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In the last two decades, with increasing
efforts at achieving Universal Elementary
Education, elementary education has begun
to receive unprecedented attention from
government and civil society organisations.
Significant improvements have been made
in improving access to primary education,
which is reflected in achieving near 100
per cent enrollment and availability of
primary schools within a kilometre radius
for 94 per cent of the children. While this
is impressive, the real challenge lies in
ensuring quality, by making elementary education
accessible, enjoyable and meaningful for
every child, as well as making the institution
of schooling sensitive to the developmental
needs of children and firmly connected with
the local community.
Education has been one of the key areas
of grant making for the Trust, since its
inception. In 2004-05, the Trust commissioned
a comprehensive external review of its education
portfolio by a team of leading educationists.
The review stressed that:
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Elementary
education is a poorly developed discipline
and hence the Trust should focus on
developing the field |
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The Trust should
continue to focus on institution building
in the area of elementary and higher
education and enhance the linkage between
the two |
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The Trust should
focus on systemic reform of elementary
education, by focusing on key gap areas
and entering into partnerships with
the government. |
Based on the inputs received from the review
in identifying key gap areas in the sector
and critical assessment of performance of
the portfolio, the Trust reorganised its education
portfolio into the following sub-themes:
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