.  It strives to make students job creators instead of job seekers. The company was founded in 2017 by Pavan Allena when he felt the need to empower young minds with entrepreneur skills and guide them on a path of leadership and innovation.

The company began with a physical business model which quickly evolved into a mix between a physical and digital model. As a result of using digital technologies, the company has been growing exponentially. Between 2017 till 2019, Metamorphosis grew five-folds. Today, more than 16 people work at the company, and aims to build the largest entrepreneurial community across the globe at the school level. 

Edtech Venture GlobalShala Aims to Cultivate Awareness of United Nation’s SDGs Across India

GlobalShala has opened its doors for learners around the world to showcase their talent and creativity; the competition is open for Junior (up to 18 years) and Senior (18 years to 25 years)

Edtech venture GlobalShala has recently announced the launch of their one-of-a-kind “Superhero U” competition with an aim to accelerate United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and pave the way for a new generation of responsible and sound leaders. Across countries, the winners for the same will be awarded prize money worth $90,000 which includes scholarships, internship opportunities, gift cards, and electronic gadgets. 

GlobalShala has introduced this unique competition where individuals are to invent a “Superhero” that essentially takes on universal challenges and strives to make the world a better place. In an industry first, the Superhero U competition aims to tackle the 5 P’s of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that is People, Prosperity, Planet, Partnerships, and Peace. Hence, the Superhero created should address all these goals collectively and promote prosperity while protecting the planet, the theme of the competition which is inspired by the UN’s mission. 

Talking about the competition, Anushika Jain, Founder & CEO, GlobalShala said “Taking inspiration from the United Nations, we are trying to nurture creativity to address surrounding critical sustainability challenges around the world. As per the SDG Index 2020, countries across Europe like Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany have set the benchmark for adept sustainability practices, India still falls back at rank 117. This needs to be improved upon immensely and therefore more events, programmes and contests need to be introduced across Asia Pacific countries to inculcate awareness about SDGs for the betterment of our society. We at GlobalShala have taken upon this challenge through an out-of-the-box approach with our “Superhero U” competition to add an element of intrigue and enthusiasm for individuals to take up the challenge. We are excited to see different local as well as global perspectives on sustainability and the challenges each of their Superhero takes on.” 

The competition has opened its doors wide for creativity and has allowed candidates to submit stories, illustrations, photo collages, and even movies that demonstrate how their Superhero use their superpowers to win the day. Moreover, GlobalShala has shattered the eligibility criteria and kept the competition open to many, split into 2 categories- Junior (up to 18 years) and Senior (18 years- 25 years). The Superhero U competition has also permitted any form of submission, whether it is individual or group-led. 

Inspired by the United Nations, GlobalShala focuses on empowering students and educators through experiential learning and education to open up hopes and dreams of lifelong learners around the world. Through the GlobalShala platform, individuals have the opportunity to participate in exciting competitions and events, have a chance to earn global scholarships, receive hands-on training through global internships as well as several certifications and recognitions. 

Link for Superhero U: https://superherou.globalshala.com

About GlobalShala:

Inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (mainly Education, Gender Equality and Women Empowerment), GlobalShala embraces global collaborations and is venturing to make a good world better by extending services, scholarships, and a sundry of programs.

GlobalShala is providing learners across the globe a platform to express, experience, explore and engage through various learning opportunities and internships to obtain quality jobs and sustainable economic growth through purposeful possibilities that will open up hopes and dreams of lifelong learners around the world!

Prepareness Is On For Reopening of Indian Schools Across India Safely

Popcorn Furniture, India’s largest educational furniture manufacturing company, held a webinar on ‘Reopening schools safely post COVID-19’. The one and a half hour long webinar was attended by five renowned panelists from education, health and sanitization sectors, and was followed by an insightful half-an-hour Q&A session.  

The session was organized with the aim to discuss a framework and guidelines to support educational institutes in facilitating the reopening of schools. It covered the changes in the education module post the lockdown and a way forward to the new SOPs framed in order to respond to the child’s learning, health and safety needs. The webinar reported the participation of over 1000 attendees including teachers, principals, school owners, school trustees, consultants, students and media. Mrs. Deepika Goyal, Founder and Director, Popcorn Furniture was the moderator. Dr. Shayama Chona, Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan Renowned Educationalist, Dr. Monika Arora, Director Health Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation, Dr. Vidya Gupta, Senior Consultant in Pediatrics & Neonatology, Apollo Hospital, Ms. Nupur Goenka, Director GD Goenka Group, Mr. Sumit Nadgir, CEO, HiCare MD, TrueNorth were the five eminent panelists for the session.

