Faizal & Shabana Foundation Honoured By UAE’s Indian Business Community For Its Contribution To Education
Faizal. E. Kottikollon and Shabana Faizal, co-founders of the Faizal & Shabana Foundation, were feted by the Indian business community in the UAE for their outstanding contribution to redefining the public education system in India. They were honoured for their path-breaking intervention in transforming the Nadakkavu Government Higher Secondary School in Kozhikode, in the Indian state of Kerala, as the country’s second-best government school.
At a ceremony held in Dubai, Faizal and Shabana received the honour from the chief guest of the function, Sunny Varkey, Founder of Varkey Foundation and GEMS Education. The event was attended by India’s Members of Parliament Binoy Viswam and P.V. Abdul Wahab as well as Dr. Azad Moopen, in addition to several senior business leaders from the Middle East.
Faizal E. Kottikollon, the Founder & Chairman of KEF Holdings, said: “Shabana and I, are honoured to receive the award, and thank the Organizing Committee for recognising our work with the Nadakkavu School in Kozhikode. We are pleased to have created this benchmark of excellence for education in India and will continue to drive our education engagement initiatives across the country as well as in other nations. I use this platform to highlight how important private and public partnerships are to create large scale and accelerated impact across various sectors.”
Faizal added that the public education system across the world plays the key role in ensuring that every child is provided with the opportunity to learn. In India alone, there are 1.2 million government schools to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all. “While governments are focusing on implementing primary education for all, there is also the need for support from the private sector. A collaborative and structured approach to public education is required, that brings together the government and the private sector to ensure schools transform into true learning centers and significantly impact the lives of students.”
This is exemplified in the Nadakkavu school model, which stands as a flagbearer of excellence in education in India and for setting new milestone in its educational support programmes in India. The Nadakkavu Model is now being replicated across 141 schools in Kerala, positively influencing over 300,000 students, and will eventually cover 1,000 government schools in the state.
