Solution Finder Par Excellence

Shri Eswaran - A Force for Quality Education and Teachers

Solution Finder Par Excellence

Shri Eswaran always believed in providing realistic and tangible solutions that can be implemented rather than just voicing problems or only fighting for rights. He was a visionary and solution-finder par excellence; he did not lead just to striving for economic benefits but took a holistic approach to provide global improvement. One of the many examples of this is in a research report that was led by Shri Eswaran, where “4As” are presented as solutions to the human rights commission in an increasingly privatising education scape. He clearly outlined the “Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Adaptability of primary education regardless of providers or demographics” as the true solution for quality primary education sustainability. This clearly shows its relevance and importance in today’s world. The compromise in any of the “A”s that influence the education of child and student development was quite at the forefront as a serious concern during the global pandemic Covid years.

Education during Pandemic and global health challenges

South Asia in the late 90s and 2000s had massive challenges to tackle HIV and AIDS. Shri Eswaran led roundtables and study circles to find solutions in this region to address this and ensure the inclusivity of these children in mainstream education. In the 2000s, seminal meetings were held in India and Sri Lanka, and special group task forces in Asia Pacific offices to emphasise the importance of education in accelerating the fight against what was then identified as a pandemic in the region. The key to tackling this problem was educating girls and women to empower them to adopt behaviour that was both preventative and to reduce infections to improve survival and quality of life.

Similarly, sustainable and quality education delivery challenges were continually evaluated, identified and reported to world forums to increase visibility and implement tackling measures during swine flu in Mexico, Africa or Asia. These actions on health and education sustenance are highly relevant to the current situation that poses unexpected challenges in an increasingly shrinking world.

Rooted individuals for global citizenship

Shri Eswaran championed the idea of learning in one’s mother tongue to improve one’s intellect, be an original thinker, who are rooted in their original culture and heritage. He communicated in many Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, and Sanskrit but his eloquent speeches and journalistic work in his mother tongue Tamil always enthralled the listeners and readers alike. On international platforms and world forums, he was an efficient and effective communicator in English.

Whilst being passionate about preserving Tamil, Shri Eswaran was well aware the children in rural areas who learned English as a foreign language needed excellent primary school teachers, particularly in the times were literacy rates were poor. In the 1960s and 1970s underdeveloped India was directly tied to employability and making a flourishing career in government or private sectors. Nevertheless, his ambition for rural children and deprived area kids was always uncompromised.

During his time as a rural primary school head teacher, he developed interesting, effective, and realistic teaching tools for primary school kids to learn English, natural sciences and thrive in securing excellent grades. To outline a few realistic and effective measures developed by him for the personal development and well-being of primary school kids are: seeding the sense of

Shri Eswaran strongly believed rural schools could develop self-sufficient infrastructures for sustenance. For example, he brought a radio 60 years ago, which was the first in the entire state for a primary school, so that the young children could have general knowledge, awareness, and basic exposure.

There are lessons to be learned here that can be translated into reality in unprivileged area schools that provide technology-enabled education with improved infrastructure and professional practices. Shri Eswaran’s vision for education and life were holistic, culturally rooted, and highly ambitious.