The biggest act of philanthropy by an Indian

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BANGALORE: In the largest act of philanthropy by an Indian, Wipro chairman Azim Premji will give about Rs 8,846 crore ($2 billion) to improve school education in India. Other donations to charitable institutions by any person or corporation in India pale in comparison to this massive endowment. It effectively silences critics who say Indian billionaires are measly donors compared to foreign counterparts, and that they focus on big-name western universities rather than addressing India's problems.

Premji, India's third richest man with a net worth of $18 billion, will transfer 213 million equity shares of Wipro Ltd, held by a few entities controlled by him, to the Azim Premji Trust. It will fund educational activities of the Azim Premji Foundation (APF) which works mainly with schools in rural India. He had previously transferred over Rs 700 crore to the APF.

Premji said more may come in future. ``I'm completely committed to supporting the larger ambition of creating the required social change.''

The money will be transferred to the trust by next Tuesday and Wipro's former strategy chief K R Lakshminarayana will be its chief endowment officer. A $2-billion endowment even at a conservative return of 8%-12% should generate annual returns of $160-250 million (Rs 750-1,150 crore), which will be used to run APF initiatives, including the Bangalore-based Azim Premji University.

``We believe that good education is crucial to building a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society. We want to contribute significantly towards improvement of education in India, and through that towards building a better society,'' he said.

``All our efforts, including the university we are setting up, are focused on the under-privileged and disadvantaged sections of our society. Our experience of the past 10 years has motivated us to significantly scale up our initiatives, across multiple relevant dimensions.''

So far, the nine-year-old APF has worked extensively in six districts -- two in Uttarakhand, two in Rajasthan and two in Karnataka.

Dileep Ranjekar, co-CEO of APF called this the beginning of APF's second life. ``The current phase we're launching is based on 10 years of experience wherein we realized what needs to be done to scale this in a concrete manner.'' His co-CEO Anurag Behar said, ``The aim is to increase the deep focus to 50 more districts across India.''

Such a huge financial commitment has been made mainly because a university cannot be run without a large endowment. For example, if AP University were to follow the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) model which meets just 14%-15% of its costs from student fees, the AP University will need to meet 85% of costs from non-fee based resources.

``The foundation's significant increase in scale and its clear focus on social purposes will require a substantial long-term financial commitment, which is the purpose this endowment will serve,'' Premji said.

The university, offering post-graduate courses in education and development, will start with 200 students in 2011 and scale to 2,000 in 4-5 years.

The foundation will also create district-level institutions with 50-70 people in each and these state and district resource centres will support improvement in education, especially in disadvantaged areas.

The APF said it will continue to partner state governments (including continuing with its existing programmes), institutions, NGOs and individuals.

Will others follow suit?
Will Premji inspire rich Indians to part with their wealth? That's a billion-dollar question but the American example may have the answer. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathway are persuading wealthy Americans to give at least 50% of their wealth to charity. They're even asking people to take a pledge they will do so, and with considerable success.

In India, the tech sector has led the way in giving away some of its wealth. All Infosys co-founders have charitable arms mainly in education but also in water management, health, etc.

Source: Times of India
 

Need for Greater Role of Industry in Higher Education in India

 

Naresh Wadhwa, President and Country Manager, Cisco - India & SAARC

 For India to become economically, politically, and socially developed, education is critical. As a result the government must assume the responsibility for providing and financing education, especially basic education. Today, India already produces some of the most talented and intelligent students and workers, but questions related to quality, access, and equity still challenge educational planners. In corroboration, a recent study titled Effective Education for Employment (EEE) by Edexcel stated that there is a huge mismatch between what is being taught in schools, colleges and universities and the knowledge, skills and behavior businesses and organisations are looking for, in new recruits. Even students felt that their education lacked relevance to the jobs they were hoping to apply for in the future which reinforces the missing element "linking education to careers".

Recently, HRD Minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal called for significant reforms in the Indian education system in order to address these deep-rooted issues that are hampering the modernization of the sector. However, taking on such a responsibility is immensely compound, making it important for the government to explore diverse ways of financing and providing educational services. The Indian education system has a multitude of governing bodies - employer associations, chambers of commerce and other business organizations all of which work somewhat in silos. In fact in most developed and developing countries it is the Chambers of Commerce that leads from the front and represents employers and businesses.

The complexity of this challenge calls for a bold and timely response-a solution that can allow us to leapfrog costly stages in the development and expansion of our education systems, while still enabling institutions to incorporate 21st century skills into a demanding curricula. At this stage we would do well to encourage public-private partnerships, attract foreign direct investment (FDI), provide independent accreditation rating systems and grant autonomy in governance, amongst many other initiatives. Moreover, if such a system could be guided by a comprehensive roadmap of curricular and assessment reform, new teacher recruitment and training strategies, leadership development, and the integration of collaborative technologies, we will be able to address some of the challenges we face.

The end goal here is the systemic improvement of the quality, inequity and accessibility of education to everyone. Following such an approach enables us to address the existing skills gap that is been echoed from various quarters, particularly from the industry which has long been reeling under a talent crunch. And from past experiences in India and in other countries, the way to go forward is clearly to build strong public private partnerships.

