JULY 2016 FORBES ASIA | 85MINT VIA GETTY IMAGES
Key to its success is the support of
the chief ministers of the two states,
which together will spend millions on
education this year. Sampark makes
a presentation to the ministers every
quarter, and they each do a quarterly
review of the project. The progress
of the 3 million children is tracked
through an Android application. A
five-year agreement with the states
focuses on an ambitious goal: getting
these two school systems—among the
country’s worst laggards—into the top
five in terms of test scores.
Nayar learned his lesson in 2011
when Sampark rolled out a similar
program for 5,000 schools in Pun-
jab. “We spent a lot of money and got
nothing out of it,” he says. “Learn-
ing outcomes didn’t improve. The
state wasn’t behind the program. So
we added three key components: the
audio device, people on the ground
and a tightly knit partnership at the
chief minister’s level to monitor and
guide the program.” Now, he laughs, “I
have two chief ministers who are after
my life, and both are angry that we are
not rolling out the English program
fast enough.”
Nayar isn’t alone in his quest to
tackle the problem of primary educa-
tion. Pratham, with its motto of “every
child in school and learning well,”
focuses on reading comprehension in
the child’s own language and problem-
solving in math. The Azim Premji
Foundation, supported by billionaire
Azim Premji, works in some of the
poorest districts in seven states and is
involved in everything from textbook
and curriculum development to im-
provements in student assessment.
The Agastya Foundation reaches
rural kids via motorbikes equipped
with laboratories in a box that cover
various science concepts. In another
effort, Infosys cofounder Nandan
Nilekani and his wife, Rohini, recently
started EkStep, a digital technology
platform that uses games, apps and
other tools to increase learning. “In
spite of so many efforts we’ve stillnot achieved universal foundational
literacy and numeracy,” rues Rohini,
who has cofounded several education
initiatives over the past 15 years. “It’s
frustrating and perplexing. We have to
use all the technological tools we can
to ensure that we can give students the
extra help they need.”
The other problem is making sure
the educational progress is main-
tained. “Learning outcomes typically
spike during an intervention when the
extra attention is there,” says Rohini.
“The kids do well when the program
is on. But after that the outcomes drop
off. There has to be consistent follow-
up. The children need a lot of time, at-
tention, care, energy and resources.”
A bigger challenge is that children
don’t come to school regularly. Na-
tionwide, more than 96% of childrenare enrolled in school, but many don’t
attend on any given day even though
the government provides free lunches,
books and uniforms (for girls). The
reasons are many—they live far away,
they’re needed at home to do chores
and watch younger siblings, and pa-
rental involvement is low.
Take Geeta Bhatt’s public school
in Bhimtal district in Uttarakhand.
On a recent Monday only 12 of the 19
students in the school have turned
up. “I would say about 7 or 8 of them
are truly learning because they come
regularly,” she says. The children lose
their notebooks and uniforms. There’s
little reinforcement at home, where
the parents are often laborers, maids,
cooks and drivers in the area. “The
frustrating part is that you teach them
a concept one day and the next dayVineet Nayar’s aim is to get
millions of children to master
the basics of math and English,
while his friend, fellow philan-
thropist and former boss, Shiv
Nadar, takes another approach to
tackling India’s education crisis.
Nadar, who pledged $1 billion to
his foundation in 2013, provides a
completely immersive experience
to a select few middle and high
school students.
The Shiv Nadar Foundation
started a leadership academy
in 2009 called VidyaGyan, a
boarding school at which poor yet brilliant students from rural Uttar Pradesh are given
access to a world-class education complete with exposure to theater, the arts and sports.
The first batch graduated this year, and of the 187 students, 139 averaged above 80% in
their 12th-grade exams. Of these, 53 scored higher than 90%.
The students—whose parents earn less than $1,500 a year—were selected seven years
ago from 250,000 children in primary school. Four are now headed to the premier Indian
Institute of Technology and four were admitted by the London College of Fashion. Many
others will be pursuing university studies in courses ranging from science and engineer-
ing to hotel administration.
Today VidyaGyan has 1,900 students at two campuses. The students typically do not
speak English when they enter, but among the first graduates, 71 scored more than 90%
in English. Nadar’s vision is for his school to mold leaders from rural India—maybe even a
prime minister. —A.R.THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST
Shiv Nadar has committed $1 billion to philanthropy.