Varkey GEMS Foundation Launched To Impact 10 Million Underprivileged Children Globally
Padamshree awardee Sunny Varkey's initiative to provide thousands of scholarships to under-privileged children, train teachers and provide leadership development for school leaders in India.
- (1888PressRelease) December 17, 2010 - New Delhi - Padmashree Sunny Varkey, who runs the world's largest private school group has launched an education foundation that will give 10 million children access to quality schooling.
The Varkey GEMS Foundation, a not for profit charitable initiative, was launched by former President Bill Clinton President in Dubai.
The Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education, Sunny Varkey said, "I believe that an education is the biggest gift that a family can receive because it provides them with an opportunity to be lifted out of hardship & poverty. Despite the great economic strides India is making, it is depressing to know that millions of our children have never been to school.
The Country Head of GEMS Education in India, Ajey Kumar, says "With the Indian Government's thrust on primary education, the Varkey GEMS Foundation hopes to support their vision by offering scholarships for gifted yet underprivileged children, teacher training and leadership development. It will also provide policy input through its strategic partnerships."
GEMS Education already works with Pratham, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and Dubai Cares.
Early this year, GEMS Education constituted the Guruvar awards in India, the most valuable teacher awards in the world, to reward and recognize outstanding contributions made by teachers.
GEMS India has 14 managed schools and 7 owned schools across the pre and post operational phases in India. GEMS is working towards expanding its India network to 100 schools in the next 5 years. GEMS India also provides advisory and consulting services to various private sector and governmental entities.
President Clinton said, "There will rarely be people who launch something with so much potential to lift the hopes and spirits and dreams of children as this foundation has done tonight. The benefits from an educated child will affect not only the child itself, but his or her family and the wider community. The Varkey GEMS Foundation's commitment will bring that opportunity to millions more children around the world".
Speaking at the launch, President Clinton said the launching of this foundation in his opinion is the latest happy chapter in perhaps the most important under publicized development of the early 21st century, the explosion of non-governmental organizations; private citizens working with governments to do public good.
The Varkey GEMS Foundation, through GEMS Education, will utilize its vast resources and expertise to provide innovative, sustainable solutions to this important global issue. It will involve its 100,000 students from 125 nationalities, its 9,000 staff and hundreds of thousands of parents.
Throughout GEMS' 50 year history, students, parents, teachers and the Varkey family have raised or contributed in excess of US$50 million for causes that matter most to them. In addition GEMS Education provides scholarships and subsidies to more than 3,000 children in its own network of schools on an annual basis.
Mr Kumar said, "The Varkey GEMS Foundation was established because we believe our charitable work needed to be more structured and strategic in order to meet our goal of impacting one hundred underprivileged children for every child enrolled at a GEMS school".
Born to a teacher couple hailing from Kerala who started their first school in Dubai in 1968, Sunny Varkey was conferred Padmashree award by the government of India last year for his valuable contributions in the field of education.
Sunny Varkey is a board member of Pratham, the largest non-governmental organization working to provide quality education to the underprivileged children of India.
Note to Editors:
About GEMS Education:
GEMS Education has a global network of world class international schools. With 50 years of experience in education, GEMS provides high quality holistic education to over 100,000 students from 125 countries. It employs over 9,000 education professionals, specialists and staff from around the world. The GEMS approach to learning focuses not only on academic excellence, but also in helping students develops their character and creativity so that they achieve their full potential as human beings.
The GEMS Education school model is unique in the world because it offers a broad range of curricula across a range of tuition fees making private education more accessible to the broader community. GEMS Education also supports Governments' education reform agenda by working with Ministries of Education to lift school performance and improve the standards and expertise government schools across the globe. GEMS Education has offices in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, India and Singapore.
GEMS India has 14 managed schools and 7 owned schools across the pre and post operational phases in India. GEMS is working towards expanding its India network to 100 schools in the next 5 years. Other than running its own schools, GEMS also offers total school management solutions where it takes a partner school all the way from project inception to pre operational phase to ongoing operations seamlessly. GEMS India also provides advisory and consulting services to various private sector and governmental entities.
For further information please contact:
Sharmistha Ghosh/Anjali Gupta
9891859626/9873987009
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