The major points discussed during the webinar were- the key challenges and effects in reopening schools post COVID-19, trust issues between parents and school authorities, challenges or difficulties for differently abled students, sanitization and safety process and implementation of hybrid education module. Adding to the same, panelist gave their quick opinion on public health guidelines and detailed SOPs that can be followed for student’s safety. The webinar had a long Q&A session and the questions ranged from physical to virtual problems faced by school kids, parents and teachers during the lockdown, discussion on getting a blue print by schools to ensure the safety of kids and a relief package from government to educational institutions.

Mrs. Deepika Goyal, Founder and Director, Popcorn Furniture, said, “We at Popcorn have sold furniture to over 8000 schools across India and abroad and we have always been concerned about the safety of the kids. We wanted to do our best to keep these kids safe once schools reopen.   We came up with the idea of doing a webinar on “Reopening schools safely” as we really feel that a society cannot open fully without reopening the schools. We worked with a few experts and came up with a health curriculum on reopening schools safely which is now on our website. It was amazing to see so many thousand people on the webinar as our intension was to help as many stakeholders in the reopening of schools safely”.

Dr. Shayama Chona, Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan Renowned Educationalist, said,”I have attended so many webinars but I have to say that one stood out as the most exceptional one I have ever done. It was the amazing effort by Popcorn Furniture and it stood out because of thousands participants and the amazing panelists. Each one was a master in their field and had done a lot of research on reopening schools safely. The purpose of the webinar was to help the schools and the society.”

Ms. Nupur Goenka, Director GD Goenka Group, said, “Reopening schools will be a practice in the art of collaboration of all the major stakeholders, management, parents and the students. Winston Churchill said “never let a good crisis go to waste”. There is a big opportunity in the crisis for a major channel of our education system. The need of the hour is to be adaptable, patient and resilient.”

Dr. Monika Arora, Director Health Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation, said,” I loved that the webinar had such a multi-disciplinary panel and audience.  They were bringing out such relevant sources spreading the reopening of schools safely as we were all tied by the common thread of concern for the safety of our kids. I know that there are lot of issues all stakeholders whether its panelists or schools are facing regarding the challenge of safety and there is a lot we can learn from connection which have already reopened the schools.”

Dr. Vidya Gupta, Senior Consultant in Pediatrics & Neonatology, Apollo Hospital, said, “I think the webinar was very important to develop a systemized thinking as to how schools should reopen. The multi-disciplinary group that looked into the different aspects of opening schools was an excellent choice. I am glad that I could contribute to alleviating the worries and concerns that people have had about reopening schools.”

Mr. Sumit Nadgir, CEO, HiCare MD, TrueNorth, said,”The topic of reopening schools safely was a very relevant topic and was definitely a need of the hour. Whether schools go for a staggered or full opening, the webinar has immense information to help them out to reopen safely. The panel was an amazing mix from different disciplines and I am sure that with great sanitization and safety measures, we can all look at a safe opening for schools and educational institutions.”

Central Square Foundation and Omidyar Network India Release ‘State of the Sector Report on Private Schools’

Central Square Foundation, a non-profit organisation that works towards ensuring quality school education, and Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focussed on social impact, released the first-of-its-kind report today on the state of the private school sector in India. The report highlights the need to improve learning outcomes in private schools which educate nearly half of India’s school-going children.

The report is a comprehensive analysis of existing research and evidence on the sector. It suggests reforms to streamline the operations of private schools with a focus on improving student learning. It aims to be a ready reckoner for policymakers, academicians, researchers, philanthropists and educationists amongst other stakeholders associated with the sector.

About 70% children in urban centres and a quarter from rural households attend private schools. Over 50% students in 16 Indian states are enrolled in private schools. The increased enrollment can be attributed to the rising demand by aspirational parents. A large number of parents — about 70% — pay less than Rs. 1000 per month as school fees. The report finds that 73% of parents with children in private schools believe these schools provide a better learning environment. However, student performance in private schools is only marginally better than government schools after adjusting for disadvantages in student backgrounds. About 35% of rural private school students in Grade 5 are unable to read a basic Grade 2-level paragraph.

