Group2_B | SDG 4: Quality Education

Authored by: Anshika Agarawal (BJ20069), Apoorva (BJ20070), Kavya Pant (BJ20084), Rahul Raja (BJ20100), Rituraj (BJ20103), Shubham Dhoble (BJ20110)

"Upon the subject of education - I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in" - Abraham Lincoln

Quality Education has always been considered an essential prerequisite for sustainable development. The fourth goal of SDG, i.e., Quality Education, is to make sure that quality education is both inclusive and equitable. It is also important to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. While the overall progress towards inclusive and equitable education had been slow in the past, the onset of COVID-19 has increased this problem due to school closures. 90% of the students were out of school, reversing the years of slow but steady education progress.

By 2030, the goal is to provide all girls and boys free and equitable primary and secondary education, including access to early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education. While access is essential, it is also vital for it to be affordable to all. Affordability can be judged based on the population's participation rate in formal and non-formal education in the recent past. Achieving this would help in making sure that most of the population in the world achieves literacy and numeracy by 2030. This also requires support and facilities that are child, disability, and gender-sensitive. Another vital aspect will be the growth in the number of qualified teachers. In parallel, in conjunction with increased scholarships, international cooperation will significantly benefit students in developing countries. One crucial aim via this SDG is to equip all learners with the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including education, to ensure knowledge transfer continues. [i]

The relevance of Quality Education in the Indian context

With a literacy rate of 74.04%[ii], India is far behind the target of achieving a 100% literacy rate by 2030. However, India has shown considerable progress in the primary education enrollment[iii] with Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan & Mid-day meals' government schemes, the quality of education in the government schools' considerable development scope[iv]. For a developing country with the second largest population globally and more than 27.5% population under multidimensional poverty[v] in 2015-16, education, or at least primary education, is mandatory for the country's progress.

With the vision to become a developed country, quality education is a fundamental goal for India. Low income and illiteracy[vi] have been hindrances in the country's growth, limiting it from encashing its human capital. Education is also vital for the lower-income groups to understand and utilize different government schemes designed for their betterment. Quality education is also crucial for the country to diversify in sectors other than agriculture, let alone improve agricultural practices.[vii]

Moreover, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, around 32 crore students have been affected by India's halted education. While children from all the social sectors have been affected, there is a considerable impact on the underprivileged section due to the paucity and unaffordability of online learning infrastructure. The Indian government has been exploring the ODL (Open and Distance Learning) possibilities to adopt different digital technologies to improve education penetration.

Business Implications

RB

Reckitt Benckiser, under its "Banega Swasth India" Campaign, had launched a Dettol School Hygiene Education Programme, which is in its fourth year and has reached more than 800,000 children across 4000+ schools.[viii] According to its Social Return on Investment report, it has reduced diarrhoea by 14.2% among children and increased school attendance by 17%. The program's significant interventions included a hygiene Corner, a corner dedicated to teaching WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) practices via paintings and posters, etc. A gamified learning methodology has also been introduced for experiential learning. Hygiene kits distribution, which included Sanitary pads, soaps, hand washes, and the introduction of soap banks near toilets and washbasins, is also the intervention's highlight.[ix]

Reckitt Benckiser Group has also decided to tie up with various government organizations to introduce a kit that will guide school children and administration on ways to manage after school reopening during covid-19. This was induced by the inability of underprivileged children to continue with online education and the need to reopen the institutions. Dettol developed a return-to-school kit with masks, gloves, sanitizer, Dettol soap, Dettol handwash, Dettol antiseptic liquid, a pulse oximeter, and a thermal scanner.[x]

Amazon

Amazon has pioneered CSR in several third world countries, particularly in South East Asia and West Africa.[xi] Some of their key programs are:

Amazon Smiles: This CSR initiative provides the customers with an option to contribute a part of their purchase to NGO's oriented towards child education. As per the recent changes made to the website, the wishlist for a child can be explored in terms of education requirements. Some of the NGOs looped in the following initiative are PRATHAM, READ INDIA, and LEARNING LINKS.[xii]

The Ignite Initiative focused on improving the quality of learning materials available in the market by enabling educational content creators to sell their products.

Amazon Education Publishing is another tool provided by Amazon, allowing publishing content, establishing copyright ownership, and earning, distributing benefits to students.

Amazon Inspire is an open service platform that functions as a community for teachers, enabling them to find & share free educational resources with teachers worldwide.

AWS, a cloud service with over 5,000 education clients, aids in implementing a more digitized learning environment by constructing student evaluation programs and preparing students for STEM activities.

Amazon Catalyst is an initiative that promotes ideation, research & implementation of solutions offered by students, faculty, and staff of individual universities by providing funding and training programs.

Amazon has also been funding the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) by donating research grants to masters and Ph.D. programs.

