Madeleine Arnot
Madeleine Arnot is a Professor of Sociology of Education with Cambridge University. She is a prominent educationalist and is involved with the development of equal opportunities in global educational scenario. Her areas of interest include socio-cultural reproduction theory and Bernstein's theory of pedagogy in relation to gender and education. She will chair the Thematic session on "Education and Social Discrimination" and will present a paper on `Women's Education'.
Prabhat Patnaik
Prabhat Patnaik is an internationally acclaimed economist and political commentator. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board. He was born in 1945 in Orissa and was educated at St. Stephen's College and later at Oxford. He has written a number of books and articles on various topics related to Macroeconomics and Political Economy. He will chair the Thematic session on "Impact of Globalization: Changing Character of Education" and will present a paper on `Private Enterprise and Commodification of Education'.
Christopher Winch
Christopher Winch is a Professor and the Head of the Department of Education and Professional Studies. His key areas of interest include Education Policy and Management, Philosophy of Education, Workplace Learning and Vocational Education. He is an editor of the "Impact" series of policy pamphlets and 'Key Debates in Education'. He will chair the parallel session on "Education and Empowerment of Differently abled."
Dr. Gangan Prathap
Dr. Gangan Prathap is the Vice Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology. He was the former Head of the Institution of Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation in IISc, Bangalore. He is the first Malayali to win -'Bhatnakar Award'. He is the author of around 300 research papers. He worked as a scientist at National Aerospace Laboratories for 20 years. He was a member of the editorial board of many research publications. He was a researcher of Jawharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and Indian Academy for Sciences.
Prof. Muhammed Aktar Siddiqui
Prof. Muhammed Aktar Siddiqui is the President of National Council for Teachers' Education. He will chair the Thematic Session on "Education, Development of Skills and Work Culture'. He is a Professor of Jamia Milia Islamic University. He worked as the Director of U.G.C. Academic Staff College and the President of Institute of Advanced Studies in Education. His key areas of interest include the education of minorities and marginalised societies.