An Indian teacher, who is on the short-list of a USD 1 million global prize for teachers, today called on the Indian government to create "new systems" of education that allow everyone to flourish.
Robin Chaurasiya, who runs a not-for-profit school in Mumbai for girls from the city's red light areas, is the only Indian among 10 finalists for the London-based Varkey Foundation sponsored Global Teacher Prize to be announced at the annual Global Education & Skills Forum (GESF) in Dubai tomorrow.
"The purpose of education is not to oppress people, not to cycle systems of pressure that are already in existence that are holding India down. We need to completely create new systems that will allow everyone to flourish and not just recreate systems of oppressions that are already existence," said Chaurasiya founder of Kranti School.
Asked about her plans if she was to win the big prize, she said she would split the prize money with her fellow nominees from the UK, US, Nairobi, Palestine, Japan, Finland, Australia and Pakistan.
"I plan to distribute it with the finalists. I think they are all doing such phenomenal work in regions like Pakistan and Palestine. As much as I connect with my kids so deeply, I can imagine all the other teachers feel the same.
Kranti School, which has 18 girls enrolled between the ages of 12 and 21 years, plans to expand to other red light areas of Mumbai and eventually work towards its special curriculum being adopted around the country.
"Right now we work in our home and we have 18 girls but we want a proper school. The curriculum is ready, everything is ready, we might as well be reaching more students," she added.
In reference to the founder of the prize, Kerala-born entrepreneur Sunny Varkey, she added: "It's amazing that the Varkey Foundation would recognise an alternative school like this. When we talk about education, it's about so many things that focus on careers.
"We are very clear about the fact that the focus should be happiness, which creates compassionate and good people who spread happiness in the world."
The prize was created last year as a kind of Oscars for the teaching profession by the UK-based Varkey Foundation.
"Half a billion children are currently in failing schools. This is simply not acceptable in a world where we're now so interconnected. This forum intends to tackle this head on by asking the simple question of how we can make education everybody's business," said Varkey.
The prize will be announced in Dubai tomorrow, attended by Hollywood stars like Matthew McConaughey and Salma Hayek and Bollywood stars like Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra.
