Government of Rajasthan partners with Piramal School of Leadership to create model of excellence for school education in Jhunjhunu

Jaipur (Rajasthan), December 9, 2019: Government of Rajasthan and Piramal School of Leadership (PSL), an initiative of Piramal Foundation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to transform Jhunjhunu district into an ‘Innovation Hub for Excellence in School Education’, over a period of 5 years. The MoU was signed in the presence of Mr.Govind Singh Dotasara, Minister of Education (Primary & Secondary Education), Government of Rajasthan; Smt. Manju Rajpal, Secretary, School Education Department & Language, Library Department and Panchayati Raj (Elementary Education) Department; Shri. Pradeep Kumar Borad, Commissioner, School Education and Rajasthan School Shikhsa Parishad and Special Secretary; Shri. Abhishek Bhagotia, State Project Director, Samgra Shiksha and Additional Commissioner, Rajasthan Shiksha Parishad; Paresh Parasnis, CEO, Piramal Foundation; and Manmohan Singh, Director, Piramal School of Leadership. The occasion was graced by Addl State Project Director (I &II), Deputy Commissioner (I to VII), and all Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors in Samgra Shiksha. Mr. Govind Singh Dotasara, Minister of Education (Primary & Secondary Education), Government of Rajasthan said, “The Government of Rajasthan is committed to institutional and systemic reforms to improve the standard of Education through Samagra Shiksha (SS), with an aim to equip our most important resource - children. We are delighted to collaborate with Piramal School of Leadership, and are confident that this partnership will unlock the potential of our students to play a crucial role in shaping the world in the 21st century. Jhunjhunu is a torch bearer in the field of education in India and is amongst the highest performing districts of the country. We aim to implement a model that promotes all round development of children from the age of 3 to 18, and make Jhunjhunu a replicable model across 723 other districts in India.” Dr. Swati Piramal, Vice-Chairperson, Piramal Group said, “We are delighted to extend our ongoing partnership with the Rajasthan Government in their endeavour to promote quality education, life skills and vocational education for all-round development of children. We have a long standing history with Rajasthan and are pleased to be part of the journey in creating models of excellence in the state’s school education system.” Commenting on this partnership, Manmohan Singh, Director, Piramal School of Leadership said, “We take this occasion to reinforce our commitment to work in collaboration with the Government of Rajasthan. This MoU heralds a new era in our partnership as we envisage to make Jhunjhunu a model district for education excellence in India by implementing several new practices of global standards across early childhood education, socio-emotional learning, entrepreneurship education, and holistic child development.” This partnership is focused on unlocking the potential of the district and equipping students to be the best in the country, and also globally. It aims to raise ‘Future Ready’ children by focusing on strengthening leadership capabilities of School, Block and District leaders, and incubating innovation to improve the emotional resilience and ability of students to thrive in dynamic environments, nurture their creativity, and build essential competencies such as collaboration and compassion. The various interventions are designed to innovate education across early childhood by strengthening Aanganwadi integration, focusing on Foundational Learning in Class 1-5, PISA readiness in classes 6-10 and Career Guidance and Entrepreneurship Development in secondary education. The MoU will focus on two pillars to support district administration to impact all elementary and secondary schools in a phased manner through: 1) Demonstration Schools: Interventions to improve school processes in early childhood education, foundational skill development, PISA readiness, social-emotional and ethical learning, and livelihood & employability education 2) District Transformation: Coach leadership development, facilitator development, planning and governance support, community engagement, and process improvement On the occasion of this partnership, an observation study report on ‘Baste Ka Bojh Kam’, a unique initiative by Government of Rajasthan, was launched by Mr. Govind Singh Dotasara and Paresh Parasnis.