'We help govt in running schools better'

Q&A: VIJAY GUPTA

The Azim Premji Foundation has emerged as a major player in school education across the country. Its spokesman Vijay Gupta talks to Bibhu Ranjan Mishra and Aravind Gowda on the Foundation's activities. Excerpts:

Has there been an MoU between the government and the Azim Premji foundation on handing over of 50,000 schools?

No, there is no such MoU. Our idea is to support the governments in understanding the need for some changes so that they can run the schools in a better way.

What exactly is the foundation doing now in the school scene in Karnataka?

In Karnataka, we have developed Electronic Management Information System (EMIS), a system which has integrated data relating to the education sector in the state, electronically. This system contains information on number of school-going children, teachers, their compensation package, training, results of students at the grassroot level among others.

This has helped the decision-makers at the state education department in sharpening their understanding of the education system. The Foundation has also rolled out a pilot project involving about 80 schools, to understand the role and effectiveness of community in education.

Besides, it has assisted the government in providing management training to more than 2,000 educational functionaries and aims to train over 53,000 education functionaries over the next 18 months, up to the head teacher level.

What does the Foundation do in other states?

The Foundation has prepared education software, to make teaching more interactive. It has developed 112 titles on different subjects in 18 languages and has distributed the copies in over 14,000 schools across 14 states involving more than two million children, with the help of the respective state governments.

As a part of translating the National Curriculum Framework 2005, brought out by NCERT, into a workable curriculum, Azim Premji Foundation has started working on developing workbooks for class I-VIII.

The Rajasthan government has invited the Foundation to develop workbooks in the core subjects to supplement text books which are already in place. The Foundation has partnered Digantar and Vidya Bhawan, for this project.

There has been a body called SIEMAT set up by Karnataka government to oversee school education.

The State Institute of Educational Management & Training (Siemat) is a centrally-sponsored programme under the Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan. All states are empowered to take necessary assistance from organisations for Siemat.

Azim Premji Foundation too is part of this initiative, which is an ongoing programme.The Foundation imparts management training to officers of the rank of deputy directors of public instruction and block education officers (not to teachers) in the Department of Public Instruction.