Despite the wide recognition of the importance of education in social development, as a discipline, education continues to be under-developed. Weak linkages between school education and higher education, coupled with the gap between academics and the world of practice, are at the root of this problem. The critical role that higher education institutions play in developing school curriculum and training teacher educators notwithstanding, their interaction with the elementary schools has been far from adequate.

For historical reasons, in India, elementary education has been outside the domain of the university. If issues of quality and equity are to be addressed in our classrooms, the need for strong academic linkages between higher and elementary education cannot be over-emphasised. One of the key recommendations of the Strategic Review of the Trusts' Education Portfolio (2005) was to “support development of education as a discipline”.

Towards this, the Trusts have been supporting research and professional development in elementary education and has partnered with three Delhi-based higher education institutions that constitute the University-School Resource Network (USRN), to create meaningful linkages between institutes of higher learning and elementary schools.

The purpose of USRN is to demonstrate how institutions of higher learning can work with elementary schools in addressing issues of quality and equity through multi-stakeholder involvement.