Head of Academy visits KIIT and KISS

 

Head of Academy, Dr. Fisher and Head of External Relations and Partnerships Mrs. Leigh Fisher, had the opportunity to engage with faculty and administration at KISS/KIIT in order to learn about Odisha’s ground-breaking approach to education. The visit was hosted by Surjya K. Mohanty, COO of KIMS (Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences) and accompanied by Sanjeeb Mohanty, network IT Head for the Aga Khan Academies.

 

KISS gained university status this year and is now the only university in the world exclusively for indigenous students. Entirely free of cost for students and fully residential, KISS was founded by Dr. Achyuta Samanta in 1993. The first class consisted of only 125 low-income, indigenous students. Today, KISS boasts 27,000 students and 10,000 graduates. Of these graduates, 60% are young women. KISS is also unique in that it provides formal education from first grade to the postgraduate level. Life skills and vocational training remain an important part of the core curriculum, as does an innovative approach to multilingual education. Students are taught in their mother tongue from grades 1 to 3, while from grades 4 to 5, Oriya is taught and English is introduced. Hindi instruction is provided from grade 8. With less than 5% fallout from grades 1 to 10, this educational model is setting new standards in India for creating social change through education.

 

Thanks to the synergy across the institutions of KISS, KIIT, and the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, the visit has opened up the potential for further collaboration with the talent identification and outreach programmes. An invitation has been issued to the KISS management to visit the Academy in Hyderabad as a follow-up.