Leaning on learning

They say it takes a village to raise a child. But it takes a nation to educate one. The Tata Trusts have been invested in education since 1892, when the JN Tata Endowment was set up to provide scholarships to young Indians keen to go abroad for higher studies.

Today, the Trusts’ education portfolio strives to provide high-quality ‘authentic learning for all’ and equitable access to learning opportunities.

Ensuring quality learning for all children, particularly those from marginalised communities, is a critical aspect of the Trusts’ spectrum of programmes in the education sector. The endeavour is to make schools more accessible to these children, while also providing educational and employment opportunities for adolescents from underserved communities through various initiatives.

The Trusts’ interventions include building capacity among teachers and strengthening the education system as a whole. As part of the larger theme of ‘deepening learning’, educators are provided access to ever-improving materials and pedagogies that enable them to foster a culture of learning.

The Trusts also collaborate with state and central agencies, as well as NGOs and on-ground organisations, to tackle and correct systemic weaknesses in the education sector in India. Much of this is done by building capacity, developing processes and frameworks to standardise learning, and setting up libraries and school development indices that serve as feedback mechanisms for educators.