Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace for 2021

23-Nov-21

Context: Pratham, a civil society organisation dedicated to improving the quality of education among underprivileged children in India and across the world, has been conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 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 programmes 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.

About Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development

It was instituted in the memory of the former prime minister by a trust (Indira Gandhi Memorial 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 a new international economic order.

About Pratham

Set up in 1995, Pratham began its work in slum areas by setting up community-based pre-schools and by offering remedial education to students who lagged behind in their classes.
Its Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), based on surveying 6,00,000 rural Indian children, is now used as a model to assess education outcomes and learning deficiencies in 14 countries over three continents.
To respond to the concerns raised by ASER, in 2007 Pratham launched its flagship programme, Read India, which aims to improve children’s learning by strengthening basic reading and arithmetic.
In basic education, Pratham develops low-cost and replicable innovations, working with the government and engaging the community to improve learning outcomes.
Its programmes now cover children and young adults in 21 States.