1. What is the problem that you are committed to solving?
The dramatic expansion of educational infrastructure in developing countries has not led to improvement in learning outcomes, particularly in science and math. In fact, learning outcomes in many parts of the world remains alarmingly poor; in India for instance over 50% of 5th graders in school do not have basic arithmetic skills. The skills gap between developing countries and developed countries is particularly glaring; a recent Brookings report estimated that in a business-as-usual scenario, it will take over 100 years to bridge the gap between the scientific skills of average students in India and those in developed countries. Compounding this skills gap is the sheer number of students who will be left behind if radical new ideas are not implemented. According to estimates by the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity, by 2030, over 800 million children in developing countries will reach adulthood without the skills they need to thrive in work and life.
2. What is the solution you are proposing?
Through the Science forAll (SfA) Fellowships, a two-year postgraduate teacher-residency program, Science forAll will train 10,000 new world-class science educators in India by 2025. During the residency, each SfA fellow teaches science and math in 5 low-income classrooms and will in turn directly train 1000 students from low-income schools by 2028. The SfA fellows are trained in STEM pedagogy and content developed by a global network of experts.
3. How will your solution change the world?
The Indian school system is the largest in the world, with over 250 million students in K-12 classrooms today. However, poor learning outcomes imply that in the next decade hundreds of millions of students will enter the workforce without the STEM skills necessary to thrive in a technology-driven economy. This would also lead to millions of "missed innovations" that could potentially transform the world. Science for All will transform the world by providing students with skills necessary to fully realize their potential in a technology-driven economy.
