Tata Trusts on December 6th made an announcement that it will provide support to US based non-profit Khan Academy for providing free online education to Indians. Expressing that it is a unique promise, Ratan Tata, emeritus chairman of Tata Trusts said free access to quality education is a compelling opportunity to increase the literacy rate in the country. This is what attracted us to make this commitment.
“What the Khan Academy has created is a concept which provides free education and knowledge to anybody, anywhere. Therefore, for me, as an Indian and as a citizen on this planet, it’s a great privilege. I look at this as a great opportunity where we will do something to create a difference for generations”, he told The First Post.
This collaboration will help Khan Academy to build on their existing resources and tools which will in turn help many Indians. Khan Academy will initially in its first few years focus on designing free online educational resources in English and vernacular languages to help middle and low-income students.
Hedge fund analyst-turned-founder of Khan Academy, Salman Khan said that initially his ideas were perceived to be “delusional” especially when he talked about his desire to provide top quality content for free without subjecting the children to advertisements. However, Khan feels now the times have changed and people are appreciating his efforts instead of mocking him.
