EPISODE 13:
Girish Menon
CEO STiR Education: Transforming the lives of 60 million children
“Education systems are failing (to prepare) children to face a world of unknown unknowns.”
Girish joined STiR in January 2021 after five years as Chief Executive at ActionAid UK. He has more than 30 years’ experience as a leader in the international development sector, having previously held roles as International Programmes Director and Deputy CEO at Water Aid UK, where he was responsible for programmes in 22 countries across Africa and South Asia.
Girish was born and brought up in India and started his career with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. He has also worked in India with ActionAid, Plan International and DFID. Since moving to London in 2005, he has also served on the boards of various non-profit organisations. He is currently on the Board of Hope and Homes for Children.
Ep 13. Girish Menon, CEO STiR Education:
Transforming the lives of 60 million children
53% of children coming out of world education systems are ‘learning poor’.
STiR Education is striving to create a world where every child develops a love for life-long learning, through reigniting intrinsic motivation in teachers and building supportive education eco-systems.
It’s goal is to reach 60 million children in public education systems worldwide by 2025.
STIR Education (Schools and Teachers Innovating for Results) was started in 2012, and in just 8 years has reached an incredible 6 million children and 200k teachers across India and Uganda.
In this episode I speak with Girish Menon, the CEO of STiR Education, about STiR’s programmes, aiming to create more effective public education systems where teachers love teaching and children love learning.
We explore the colossal impact the pandemic has had on children’s education and stalled progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal for Education - “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all”.
Over a billion children and young people worldwide have had their education disrupted this past year, over 500 million of whom have no effective access to remote learning. With over 24 million children at serious risk of not going back to school, it is vital that governments of the world prioritise investment in education and education systems.
Girish also shares his leadership wisdom gained over 30 years working in the international development sector.
Recorded February 2021.
