Indira Gandhi Peace Prize carries a cash reward of Rs 25 lakh and citation (File)
Pratham, a pioneering civil society organisation dedicated to improving the quality of education for underprivileged children in India and across the world, has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2021.
"The 2021 Prize is awarded to Pratham for its pioneering work over more than a quarter century in seeking to ensure that every child has access to quality education, for its innovative use of digital technology to deliver education for its programs to provide skills to young adults, for its regular evaluation of the quality of education, and for its timely response in enabling children to learn during the COVID-19 related school closures," read a statement from Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
Established in 1995 by Dr Madhav Chavan and Farida Lambay, it started work in Mumbai slums setting up community-based pre-schools and offered remedial education for students lagging behind in their classes.
Its annual Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), based on surveying 600,000 rural Indian children, is now used as a model to assess education outcomes and learning deficiencies in 14 countries over three continents.
"In basic education, Pratham develops low-cost and replicable innovations, working with the government and engaging the community to improve learning outcomes," the Trust said.
"Pratham seeks to prevent children from dropping out of school, with special programs especially fr girls and women aimed at giving them a second chance to complete their education," it further said.
The jury was headed by former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur
The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in the memory of the former prime minister by a trust in her name in 1986. It consists of a monetary award of Rs 25 lakh along with a citation.
The award is given to individuals or organisations who work towards ensuring international peace and development, ensuring that scientific discoveries are used to further the scope of freedom and better humanity, and creating new international economic order.