– Ronita Torcato

It is the role of the state government to ensure that no student is deprived of education, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, commenting on the state government’s recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian winner of the 67th Ramon Magsaysay award.

Founded  in Rajasthan in 2007 by LSE alumna Safeena Husain, Educate Girls is the first Indian NGO to win the prestigious 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award, aka “Asia’s Nobel Prize”.

Recognised for its transformative impact, Husain’s organisation has brought over 2 million girls back to school, broken gender stereotypes in rural India, and boasts a 90 percent retention rate.

Accordingly, Maharashtra’s school education department had signed the MOU with the NGO under the CM’s guidance and the initiative launched by school education minister Dadaji Bhuse.

With the tie up, students who have dropped out of the formal education system, especially girls, will get an opportunity to return to the mainstream.

The partnership envisages a ‘Technical Assistance Unit’ which will be set up to support the Maharashtra State Open School Board to implement various measures and awareness campaigns to reach out to disadvantaged communities and identify students who have not completed their 10th and 12th classes and reintegrate them into education.

The initiative will focus on reaching out to girls, women students and socially and economically disadvantaged groups. To further improve the open education system, educational resources and technology-based education systems and innovative methods will be developed.

The agreement will ensure policy guidance and technical assistance to strengthen the open education system in the state.

Opportunities will also be explored to connect students with various government schemes, scholarships, fee concessions and skill-based courses. This will help increase the employability of the  students and encourage them to pursue further education, chief minister Fadnavis said.

Established in 1957 in memory of the late Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, the award is announced annually on August 31 (his birth anniversary) by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, based in Manila, Philippines. It recognises the “greatness of spirit” shown in serving the people of Asia.

Prominent 2025 Ramon Magsaysay awardees include Shaahina Ali (Maldives) who has been  recognised for her environmental advocacy and efforts to protect the fragile marine ecosystem in the Maldives and Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva (Philippines) a Catholic priest honoured for his work in providing compassion, dignity, and hope to the marginalized, specifically through his work with the homeless.

Also read: Maharashtra: Multilingual learning, scholarships, employment generation