Global Education and its importance - Azim Premji at Davos

I recently shared my thoughts on the global Education and its importance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. I wish to share it with you all as well, since the essence of what I am stating below is relevant to all knowledge societies.

I have been closely involved in efforts to improve school Education in India for the past decade. I will draw from these experiences to suggest how Education can help society become more just, equitable, sustainable and humane. To my mind this is the deepest relevance of Education, and the true measure of its quality.

We all know that Education empowers. Particularly, education offers the most disadvantaged & the most underprivileged the opportunity to influence the very fabric of society. It enables them to participate in the economy & it enables livelihoods. It gives them the only real opportunity to participate in individual, societal & national growth. It encourages them to demand equity and justice. In essence, what education does is to offer everyone the promise of a better life, which is indeed of the utmost importance. I have seen this happen time and again.

However, there is another way to look at this argument: When the disadvantaged are not able to access quality Education for their children, it is a form of fundamental injustice. Because over time, educational deprivation reinforces human deprivation.

It is, therefore, society’s responsibility to ensure that every child has access to quality Education. Please note that I said it is society’s responsibility. In the context of a developing nation, I am of the view that Government by itself cannot ensure universal quality Education. At times, Governments have financial constraints. Poor nations often do not have the financial wherewithal to ensure that every village has a fully-functioning school. In my view, this is a crucial area for private enterprise, for philanthropy, and for international development agencies.

The second constraint is organisational. How do you run a million schools, and yet ensure creativity in every classroom? Huge bureaucracies veer towards command and control. And yet, the school, which is at the bottom of this structure, has to be sensitive to the abilities and inclinations of every child – because that is the only way towards good Education. To me, this seems like an irreconcilable dilemma, and the primary solution is a groundswell of community & societal support that enables and nurtures every school.

But the most important reason for society to take the responsibility of Education, as its own, and not only “to help the Government ” is that society is the recipient of the outcomes of education and practically every development issue of the society is influenced by “Education” .

Universal quality Education is indeed society’s responsibility and it requires each of us to engage and contribute, while the Government must certainly perform its large role.

In my personal capacity, I am engaging at two ends of the educational spectrum. At one end, I am setting up a University of Education and Development in India. I hope the University will significantly boost the quality of professional development and research in my country and contribute in the development of a highly committed & capable cadre of education sector professionals. At the other end, our field resource centres directly work with schools that want to improve their practices. Our programs touch over 20,000 schools. I do not see this as philanthropy. I see this as my responsibility.

To conclude:

Education is perhaps the most powerful enabler of human life & equity. It expands our notions of who we are, of what society should be, and how to live in harmony with each other and with nature.

It is our duty as citizens of the world, to ensure that this almost magical process embraces every child. I am clear that no individual altruistic effort can change a nation’s future. But a million such efforts certainly can. For it takes the collective imagination and effort of a society to will itself to newer heights.