Jerry Rawlings once granted an interview in which he explained the motives he had for seizing power and introducing radical reforms in Ghana,.
He said one reason was that he saw massively gifted kids of the poor getting denied acCess to quality schooling exposure and opportunities simply because they lacked the financial/other means (e.g connections) of privileged counterparts from rich homes.
As a result, the country was NOT benefiting from development of its best talents. Rawlings resolved to create a level playing field for all kids regardless of their circumstances.
In Nigeria today we have adults/parents who enjoyed FREE education, but who are actively involved in promoting extreme commercialisation of quality formal schooling in the face of increasingly low quality public schooling systems.
I have long argued that developing nations in particular, that want real progress must remove the “money” factor that limits people’s access to learning.
The best way to achieve this is to explore models like the one described in the BBC report about this FREE world class school facility – setup by the Shiv Nadar Foundation – providing top quality schooling access to learners without discrimination.
Nigeria has a myriad of “wealth-displaying” individuals, groups and organisations with the resources/means to setup similar outfits. Lord knows there are millions of kids that need it.
However, to paraphrase a friend who shared this report on Facebook, one wonders what they do with the immense wealth they possess!
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Is this the world’s most oversubscribed school? – BBC News
The school, set up by the Shiv Nadar Foundation, is completely free, and offers the type of education usually available only to the very wealthy.
Roshni Nadar Malhotra, a businesswoman and trustee of the foundation, says the school has been modelled on India’s private schools, which put students on the pathway to top universities and high-flying careers.
But the VidyaGyan school is open only to the very clever and very poor – which she describes as the “top of the bottom of the pyramid”.