Education Policies Do Not Help Much; Action Plans Do: Anil Swarup

“Wherever we see something good happening, we should appreciate it and help it to spread far and wide. Same is the case with education,” said Anil Swarup, Former Secretary, School Education, Government of India, at the School Education Event on Wednesday, February 19.

He emphasized the need for Public-Private-Partnership to bring about improvement in the quality of education. “There are lots of NGOs playing a significant role in facilitating the quality of education at remote locations,” said Swarup. He remembered how Akshara Foundation was helping children by providing quality education but was operating in only two districts. “As a government official, it was my duty to act as the Principal Facilitator and we helped them to grow in several other states as well”.

Commenting on the role of education policies, Swarup said, “We do not need lots of policies on education. What we actually need is an action plan.” Today, education is just generating income for the selected few and not making any impact on the ground. We need to learn from other states which are doing well in education and implement those strategies locally, Swarup said.

Stressing on the government stance on education, the former Education Secretary explained: “I was the 5th School Education Secretary in just 2.5 years period. Since the education does not generate the direct and fast return, the government usually refrains from investing money in it,” he added.

Swarup stressed on the need to efficiently utilize what we have. “By applying a practical approach and picking up learning from others, we can surely raise the standard and the quality of education, Swarup said.