The report finds that parents lack the means to make informed decisions while choosing schools based on learning performance. Board Examinations, among the only few reliable and standardised metrics to assess learning, are held in the last few years of schooling making it difficult for parents to judge the quality of schools during the early years of education. Moreover, nearly 60% of the private schools across India do not go up to a Board Examination grade.

Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, released the report at a digital event and said, “An educated and literate India is not possible without the private sector working towards our nation building. We must pay attention to getting it right. We need to bring reforms using access, equity and quality as guiding factors. More importantly, we need to shift the focus from monitoring of inputs to monitoring of outcomes. Quality education has been this government’s priority and NITI Aayog is drafting a model regulatory act in consultation with all stakeholders. We believe we will see fruitful results based on the references and results underlined in this report."

Highlighting the fact that private schooling is not popular among the elite alone, Mr Ashish Dhawan, the Founder-Chairman of CSF, emphasised that many families from underprivileged households send their children to private schools as well. “Today the private school sector in India is the third-largest school system in the world. These numbers are mainly made up of parents from low- and middle-income backgrounds who believe their children will have better learning outcomes in private schools. It’s critical now to institute a system that will give parents assessment-based information based on key stage examinations at Grades 3, 5, and 8, as the NEP suggests. They can use this information to compare school quality and pick the best school for their child.”

And speaking about the creating a demand for quality education among parents, Roopa Kudva, Managing Director, Omidyar Network India, said, “We need to empower parents to make informed decisions based on learning quality when choosing a school. In the absence of meaningful information on how schools perform on learning, parents tend to give weightage to tangible parameters like school infrastructure or English as the medium of instruction. Philanthropy capital can play a vital role in setting the ground in three main areas: greater awareness building, increased transparency from the schools themselves and improving the quality of engagement between parents and the schools.”

About the Report Launch

Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education delivered a special address and spoke about the need for bold reforms to improve the quality of education and help India’s children acquire 21st Century skills for gainful employment. Other key speakers included Baijayant Panda, National Vice President & spokesperson of BJP; and Gurcharan Das, author and former CEO of Procter & Gamble India.

The release of the report was followed by two panel discussions. The first session on ‘Never waste a crisis: re-engineering the private school sector post Covid-19’ witnessed Baijayant Panda; Gurcharan Das; Arun Bharat Ram, Chairman, SRF Limited; and Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, Chair of Education Economics and International Development at the Institute of Education discuss how learning can be incentivised for private schools. The session was moderated by Ashish Dhawan.

The second session on ‘The need for reforms in the private school sector: Voices from the ground’ saw a very engaging discussion on the impediments in running and scaling private schools between Prabhat Jain, Co-Founder, Pathways World Schools & Pathways Early Years; Kulbhushan Sharma, President of NISA, and President, Federation of Private Schools Association, Haryana; Bhuvana Anand, Director, Research at Centre for Civil Society; and Vikas Jhunjhunwala, Founder & CEO of Sunshine Schools. Dilip Thakore, Co-founder and Managing Editor of EducationWorld moderated the session.

State of the Sector Report on Private Schools in India: About the Report

The report highlights the importance of private schools in educating India’s children. It provides details on the size of the sector, deep-dives into the challenges and outlines potential reforms to ensure improved learning outcomes for students. Specifically, the report stresses on two key challenges that need to be addressed urgently:

Under-regulation of learning outcomes

73% of parents believe their children will receive a quality education and have better learning outcomes in private schools. However, in the absence of a standard metric to measure learning outcomes, it may be hard for them to judge how much their children are learning in school in absolute terms, or how good their school actually is in comparison to other schools in their neighbourhood that charge similar fees. Grade 10 and 12 board exam pass percentages, sometimes used as a school learning marker, do not cover 60% of India’s private schools which end at Grades 5 or 8. Subsequently, parents tend to choose schools based on proxies for learning like "English medium" or the "School Infrastructure".

The information gap that exists for parents also means that schools are less likely to invest in learning-focused, invisible improvements like teacher training and quality, and more likely to spend on things that are observable by parents but may not lead to much improvement in learning - like computer labs, or marketing that proclaims English medium instruction.

