Education : By Azim Premji

Jay's Market outlook for 12th September, 2006 : European markets had a moderate decline last night, while US stocks finished marginally higher. The Hang Seng and the Nikkei are up this morning, and the global short-term trend may be turning up again. There is a therefore a reasonable chance that our stocks may recover somewhat today.

The following article is not related to trading or SAP (For a change). This is a editorial by Azim Premji, for Economics Times dated 5th Sept, 2006. He was Guest Editor for this issue.

EDUCATION : By Azim Premji

“This was my editorial comment for the Economic Times dated 5 Sept 2006, which I edited. I think this thought is relevant not just for India but for most developing countries, and in some senses for developed ones as well.”


In 1950, India resolved to secure Justice, Liberty and Equality for all its citizens, and enshrined these ideals in the Constitution. Fifty-six years later, equality of opportunity and socio-economic justice still seem a distant dream. What will it take for our nation to realise these noble goals? In the answer to this question lies the significance of Education.


Schools facilitate social continuity by enriching our children with our history, our collective knowledge and cultures. But the classroom is also the nation’s laboratory, where we create the kind of society we aspire to live in. Seen through this lens, schools become an important tool for humanity in its quest for higher truths, and for society in its endeavour to continuously rediscover and transform itself.


Schools can be truly visionary, creating an environment wherein children can engage in the quest for knowledge, with equity, participation, social awareness and self-initiative. Schools can empower children to become informed and self-reliant adults who can engage with societal, economic, cultural realities and possibilities responsibly and meaningfully. Schools can imbue our children with the spirit of inquiry and reform, essential to the creation of enlightened leaders that can transform India into the just, humane and equitable society that we aspire to.

But the ground reality, a far cry from this, is truly disturbing. Autocratic classrooms, mechanical rote learning, negligible intrinsic motivation, uninspired and uninspiring teaching, learning divorced from reality, characterise, with few exceptions, the vast majority of our schools, urban or rural, private or government, elite or impoverished. If today’s schools mirror tomorrow’s society, we need to be alarmed.



At the same time, there are some promising signs. Voices and actions once limited to individuals and buried in backyards seem to be coming together. The number of organisations involved in efforts to improve schools, often in partnership with state governments, is increasing. Social activism in Education is gathering momentum. Critical issues such as Common Schooling and the Right to Education Bill are being discussed in the public domain. Parents, irrespective of their socio-economic condition, are realising the importance of Education. They are exercising choice, and propelling change by moving their children from dysfunctional schools to ones they see as more responsive to their needs. And reassuringly, a few shining schools continue to show us the right path, despite all odds.



India is on a historic threshold of significant growth, and predictions of our rise as global economic powerhouse abound. Let us be aware, however, that this is not assured, not inevitable. It is the choices we make as a nation today, particularly in the field of Education, that will determine if this forecast finds fruition, and if the enormous opportunity this could open up for the country, will be steered for the greater good of all. The final measure of a nation’s development rests in the well-being of its masses. In India, this represents a large population with minimal social, economic and political choices. Education offers the one possibility of lifting our country from its mire of poverty and inequity, to enable the creation of a society rich in diversity, harmony and opportunity for human potential. As a nation, let us rise above all boundaries, and invest in our ideals and in our future, a future worthy of our past.


Azim Premji