RPG Group

RPG group has supported India to achieve its goals by increasing employability among students by transforming India's education system and supporting teachers and schools in developing high-quality learning spaces. It has aligned its goals with the ones set by the UN. It has come out with Pehlay Akshar – a program that aims to reduce the high dropout rates across the country and increase employability. The program seeks to increase spoken and written English language proficiency, which can help them prepare for a plethora of careers while enabling them to participate in the online revolution and integrate into the future's global economies.

This initiative supports government-run schools that provide schooling to 65% of Indian students but have low accountability and inadequate infrastructure. One of the programs Pehlay Akshar – Training helps teachers in creating safe learning classrooms where students are appreciated, motivated, and engaged in effective learning.[xiii]

Microsoft

Microsoft is running many initiatives in India, partnering with the government and schools. Project Shiksha is one of the projects which the firm runs to educate teachers about computer skills for classrooms and administrative duties through 6 days intensive program. Microsoft is giving free access to the education edition of Windows 10 and office 365 to students[xiv]. One more project is Showcase school, which works with globally recognized schools to teach leadership skills and learning environment in Indian schools.[xv]

Analysis & Suggested path ahead

The Indian government took some steps towards online education during coronavirus. In September 2020, to help managers implement human resource development policies, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor opened the National Council for Education, Research and Training (SCERT) on NCERT lines. [xvi]Also, in September 2020, the UGC released new guidelines for distance learning courses. Traditionally, no university, whether central, provincial, private, or a university, can offer its programs by selling contracts with private training institutes to accommodate students and study open and distance learning online. Involving students at home during coronavirus through educational activities, another academic calendar for students, parents, and teachers of all Classes XII was developed by NCERT under the Department of Education's auspices. The government has also released Alternative Education Calendar (AAC) ranging from four to eight weeks, for all grades.

India's Government has started programs like SWAYAM-Prabha and ShikshaVani to take up the challenge of online education. Under the flagship Initiative, SWAYAM-Prabha, the Department of Education provides 34 educational TV channels, including educational content in schools and higher learning institutions[xvii]. Extensive use of radio, community radio, and CBSE Podcast - ShikshaVani. Under Budget 2020–21, the government has proposed a focus on diploma/diploma in March 2021 at about 150 tertiary institutions.

The net enrollment ratio is the number of boys and girls of that age who have added a certain level of education to that level of education expressed as a percentage of the total population at that age. India's enrollment rate is 76% compared to the global average of 90%[xviii]. Registration refers to access and access to education but measuring learning outcomes can help understand education quality. Only 55% of those who join can test their Grade 5 learning results well. This number drops by 10% when we go to eighth grade. So, not only do we have high enrollment rates when we go to high school, but the level of education is also very much affected. NGOs play an essential role in transforming the education sector and working with the government to improve quality and accessibility. NGOs like Teach for India, Make a Difference, and Akshay Patra promotes primary education in India.

Although previous programs have focused on accessing and disseminating learning opportunities to all, there has been a greater focus on the quality of education - which is only possible with the first efforts to make education accessible to all. Saransh is a program that helps educational institutions identify areas of development that affect students, teachers, and the curriculum. This will help to achieve a better system as the final implementation depends on the comparison of results. The Unified-District Information System (DISE) is the largest source of information about schools and contains information of both public schools and private schools.

[xix] Education and Training Sector Chart

Way Ahead

In terms of international education, India can learn from the efforts of other countries. For example, Canada's development assistance focuses on establishing strong education programs that enable children and young people, especially girls, to access a full 10-year quality basic education cycle. The support services provided to Canadian students are as follows:

· Building the capacity of public education officials

· Support new and existing teacher training institutions to create a professional teacher class to improve the development and distribution of appropriate, gender-sensitive resources and education

· Support efforts to make schools more responsive to girls' needs, water and sanitation

· Working to end school-based violence against sex and harmful practices that prevent girls from going to school, such as childhood, early marriage, and forced to provide support to meet disadvantaged children's educational needs, Finland has strengthened the school management system and adopted flexible facilities.

· The program's highlight is the 'Special Teacher' program, which helps to provide centralized assistance to students in need, making it an excellent learning experience. [xx]

"Technology can also help bring accountability among teachers," said Rajeev Pathak, co-founder of eDreams Edusoft. This Bengaluru-based startup uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing technology to provide automated personalized tutoring.

In India, innovation is needed in terms of technology and teaching methods. Education should be accessible to all eligible students. While government/subsidy subsidies are cheap, the same cannot be said of private companies. Without government guidance, funding would be costly to many private companies. These institutions may adopt a flexible cash structure to suit the financial conditions of the students.[xxi] Government spending in India is also very low. The Government of India spends only 3% of GDP on education. (India ranks 154th out of 195 countries)[xxii]. The government makes education more expensive by giving interest-free loans to growing students.