Bangalore: Infotech Czar and chairman of Wipro Limited, Azim Premji, said on June 21 that only with a quality education system India can prepare the current and future generations to create value for the nation, as the company announced that it is eyeing to re-skill 5.5 lakh teachers in the country over the next five years.

Speaking at the inaugural meet of the "Wipro Forum for Quality in Education", Premji expressed the view that it is the quality of education and what happens in the school that would provide a sustainable solution to the universalisation of elementary education.

Company officials said the Forum seeks to facilitate intelligent and productive discussions and debate on education, and will act as a think-tank to bring about systemic changes in education.

He emphasised the need to equip teachers with newer teaching-learning methods and competencies by which they can help build problem-solving skill among the students.

While teacher is the key change agent in classroom, she needs to be supported by the entire system, the school management, the education boards and the regional as well as national bodies, Premji said.

"If education has to change, then all the dimensions of education, curriculum, evaluation, and pedagogy, have to be aligned to maximise the impact of this change," Premji observed.

The company's Vice-President, Brand and Corporate Communications, Vijay K Gupta, said Wipro has set a five-year target by which it proposed to re-skill 50,000 teachers through contact workshops, and five lakh teachers through distance education.

Gupta said there are plans to reach out to one-lakh parents in the next five years through contact programmes and mailers to train them to help their child, and also influence the curriculum and assessment methods of national and state Boards.

Wipro is mulling to take the project beyond India to countries facing similar challenges in the education field, he added.

PTI