Two Indian education pioneers have today, Wednesday, August 7, been named among the 10 finalists for the inaugural Asia Education Medal, founded by the United Kingdom (UK)-headquartered T4 Education and information technology major HP to honour an outstanding individual who has demonstrated impact, leadership and advocacy in the field of education.
Who have been selected?
Ashish Dhawan, Founder and Chairperson of the Central Square Foundation, and Pranav Kothari, CEO of Educational Initiatives (Ei), will compete with other short-listed high achievers in the field from Singapore, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Japan and Malaysia for the medal to be conferred in October.
What is the Asia Education Medal?
The Asia Education Medal joins the Africa Education Medal, which was founded in 2022, and a new Latin America Education Medal which was also launched this year as a new recognition in the educational arena, stated a report by PTI.
What has Ashish Dhawan done?
Dhawan's Central Square Foundation (CSF) is among the most important contemporary education philanthropies in India and his nomination recognises the work it has done to successfully champion Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN).
Founded in 2012, CSF played a catalytic role in centring FLN as the primary objective of the K-12 education ecosystem in India, which serves 250 million children.
Additionally, CSF prioritises EdTech integration, aiming to deploy digital solutions for in-class and at-home learning and establish evidence-based practices while harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to augment learning outcomes.
What has Pranav Kothari done?
Kothari's Educational Initiatives (Ei) is an organisation that employs the twin levers of cutting-edge pedagogical research and technology-based solutions to help students across different socio-economic backgrounds learn with understanding.
Through his work, Kothari has sought to address the challenge that while school enrollment has expanded in India with the broadening of the country's education infrastructure, schooling has not translated into learning, stated a report by PTI.
Ei also recognises the importance of high-quality competency-based assessments and deep insights into misconceptions.