The main rationale for developing public private partnerships (PPP's) in education is to maximize the potential for expanding equitable access to schooling and to improving education outcomes, especially for marginalized groups. Following a PPP model especially when it comes to higher education can bring multiple benefits. To begin with, the challenges that institutes face have a direct impact on corporations and the future of their business. Sustainability for the private sector depends on the innovation and expertise of their employees. Hence their priority will always be the recruitment and retention of top talent.

 Finally, we know that although today's global, Internet-based economy provides numerous opportunities not available before, there is still a critical need for universal access to quality education and visionary leadership. And PPP's, when implemented correctly, can increase efficiency and choice as well as expand access to education services, particularly for households that tend to be poorly served by traditional delivery methods. PPP's also allow governments to take advantage of the specialized skills offered by certain private organizations and to overcome operating restrictions such as inflexible salary scales and work rules that may prevail in the public sector. Unfortunately quality in India is viewed when private institutions are able to surpass the standards set by Government institutions and are able to garner students based on this fact. But, while many corporations invest heavily in ongoing education and skills training of employees, they still depend on the solid foundation taught during primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

IT majors such as Infosys, Wipro, Cisco, Autodesk have been leading the way in building sustained programs to impart the desired skills at a college level. For example, Dr. Reddy's Foundation's Livelihood Advancement Business School (LABS) works towards assimilating its students into the competitive job market, it also helps them acquire the required livelihood and social skills in an environment of learning and mentoring that is responsive to the student's emotional and developmental needs.

Such success stories now need to be scaled-up in association with other corporates to make a sizeable impact on the system. For a country betting on its demographic dividend, these kinds of partnerships help build scale. On the other hand, government also plays a role in defining and monitoring the role corporates play in the education system. The proposed new National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) which would take over the academic, accreditation and financial functions of the regulators is one such example. In essence, because corporations are consumers of the talent developed by the education system, engaging in strategic initiatives for education reform in partnership with the public sector becomes mutually beneficial.

Education has been the passport to opportunity and prosperity - It has enabled individuals, whether in developing or developed countries, to become academics, entrepreneurs, and business and government leaders. And by working together, both private and public sectors can help achieve this goal.

Aiming High

Source:Frontline

INDIA strives to be a knowledge economy. Recognising the need for higher level of skills and competencies in order to make this possible and keeping in mind the objectives of the 11th Five-Year Plan, the Central government has made sure that enough funds are available for primary, secondary and higher education.

Kerala may be the most literate State in the country, but Maharashtra has the highest number of student enrolment in higher education. A recent report, titled ‘Building Blocks - Infrastructure in Education - Edge 2010 Report', released by the professional services firm Ernst & Young, points out that around 15 lakh students were enrolled in the State's colleges and institutes during 2005-06, the highest in the country, followed by Uttar Pradesh (14 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (9 lakh) and Tamil Nadu (8 lakh).

In Maharashtra, Pune is a top destination for education in India. Other districts in the State that are home to the best educational institutions are Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Ahmednagar. The State boasts a literacy rate of 77.27 per cent (Census 2001).

In the realm of higher education, the State has the largest number of institutions in the country. Topping the list are University of Mumbai, Pune University, SNDT Women's University, the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (Mumbai) and the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (Pune). These offer graduate, postgraduate, diploma and research programmes in several disciplines.

Besides Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, there are several engineering institutes in the State that offer quality training. Among them are the Army Institute of Technology (Pune), Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology (Vashi) and the A.C. Patil College of Engineering (Navi Mumbai).

The State also has institutes such as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and the IIT Bombay–Monash Research Academy and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

The TIFR, funded by the Government of India, was set up as a national centre for research in nuclear science and mathematics. “Today, its scope of research has extended to subjects such as astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computer science,” said Deepak Dhar, Dean, Graduate Studies, and Professor of Theoretical Physics, TIFR. Today, the TIFR has centres in Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. “Over 300 scientists and 500 research scholars work in the institute,” added Dhar.

In Maharashtra, the boost to education has been powered by some focussed thinking. For one, the government is preparing to tighten its policy of liberally granting permission for new colleges. Mushrooming educational institutions have overwhelmed universities and have resulted in a fall in the quality of higher education.

“We will be making it very strict this year. Colleges without infrastructure and facilities will not be granted permission even if they have political recommendation,” Minister for Higher and Technical Education Rajesh Tope told the media recently.

The Minister said the government had come up with new norms for the setting up of engineering and medical colleges. “The proposals will be scrutinised thoroughly and eligible ones alone would qualify,” Tope added. Only if they meet the requisite criteria would the letter of approval be awarded.

Maharashtra recently hosted an all-India conference that focussed on issues that affect higher education directly. Organised jointly by the Association of Indian Universities, the apex body of universities in the country, and the University Grants Commission (UGC), the three-day meet in Pune tackled issues such as emerging models of governance in higher education, administrative and financial management, autonomy and accountability of the university system, and the role of regulatory authorities including the UGC.

Universities in Maharashtra plan to introduce measures to maintain high standards in their affiliated institutions and to grade them on the basis of key performance indicators (KPIs), drawn up by the State higher education department. These include curriculum upgrade, research, evaluation, attendance, teaching and grading.

To rise up the rungs, varsities will have to lay emphasis on innovation. The adoption of KPIs will involve, among other things, updating the curriculum on a regular basis, maintaining a website and utilising grants efficiently. The ability to attract grants is also important.

dwarika