event report
Second National Consultative Meet on Public-Private Partnerships in Education Organised by IL&FS Education and Technology Services Limited
The goals of Universalization of Secondary Education are to provide Quality Education and employability skills – this it is envisaged will meet the requirements of Industry and generate efficient human capital. The 11th Five Year Plan known as the Education Plan has allocated large budgets for the Education Sector and recommended that Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) should be adopted by the Education Sector to reach Quality Education to all sectors of society. IL&FS Education and Technology Services Limited organised the Second National Consultative Meet on PublicPrivate Partnerships in Education on November 21, 2009 in New Delhi at the Ashoka Hotel . The goals were to facilitate creation of viable PPP models and frameworks by the Government and to bring to the forefront the experiences of the State Governments in implementing Government schemes. The Consultative Meet focussed on education interventions like teacher training, creation of teachinglearning materials, and provision of quality physical infrastructure. The sessions provided a platform for deliberations on PPPs and presentation of varying points of view by educationists and policy makers on issues of profitability, trust, and transparency of contracts. In the Inaugural Address, Smt D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development presented the Government of India perspective on education reforms and the importance of providing Quality Secondary Education and employability skills to the students. She explained that in India, PPPs were already in use in education and that the MHRD was exploring efficient PPP Models in Education and that a Draft Policy Document had been put up on 46
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Dr Shabnam Sinha
Shri R C M Reddy, Managing Director, IL&FS Cluster Development Initiatives Ltd and Dr Shabnam Sinha, CEO (Public-Private Partnership Initiatives) IL&FS Education and Technology Services Ltd
the World Wide Web by MHRD for public opinion and comment. During the Inaugural Session Shri N K Singh, Member of Parliament and Member Parliamentary Standing Committee and Prof Narendar Jadhav, Member Planning Commission highlighted the challenges posed by the Education Sector and the adoption of PPPs to meet Education Goals. The three sessions deliberated upon aspects like Quality Initiatives, the State Perspectives on PPP projects and Procurement processes. Participants to each session included Ministers, Education Secretaries, and representatives of international organisations. What emerged was that enactment of the Right to Education Act meant a commitment to provide Quality,
Equity and Access and most important employability skills. The human capital in India must meet the needs of industry – education needs to impart employability skills. A clear understanding of PPP contracts and processes is required across the States and at the Centre and procurement processes and contracts need to be clear, transparent, and implementable. What emerged from the deliberations was - in creation of Policies by the Government, the States must play a leading role as projects are to be rolled out at the State level. Quality initiatives in education need to encompass school infrastructure, capacity building, adoption of IT systems for administration and continuous comprehensive evaluation, vocational training, teaching-learning materials and soft skills. In procurement