Students of the Net Impact club at the Indian School Business held their Social Responsibility Conclave today. The theme of today’s discussion is both important as well as relevant and it revolved around the perspective on the scenario of education in India. India’s literacy rate is being hampered due to problems such as ignorance, illiteracy and social inequalities.

Delivering the introductory speech was D Purandeswari, Honourable Minister of State for Higher Education who said that with the 21st century being a century of knowledge and with world looking at China and India as great economic powers; education did not remain a goal by itself. Applying new ideas and technology to education would help it in a creating a key.

She summarized the initiatives taken by the government, saying that these could help bring about a metamorphosis in the education system. “The government is committed to ensure universal education. With Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan, that there is a school within every one kilometer radius,” she said. Stressing on the importance of education for the girl child, she said it was necessary to bring girls into mainstream education. Issues such as child labour and domestic labour are keeping children away from schools and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan is trying to bring education to these children with initiatives such as summer camps and bridge courses.

Delivering the key note address, Dileep Ranjerkar CEO, Azim Premji Foundation said that teachers have to pay a more active role in the education system. Teachers must do their best to get the potential out of the student. There is so much oppressiveness in today system, and slowly the social hierarchical relationships will not be accepted. There is lot of confusion between what is taught in schools today and what really happens in the world outside. Poverty and healthcare are very much a part of this system and they have to be kept under control.

The panel discussion was led by the theme called Demographic Dividend of India: Education as a Turnaround Factor. Professor VN Rajasekhran Pillai vice-chancellor IGNOU said that such a dividend exists. The students and teachers do not understand the context of the text that is taught to them. Education is not dependant on knowledge and skills alone, he said. Professor AK Shiva Kumar visiting faculty, ISB and advisor to UNICEF-India said that in India the children were treated badly. The infant mortality rate is at 57% and the contribution of education can be maximized only if the children are healthy.

Dilip Thakore, editor, Education World said that we must in invest in children. They can be valuable resources only if they are properly educated and healthy or they might turn into anarchists, which could be a dangerous proposition. He stressed on the importance of increasing spending on education. Invest in the basic level, provide water, and toilets especially for the girl child in schools, he said.

The afternoon’s panel discussion was on the topic of Challenges in Service Delivery-A Ground Reality. All the speakers spoke of what their organizations were doing on this level. Dr Preetha Bhakta of the Naandi Foundation spoke of working with the system. Free food, education and text books are all promised by the government to the children but it takes a long time to deliver the same. It is very tough to work with the system, she said.

Verghese Jacob, Lead partner of the Byrraju Foundation said that they were working in collaboration with the government, the community and alliance partners who all worked with a common agenda. There are gaps in funding and this is what they were trying to bridge. PK Babu of Ashray Akruti said that proper counseling for the mothers of the children had resulted in a change in behaviour of the children.

Dr A Saibaba Goud, founder of the Devnar Foundation for the Blind found that even visually challenged children with proper encouragement and facilities had the capability of coping with the normal children. The only challenge was enrollment, he said. Parents were not motivated enough to send children to a visually challenged school, and government policy also has to change to encourage the visually challenged child.

The day concluded with a paper presentation competition with the theme: self sustainable revenue gathering models for enhancing the scope and quality of the existing setup of education in India.

Smt D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education Speaking at Social Responsibility Conclave at the ISB.