I’m sure most readers of this letter will agree that five years of uninterrupted publication — indeed survival — of a new genre periodical such as EducationWorld is a noteworthy achievement. That’s the milestone we cross with publication of this Special Anniversary Issue of India’s first education newsmagazine.
Inevitably this is a time of thanksgiving. And it needs to be placed on record that this sui generis publication which came to the brink on several occasions, would have fizzled out and died but for the support of our dedicated correspondents and marketing personnel who have soldiered on in the cause of attaining our mission — "to build the pressure of public opinion to make education the No.1 item on the national agenda" — in adverse conditions and with remuneration packages unreflective of their true market value. Our thanks also to the Manipal Education and Medical Group, my London-based sister Shyama Thakore and Glenn and Sandra Christo who reposed faith and purchased equity in this enterprise several years ago when the nation’s reportedly far-sighted venture financiers and high net worth champions of education in industry balked at the prospect of investing modest sums in this first-of-its-kind venture. To our backers our thanks and assurance that EducationWorld has navigated the most rocky shoals and is all set to take the tide to high seas.
Of course thanks are also due to our advertisers — some of whom have stuck with us for years despite our relatively poor visibility. I believe during the past quinquennium EducationWorld has helped them build their corporate and brand images, even if not sales revenue and incomes. In the medium term this will translate into higher market cap and social respect. Nor should they lose sight of the reality that industry will be the prime beneficiary if we succeed in our mission to universalise and upgrade Indian education.
In this connection this is perhaps an apposite time to appraise our undemanding shareholders and readers of the range of widening activities of D.T. Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd — the holding company of EducationWorld and EducationWorld Books. The books division has successfully published and marketed the specially adapted Indian edition of Quality Circle Time, the whole school behaviour upgradation bestseller of British educationist Jenny Mosley. And this very month as part of our 5th anniversary celebrations, our second book title, 51 Great Careers for the 21st Century is due out.
Moreover together with the socially responsible blue-chip infotech corporates Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies we have instituted the TCS-EducationWorld Teachers Awards and the Infosys-EducationWorld Young Achievers Awards respectively. These awards will recognise and celebrate the country’s best academics and young talent every year. And because we firmly believe that there’s more to education than academics, we have entered into collaboration agreements with the Bangalore-based Sportz Village India and the Nike-Bhupathi Tennis Village to publicise and market their unique skill-sets and services. Several other projects on our drawing board are in the incubation stage.
It’s against the backdrop of this progress report that in our Special 5th Anniversary Issue we present a detailed cover story on a reform agenda for Indian education. Moreover as our special report feature indicates, there is a crystallising all-party pressure group for education reform among young parliamentarians. Also check out our thought-provoking special anniversary columns suggesting ways and means to mend and revitalise Indian education.
No doubt about it. The EducationWorld bandwagon is beginning to roll. Come aboard and help out. It’s patently in the national interest.
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