December 3rd 2023.
On Saturday, the School Education Minister of Maharashtra, Deepak Kesarkar, announced that a city-based multinational conglomerate is looking to adopt 5,000 government-run schools across the state. Sources close to the government have revealed the business house in question is likely Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited.
The conglomerate’s charity arm Reliance Foundation is expected to take on the responsibility of providing infrastructure and educational facilities to the schools over the next few years. This comes after the Maharashtra government introduced a scheme which allows philanthropists and businesses to adopt government schools for a period of five or ten years.
Kesarkar went on to explain that the state has immense potential for attracting private philanthropy. He said, “Every year, business houses spend thousands of crores on education and health. The state, on the other hand, has limited resources. While the district administration allocates money to upgrade schools, it’s not enough.”
The scheme stipulates that the donations must be in the form of goods and services, such as basic amenities, educational resources, digital equipment, healthcare facilities, and counselling and training for students and teachers. Additionally, the donors will not be allowed to interfere in the management of the schools.
Despite the potential benefits of the scheme, some educationists have expressed apprehension. They believe it will allow the government to withdraw from the education sector while exacerbating its inequality. They are also concerned about the sustainability of the scheme, citing past instances where donated educational equipment was left unused due to the lack of teacher training.
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