Absolute Return for Kids India

ARK is an international charity whose purpose is to transform children's lives.

The Education Alliance is a project funded by ARK India to facilitate Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in Indian education with a view to improve education quality and widen the set of choices available to the economically weaker sections of society.

Rationale and Mission

The focus of Indian education is rapidly shifting from enrolment to quality. Even though educational access has improved significantly, attainment is extremely low – India ranked 73^rd / 74 participants in the 2009 PISA tests. The gap between private and public schools is also rapidly growing; parents are voting with their feet and opting for private schools. New models of schooling are urgently needed to provide high quality education to the disadvantaged.

In this scenario, the Alliance aims to build and sustain an ecosystem in which private school operators can thrive and expand, and where governments can hold private partners accountable for delivering high quality education in government owned schools. The Alliance is a collaborative effort of the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Central Square Foundation, Omidyar Network and ARK.

Goals of the Education Alliance

1. Collate and disseminate evidence on PPPs: Create a sound evidence base of global research on the impact of PPPs on education outcomes, in order to shape policy.
2. Shape PPP policies: Help design and facilitate execution of PPP policies that work for all relevant stakeholders, particularly children, government and school operators.
3. Stimulate the school operator pipeline: Develop a strong pipeline of quality private operators available to operate schools in the geographies covered by the coalition.
4. Ensure quality education in PPP schools: The coalition will quality-assure PPP schools to ensure delivery of quality education.