DOHA EVERY child is special to us as we believe that producing wellgroomed children will facilitate overall community development, says Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises Limited, which runs the Satya Bharti School Programme, one of the winners of WISE 2012 award.
The Satya Bharti School Programme provides holistic, free-of-charge education to underprivileged children, particularly girls, in rural India.
According to Mittal, Bharti Foundation is a partner in Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s global initiative ‘Educate A Child’.
Talking to Qatar Tribune, Mittal said that the idea of partnering with ‘Educate A Child’ initiative came up during HH Sheikha Moza’s visit to India.
HE explained: “My brother Sunil had an interaction with Her Highness and she expressed her desire for the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) providing primary education to all children in the world. We found that it was a common goal because India too is committed to the MDGs and we are reaching out to marginalised children in the remote areas of the country. So, we realised that ‘Educate A Child’ initiative would be a perfect platform where we could work together, and we decided to partner with the initiative.” He said the programme, which started in 2006, partnered with state governments to complement the nation’s education agenda, adding that the programme has impacted more than 62,000 children 48 percent of whom are girls and 76 percent are from minority communities. “Currently, the programme reaches over 37,500 children in 750 villages in six states of the country. We have 1,500 teachers, who are given 20 days of training every year,” Mittal said.
He said the foundation also supports 71 schools on different projects in some African countries.
Mittal said the program has made positive impacts on the thinking of the local people.
He said: “Parents now feel that their children need a better living. Their attitudes about life have changed positively compared to some ten years back. The programme has made parents and communities aware of the need for high-quality education, and it is developing a generation of educated and confident citizens who are socially conscious.” He added that the school organised many activities such as community development campaigns about illiteracy, substance abuse, child marriages and the status of widows in villages. Mittal opined that the legislation to make right to education as the fundamental right enacted by the government of India two years ago has helped the country to bring many children back to school and almost 93 percent of the children in India are currently attending schools.
He said there were plans to provide vocational training for the children who have completed schooling.
“This will give them opportunity to get trained in various skills and get employment soon after the completion of the courses.” he added.
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