Over-regulation of inputs

The second barrier is the over-regulation of inputs and a lack of policy focus on learning. Input-focused regulations prescribing playgrounds, computer labs, teacher salaries, etc., tend to be contextually unfit for under-resourced low-fee schools which make day-to-day operations difficult for them. Extensive licensing requirements deter quality providers from entering the sector and limits competition. For instance, opening a private school in Delhi calls for 125 documents, and applications move through at least 155 steps within the Directorate of Education. The non-profit nature of the education sector also discourages high-quality providers from entering or scaling up. These regulations have a direct impact on the capacity of private schools to deliver high-quality education.

The report also dives into the five-pillar sectoral reforms that account for the above-mentioned challenges and can help improve learning outcomes:

Create a universal learning indicator to help parents compare learning performance across schools and make informed decisions

Develop a pragmatic accreditation framework that factors in constraints of low fee schools and state capacity to implement while focussing on learning outcomes and child safety                    

Establish an independent regulatory agency for the private school sector

Review non-profit mandate and existing fee regulations to attract investment and enable easy access to credit for schools

Strengthen RTE Section 12(1)(c) which mandates 25% reservations for underprivileged children to ensure more robust targeting and fee reimbursements

While the report focuses on private schools, many of the regulatory issues raised in the report are also relevant for the public education domain.

Educational Project Adds Feather in the Cap for Nadakkavu School in Calicut, Kerela

Nadakkavu School, an educational project that has become the exemplary model for the hundreds of government schools all across India has done it again and proven to us that if the right atmosphere and tools are provided, anyone can be a leader. 

TiE Young Entrepreneurs is a Global program aimed at fostering the future generation of entrepreneurs; with focus on teaching entrepreneurship to high school students and helping them discover the rewards and challenges of becoming an industry leader.

It is with immense pleasure that Faizal and Shabana Foundation announces that a team of five students from Government Vocational Higher Secondary School for Girls Nadakkavu, Calicut, Kerala have reached the finals of TiE Young Entrepreneur competition.

Beating the odds and 23 other teams from all over the world, the prodigious team of five girls made it to the finals which are being held today in Seattle, USA but due to COVID is being held online at 8 am Pacific time, 8.30 pm IST.

“This is the very first time a Government School is taking part in TiE Global Finals and these students stand tall before the world  

as representatives of all the Government School Students. This 

moment is of great pride and pleasure for the education system 

of Kerala and the nation as a whole”, says Kozhikode North MLA A. Pradeep Kumar.

Faizal and Shabana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of KEF Holdings has a vision to transform the education system in India replicating the PRISM (Promoting Regional Schools to International Standards through Multiple Intervention) model which was conceptualized and initiated by A. Pradeep Kumar, MLA, Kozhikode North. 

Faizal and Shabana Foundation truly believe that education should not be an elite commodity to be consumed by only a few, but rather it should be made available to all. This is the only way forward to a progressive society.

Students of Global Indian International School Shine in CBSE Class X and XII Exams

Students of Global Indian International School (GIIS), a network of premier international schools, achieved noteworthy academic feats in the recently announced CBSE Class X and XII results. The examinations were held in February 2020, before the nation was under lockdown due to the emergence of Covid-19. 

Commenting on the performance of GIIS students, Mr. Rajiv Bansal, Director-Operations, GIIS India said “It is extremely gratifying to see our students perform well in the board exams with many students scoring centum (100) and near perfect scores (99) in various subjects. At GIIS, our NINE Gems Framework is designed to focus on the holistic development of our students and academic excellence is a critical aspect of our pedagogy. The constant support from our teachers and the sincere efforts of our students has enabled GIIS to achieve such good results across the country. We are extremely proud of our students’ achievements and want to thank the parents for their constant support in nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.”

Out of 7 GIIS campuses in India, students of Noida, Surat, Ahmedabad & Whitefield (Bengaluru) campuses appeared for their Class X exams and achieved a 100% pass percentage. While students of GIIS Surat & Noida campuses appeared for Class XII exams, this being the first batch for GIIS Noida.

Sameeksha Srivastava, student of GIIS Noida topped her Class X batch with 97.6% while Dhanay Agarwal and Priyamvada Sinha scored 96% and 95% respectively to secure the second and third positions. Nehal Kaul, a science student of Class XII topped the school with 96.6% marks followed by Ronit (science) and Pratham Chhabriaa (commerce) scoring 90.4% and 86.2% respectively. Pratham Chhabriaa has also been selected and received a scholarship in University of Waterloo in Canada, where he will be doing his Honours in Economics with Business.

