Your cover story ‘Smooth launch of India’s pioneer interwoven arts and sciences university’ (EW January) gave an impressive account of south India’s first liberal arts Krea University. It’s a venture of great potential. In particular its unique interwoven curriculum which combines arts and sciences education is an exciting innovation in Indian higher education. Let’s see how it is received by India Inc.

However, the tuition fees of Rs.8 lakh per year are steep by Indian middle-class standards. Krea needs to offer scholarships to attract the best and brightest students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

Shruti Kale
Bangalore

Overdue initiative

Your special report ‘Odisha leads India’s belated VET drive’ (EW January) was well-researched and informative. It rightly highlights the vital connection between poor quality vocational education and training (VET) and the abysmally low productivity of Indian agriculture, industry and labour.

Successive governments at the Centre and in the states have failed to address the issue of providing acceptable quality primary and skills education to India’s high-potential children and youth. Odisha’s VET push is very encouraging and a model for other states. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik and OSDA chairman Subroto Bagchi must be commended for driving this overdue initiative.

Binita Bir
Bangalore

Right collaboration

I am a regular reader of Education-World. I read with interest your Special Report on Odisha’s VET success story (EW January). Once India’s’ most economically under-developed state, Odisha is making steady progress on all fronts, especially in education.

Your interview with Subroto Bagchi, chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority, was revealing. A successful IT entrepreneur and experienced corporate professional, he has done the right thing by collaborating with ITES, Singapore to upgrade Odisha’s ITIs. Singapore’s VET system is the envy of the world and there’s much we can learn from them.

Piyali Bose
Kolkata

Enduring moral force

Thank you for the cover story ‘Mahatma Gandhi’s prescription can revive Indian education’ (EW October) which I read only recently. If you ask ten persons about Mahatma Gandhi, eight would tell you that he freed us from the shackles of British rule. That would be a Himalayan understatement. Bapu strived and struggled all his life to uplift the character and awaken the chetana of the people of India, to make them true human beings. Winning freedom was just a means to this end.

There is not one aspect of human life — from diet to moksha — that Bapu did not meditate upon and present us with the results of his remarkably original thinking and hard practice which he called his Experiments with Truth. To him, truth was God. He never taught us anything without first practicing it. That is why millions follow him even 71 years after his departure. He remains a powerful moral force for the entire human race.

H.N. Dastur
Mumbai

Commendable initiative

Warmest congratulations for the smooth orchestration of the inaugural EducationWorld India Eduresources Star Ratings Awards 2020 in Mumbai on January 9. For the first time logistics (if I may use this word) providers for establishing greenfield schools as well as servicing institutions already in existence, have been unified and accorded overdue recognition. This will go a long way in accelerating the modernisation of Indian education.
We commend you for the outstanding work you are doing in the field of education. This has already begun to have an impact at the national level.

Capt. Raj Mohindra
Raj Mohindra Consultants, Mumbai

Over-estimated demand

Thank you for the wonderful cover story on Krea University (EW January).
However in the story, the number of applications we received for the first batch of School of Interwoven Arts & Sciences is incorrectly printed as 13,000. We did not get 13,000 but close to 1,300 applications. Request you to correct the error.

Kanchi Khanna
Director, Communications and Outreach, Krea University, Sri City

Sorry we over-estimated KREA’s marketing capability and initial impact — Editor