India has been hailed as a laboratory for prudent and all-encompassing innovations. These innovations are aiming to make India more inclusive and in this pursuit, the education sector has not been left behind. Education is often regarded as a way out of poverty, offering hope that it might help children from socio-economically disadvantaged families to lead better lives. Estimates show that over 3 million children in the country are still out of school, and of those in school, civil society reports show that 53 percent are at least three years behind expected learning levels. One third of the adult population remains illiterate (EFA report 2012) and improving learning outcomes remains a huge challenge, as evidenced by Pratham’s Aser report. For education to become a tool of growth, progress and empowerment, there are multiple private and public initiatives to bring about changes in the quality of education and the quality of teachers.

Join us for a discussion with Rohini Nilekani, Rukmini Banerji, Shantanu Prakash and Maheshwar Peri as they delve into how innovative platforms and tools can be used to improve learning levels and make education more equitable in India.

Rohini Nilekani together with her husband Nandan Nilekani, co-founded EkStep, an education non-profit that has created a technology platform for early learning. She is Founder-Chairperson, Arghyam, a foundation she has personally endowed to fund initiatives in ‘Safe, Sustainable water for All’. Since 2005, Arghyam has supported work in water and sanitation all around India. Arghyam also facilitates the India Water Portal, which has become a singular resource for the sector. In 2004, she co-founded and funded Pratham Books, a non-profit children’s publisher, which aims to democratize the joy of reading with ‘A book in every child’s hands’. Rohini sits on the Board of ATREE- Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, an environmental think tank. She is on the Eminent Persons Advisory Group of the Competition Commission of India. Between 2010 and 2012, she was a member of the Audit Advisory Board of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Rukmini Banerji is the Chief Executive Officer of Pratham Education Foundation. Until recently, she was responsible for Pratham's programs and activities in several major states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and was also the Director of ASER Centre (the research and assessment unit of Pratham). Since 1996, Rukmini has been with Pratham, one of India’s largest NGOs working in education. She has been a member of the national leadership team of the organization and has extensive field experience both in program implementation and in research. She has led the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) effort since it was launched in 2005. ASER has been acknowledged nationally and internationally for its innovative model of household-based, citizen-led assessment which has impacted education policy and practice within India and has also been adapted for use in several countries in Africa and Asia. In 2008, Rukmini was awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Shiksha Puraskar by the Government of Bihar, India. She was the first recipient of this award

Shantanu Prakash founded Educomp Solutions Limited in 1994, a few years after acquiring an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad. His vision has been to transform the teaching-learning process through the use of technology and best pedagogical practices. Shantanu’s work as Chairman and Managing Director of Educomp has resulted in the SmartClass digital content system in over 32000 schools covering 20 million students across the globe. Some of the recent awards/honour, conferred on Shantanu Prakash include The DataQuest Path Breaker Award 2010, Dare Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 -Jury’s Choice, The ET Now Leap of Faith award for Education in 2011, ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ at Indian Education Awards 2011.

Maheshwar Peri is a qualified CA, CMA and ACS. He started his career as an investment banker with SBI Capital Markets. He was associated with the Outlook group for 17 years and headed it for more than 10 years. Mahesh believes that the demographic dividend India seeks can turn into a nightmare if youth are not shown the right direction to maximize their capabilities. CAREERS360 is the result of his deep understanding of student issues, and the information gaps that need to be filled to help students take an informed career decision.