Batch of Class X in GIIS Surat achieved 100% pass percentage. Kanishka Khandelwal topped the class with 94%, followed by Ishan Mittal and Suraj Rajput with 92.8% and 90% respectively. With respect to class XII, Neha Mishra topped the class with 91.2%, followed closely by Khushboo Mishra with 90.4%, both from the Commerce stream.

A scholar at the Advanced Learning Centre for bright students by IISC, Bengaluru, Sri Uma Maheshwari from GIIS Whitefield campus topped her class scoring 96.4%, and a perfect 100 in Mathematics in CBSE Class X examinations. Among other toppers from the batch, Anirudh Pradyumnan Srinivasan scored 95.6% and Himanshi Sarkar secured 3rd position with 94.4%. And Rushil Verma, who has scored a centum (100 marks) in Hindi, is an achievement worth mentioning.

At GIIS Ahmedabad, student Vaidehi Thanaki topped the batch with 93% in her Class X CBSE examinations. Aakriti Roy and Gaurav Nathani with 91.8% and 91.6% secured the second and the third rank respectively. The campus also achieved a 100% pass percentage.

GIIS’ focus on delivering quality education to its students with a strong emphasis on enhancing their learning outcomes has been a crucial factor in the excellent performance showcased by its students.

EuroSchool Bangalore Students Secure 100% Results in CBSE Examination

All three Bangalore campuses of EuroSchool (Whitefield, Yelahanka and Chimney Hills), have announced great performance in the CBSE Class X results of 2020 having witnessed 100% results.

Miss Ariya Samir Wadekar from EuroSchool Whitefield scored 97%, topping the three campuses in Bangalore. Ten students of EuroSchool Whitefield scored above 90%. The highest marks in Maths was 100 and 99 in Second Language.

Ms. Shruthi Arun, Principal, EuroSchool, Whitefield, said “It is a proud moment for us at EuroSchool, Whitefield as our students once again, have excelled in the Class X results reflecting years of hard work. It is the deep commitment of our faculty that has helped our students to prepare not just for the board exams but also for their professional careers and life after school. 

Miss Ariya Samir Wadekar from EuroSchool Whitefield says about her success, “Enjoy your present and work hard towards your goals. I invested my time in reading curriculum books, reference books, getting extra information from the teachers and combining all these to ensure clear understanding about a topic before moving to next. Just remember, whatever you are going to do is in your hands.”

Ms. Shruti Sampoorna Mishra from EuroSchool, North Campus, Bangalore scored 95% topping her school. She scored 99% in Second Language, 98 in Maths and 93 in Science. Ms. Brunda M from EuroSchool, Chimney Hills scored 91.60%, topping her school, followed closely by Ms. Greeshma D Holeyannavar, with 90%.

The current academic module at EuroSchool lays emphasis on learning with technology. The virtual schooling programme runs on the proprietary Digital Learning Ecosystem (LMS) ARGUS ensuring effective Home Engagement with students to ensure #UninterruptedLearning.

EuroSchool currently has a presence of 11 Schools across six cities in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Surat.

About EuroSchool International:

EuroSchool, is a network of 11 K-12 Schools, across 6 cities in India. A division of EuroKids Group, the School Operates on the philosophy of ‘Discover Yourself’ wherein the core focus is to encourage children to realise latent talent, ascertain areas of interest, hone individual skills, thereby uncovering varied facets of their personality. The profound realisation that the skills that are required to face the challenges we will be up against in the future must be imparted from a young age evolved into the philosophy of ‘Discover Yourself’ which is delivered via the ‘Balanced Schooling’ pedagogy. Their Learn - Reinforce - Practice - Apply methodology, paves the way for the students to do well in academics, with the co-curricular activities helping children to develop their creative, sporting and musical aspirations. 

All EuroSchools are affiliated either to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or the Indian Council of Secondary Education (ICSE) and select EuroSchools also offer the CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education (IGCSE).  It is India’s 1st chain of Schools to receive the ‘Safe School’ certification from a global audit firm.

GIIS Campuses Win Multiple Awards at MQH Best Practices Competition in India

Global Indian International School, a chain of international schools headquartered in Singapore, won a number of awards recently at the MQH Best Practices Competition organised by IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award (RBNQA) Trust, taking the total tally of awards won by the school to 154.

