Tea with BS: Rukmini Banerji is a picture of hope during difficult times

Banerji, recently awarded the highest education accolade, is a picture of hope in a difficult time, says Ritwik Sharma

It’s easy to embrace pessimism around school education for children in a world disrupted by Covid-19, what with a lonely cloistered life thrust on them with the “luxury” of digital learning available only for a privileged class. That is not remotely the case with Rukmini Banerji, a recent awardee of the 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Development.

The chief executive of Pratham, an NGO that has done stellar work towards improving children’s education in India for nearly three decades, is a refreshing optimist with a bagful of stories that challenge the typical Indian obsession with school learning.

I am meeting