May 05, 2006 :: Gates opening for schools

Indian tycoons can learn more than business from their American counterparts- philanthropy, for instance. There are some signs that it may be happening. Declaring himself inspired by Bill Gates’ legendary munificence, Sunil Mittal of AirTel has announced the setting up of the Bharti Foundation endowed with Rs 200 crores.

The Foundation will start a series of well designed primary schools throughout India, at an average cost of Rs 10 -15 lakhs to build and Rs 5 -7 lakhs to operate. Beginning with Punjab, the programme will move to the east next.

If ever India needs to be ashamed of a single thing, it is the failure to create a cheerful, caring primary school system. Fortunes made by companies that routinely hit headlines ring strangely hollow and disconnected from reality. The Bharti Group seems to have realised that. Azim Premji’s Wipro is already active in building a primary schooling network.