GIIS, which has 21 campuses across 7 countries - India, Japan, UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, is acclaimed for its award-winning educational pedagogy and best practices in education that fosters holistic development among students. The institution has received 154 awards till date and has been recognised by coveted national and international organisations including Asia Pacific Quality Organisation, Institute of Directors, Enterprise Singapore, and Indian Merchants Chamber among many others.

The school has a dedicated Global Centre for Excellence in Education (GCEE) team that is committed to establish the highest standards in education excellence and carve the path to achieve awards and recognition for GIIS across countries.

In the recently held MQH Best Practices Competition organised by IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award (RBNQA) Trust, eight GIIS campuses won awards. The competition was held virtually from 23rd to 26th June during which students and faculty from various campuses presented on different topics and won accolades for their ideas and presentation skills.

The participating GIIS teams were from - Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore (Whitefield), Abu Dhabi, Singapore (Punggol SMART Campus), Singapore (East Coast), Ahmedabad, Tokyo, Pune (Balewadi).

GIIS Abu Dhabi swept the Winner Trophy for their presentation on Heartfulness Intervention. GIIS SMART Campus was the First Runner Up for presenting on #SMART-TECH-ULARS, followed by GIIS Tokyo and GIIS Ahmedabad as the Second Runner-up. GIIS Ahmedabad’s topic was Building Responsible Green Citizens while GIIS Tokyo on The Unival Tree.

Students spoke confidently on their topics and presented information with the help of statistics and data to explain their point of view. Post every presentation, the panel of judges, comprising eminent personalities from various fields, asked questions from the students and the rating was done on were shared during the sessions and along with that are of relevance in today’s times and also of possible solutions to control the situation.

The competition was participated by over 40 organisations from various categories like Service, Health, Education and Manufacturing.

Apart from the above-mentioned eight GIIS campuses, Mahatma Gandhi Global Indian Eklavya School (MGGIES) Tilakwada which is run by GSF participated in NGO category also participated in the competition and won first runner-up for their presentation on Amrut Sandesh.

About Global Indian International School

Winner of 150 international awards, Global Indian International School (GIIS) is a global network of premier international schools with more than 15,000 students across 21 campuses in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam and India. Founded in 2002, GIIS offers a range of International and Indian curricula for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students. These include the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), Cambridge IGCSE, IB Primary Years Programme, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Global Montessori Plus programme. 

GIIS’ mission is to nurture young minds into global leaders and innovators of tomorrow through skills-based approach to education which believes in academic and extracurricular excellence. This approach, called the Nine GEMS methodology, balances excellence in academics with sports, performing arts, entrepreneurship and character development. GIIS is a member of the Global Schools Foundation (GSF) which has been recognised worldwide for high standards of governance and established academic criteria. 

Despite the $10 laptop flops; India orders 2.5 lakh OLPC laptops

The Indian government has turned to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation to order 250,000 XO laptops, after the $10 laptop had turned a catastrophe, which was a direct challenge to the $100 laptop of the OLPC project. Satish Jha, President and CEO of OLPC India said, "The laptops are ordered for 1,500 schools and the deliveries will begin in June."

This will be the first order placed by India after the OLPC project failed to impress the then IT minister Arun Shourie in 2001. The OLPC project could not succeed in India, when it first entered the market by distributing 20 XO machines in a Maharastra village. The government shirked the project questioning its technology, the hidden costs and also cited it to be unhealthy if used for prolonged periods. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) also testified a new project, Sakshat, to provide a $10 laptop. The anticipated notebook equipped with Wi-Fi and 2GB RAM, however, turned out to be little more than a computing machine. It is just a 10 x 5-inch wide slab that stores and apparently prints distributed learning materials that can later be retrieved using a laptop.

After being rejected by the central government, the MIT's Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC project has been trying its luck with various state governments and the private sector in the hope that large corporations would donate these laptops to schools. The XO laptops are rugged, use open source computing, and are so energy efficient that they can be powered manually by a child. They have a built-in wireless, a unique dual-mode display that is readable under direct sunlight. OLPC says the software is designed for children to encourage exploration and creativity.

The OLPC has also planned to do away with the current AMD chips in the XO laptop and include the VIA C7-M, where the system memory would be enhanced to 1GB and internal storage to 4GB. However, the foundation did not reveal which version of the laptop the government has opted for.

Agencies