BENGALURU: India is potentially the skill basket of the world for the next decade and if we can unleash those skills we will unleash unbelievable talent in the world, said Rod Smith, Group Managing Director of International Education at Cambridge University Press and Assessment, in a conversation with TNIE.
He highlighted that India is one of the top two markets for the organisation and is looking at massive expansion plans in the next three years.
With the country becoming an education hub, Cambridge International Education is going to set up 1,000 schools across India in the next three years and focus on Tier 2-3 cities. Currently, 10% of Cambridge’s revenue comes from India (650 schools).
The strategy also involves teacher training of 50,000 individuals from the international board, 5 lakh learners (affiliation in different boards), and providing opportunities for 40% of students from the country to get into top universities. The group is also actively looking to contribute to the changing educational landscape in the country and aiding Central as well as state governments on different fronts.
Smith added that the talent in India will not only lead the way for the country’s national ambition but also help solve the skills issue in other countries around the globe. In his top three priorities for the country, he laid heavy emphasis on initiating a climate education programme.
Smith explained that India is a place where climate education can be successfully implemented. “The country has a lot of skills to solve the climate change problem and also India is where climate change will have a profound impact. We are looking at starting through Cambridge schools and extending to non-Cambridge schools too. The first half of the initiative is core scientific knowledge. And the second part is local solutions. This is a global issue with local solutions.”
Climate Quests will be launched in the next couple of days in the presence of 300 Cambridge schools, he added.