World academies

Dear All,

It’s so heartening to come across stories of talented individuals who use their skills not primarily in the pursuit of money and personal elevation, but for doing something to help others and thus somehow making the world a better place. That’s what MIT and Harvard Business school graduate Salman ‘Sal’ Khan did with his Khan Academy, the free online learning site launched in 2009, and what 34-year old British teacher Colin Hegarty is doing from the UK.

Like Khan, Hegarty is somebody with a brilliant academic record who could have built his career in the world of high finance and amassed a personal fortune. He graduated from Oxford with a first in maths, and then trained as a tax accountant and went to work for a large accountancy firm, where he also volunteered in its corporate responsibility scheme, helping students in primary schools with their reading. But he left the world of money and business to go back to college to re-train -- as a teacher. He did this because he realised he was far more fulfilled in the classroom than in the city.

Khan’s venture had developed from his tutoring a cousin. So many relatives had become interested and wanted to be part of the learning that Khan began to put his tutorials on to videos and made them available on YouTube, even though it did not initially to him seem the most appropriate medium to him; he told The Guardian in a 2013 interview "YouTube? YouTube was for cats playing the piano, not serious mathematics." Now Khan Academy offers completely free online tutorials and exercises (in maths, arts, computing and science), available to anybody who wants to learn.

Khan quit his hedge fund work in 2009 and devoted himself full-time to Khan Academy. The financial pressures of doing this were relieved firstly by philanthropic donations to his project (initially by a local philanthropist) and subsequently by support from the Melissa and Bill Gates Foundation and funding and partnerships with other organisations. When Khan was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people of 2012, Gates concluded: "He started by posting a math lesson, but his impact on education might truly be incalculable."

Hegarty too began by making video tutorials for one person -- an A’level student who was going to be away from school, at the bedside of his terminally ill father who was abroad. Hegarty made a series of video lessons which he put on the school’s sharing website and then eventually he created his own website. Hegarty says his aim is to become ‘the Salman Khan of the UK’ and he is committed to the idea of equal opportunity in education. As he told the Sunday Times recently, "Private tuition can help kids but does it always help the kids who need it most? Are you helping everyone equally and fairly?" This idea of fairness underlies this whole approach to education -- as Hegarty says, "We give the same level of education to everybody."

The idea of free online learning is one that many individuals and institutions already subscribe to -- MIT and Stanford are two institutions of excellence offering such free courses, and the whole idea is gaining support. Khan and Hegarty are among many other teachers dedicated to this idea but their stories stand out because of the path they chose -- education and service -- versus the one they could easily have taken -- riches and opulence.

Did they do the right thing? Only if you think that educating and assisting can be termed as ‘the right thing.’ Education can change lives and broaden horizons and improve society. Reading the testimonials and messages on Khan Academy is quite a moving experience. Apart from all the messages from students and parents, there are many from older students too. One of my favourites is from a 72-year old lady who writes, "I am now taking up learning where I left off. Thank you so much for your hard work. Keep adding new subjects."

Wonderful.

Best wishes