Experts discuss equity in education

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar: Ideate-2015, a panel discussion on `Education for All: Prospects & Challenges’ was organised by the Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation in partnership with FICCI Odisha State Council here recently.Experts from different educational organisations came together at the discussion to deliberate on the critical topic of educational equity.The RTE Act has made education a fundamental right and provides for all children between the ages of 6-14 to get free education.Rural India suffers from issues like inadequate infrastructure, shortage of teachers and behavioral challenges.Children from marginalized homes do not have access to affordable quality education.Speaking on the occasion Shaifalika Panda, CEO Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation said “An educated person is considered the best national resource. The quality of the present education system will actuate the potential of today’s children who will grow into adult citizens of tomorrow.Given that majority of our children live in rural India educational reforms must start with rural education.”The thematic address was delivered by Marmar Mukhopadhyay, Chairman, Educational Technology & Management Academy, New Delhi.Commenting on the panel discussion, Head FICCI Odisha State Council Sanjeev Mohanty said that Ideate brings about concrete suggestions for both government and non-government sectors to plan and implement result-oriented projects.Speakers on the panel were Mahenrdra Kumar Mullick, State Project Director, Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA); Banchhanidhi Panda, President Vidyabharti, Odisha’ Gopinath T Menon, Chairperson, Sparsh Centre for Participatory Learning Mumbai; and Purnendu Hota, Head & Project In-Charge, Hole-in-the Wall Education Project, NIIT, New Delhi.Education, the subject for the 4th Ideate event is one of the four verticals of BIPF.Apart from running the Chinmaya Vidhlaya Therubali, BIPF constructs girls’ toilets, upgrades infrastructure in tribal schools and distributes study material annually. Through their project Unaati SHGs they enlighten women about the benefits of sending children to school, especially girls.BIPF, the CSR arm of IMFA, was established with the vision to engage, educate and empower the most vulnerable communities to achieve significant socio economic transformation.