Digital Learning November 2014

Industry Speak

2

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Contents

ISSN 0973-4139

volume 10 issue 11 november 2014

46 ‘Skill Development is not aspirational’ cover Story

P 14

Kamini Prasad, COO, Centum Learning

49 ‘Technology a key enabler’

Fr.Paul Fernandes, S.J., Vice Chancellor, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar

50 ‘Digital India needs champions to drive it

forward’ Shameema Parveen, CEO, Edutech

Special Feature

PreSchool 52 Who’s minding my baby?

54 ‘No clear policy for standalone preschools’

A S Ganesh, Founder and Managing Director, SMARTKiDZ Educare

Heralding a Digital Revolution

56 SMARTKiDZ preschool profile 58 ‘Future holds tenfold growth in the organised

Guest Editorial

7

60 Shri Ram Study World preschool profile 62 ‘Parenting is becoming more outsourced’

Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Principal Secretary, Government of Kerala

sector’ Anurag Sharma and Kushal Suri, Executive Directors, Shri Ram Study World

interview

20 Heading towards modernisation

64 Maple Bear preschool profile 66 ‘Preschools should not be regulated’

Leader speak

68 Little Elly preschool profile 70 Venture capital funds should be seen with

A Shajahan, Secretary, General Education, Kerala

24 ‘I expect wonders over the next three years’

Dr S S Mantha, Chairman, AICTE

30 ‘Capacity building of teachers needs top priority’

Prof M Aslam, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU

Hazel Siromoni, Managing Director, Maple Bear

Vittal Bhandary, Managing Director, Learning Edge

caution’ K V S Seshasai, CEO, Zee Learn

72 Kidzee preschool profile 74 The ‘play way’ to education

32 ‘Increasing the GER without employability unwise’’ Arpita Mittal, CEO, Helen O’Grady

Akshai Aggarwal, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat 76 ‘Aim to reach small towns of India’ Technological University

33 ‘Motivated teachers are what we lack’

Dr A P Singh, Vice Chancellor, Central University of Rajasthan

34 ‘Digital India should begin with higher education’

Prof S Jeelani, Director, Centre for Distance and Virtual Learning, University of Hyderabad

Industry Speak

Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi, Founder, Brainy Bear Pre-School & Activity Club

78 Brainy Bear preschool profile 80 ‘Regulations should not act as a disincentive’

Raman Bajaj, Managing Director, Educomp Childcare

Exclusive interview Towards new-age Kerala

38 ‘Resistance to change and mindsets key

roadblocks’ Lux Rao, CTO-Technology Services, HP India sales

40 Breaking Digital Barriers

Manish Sharma, VP-Asia Pacific, NComputing Inc

42 ‘Document security a global issue’

4

Subramanian Narayanaswamy, Managing Director, TRS Forms and Services

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

P 18

Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister, Kerala

editorial

Asia’s premier Monthly Magazine on ICT in Education Volume

10

Issue 11

November 2014

President: Dr M P Narayanan

Partner publications

Editor-in-Chief: Dr Ravi Gupta Advisory Board

Prof Asha Kanwar, President, Commonwealth of Learning

Dr Jyrki Pulkkinen, Senior Adviser, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Dr Subhash Chandra Khuntia, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt of India Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Executive Vice President, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment

Prof S S Mantha, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Editorial Team education Sr Editor: K S Narayanan Assistant Editor: Parimal Peeyush Programme Manager: Seema Gupta governance Sr Assistant Editor: Nirmal Anshu Ranjan Sr Correspondent: Kartik Sharma, Nayana Singh, Souvik Goswami, Gautam Debroy Research Associate: Sunil Kumar SALES & MARKETING TEAM: digital LEARNING National Sales Manager: Fahimul Haque, Mobile: +91 - 8860651632 Sr Manager – Business Development: Amit Kumar Pundhir, Mobile: +91 - 8860635835 Subscription & Circulation Team Manager Subscriptions: +91-8860635832; subscription@elets.in Design Team Creative Head: Pramod Gupta Deputy Art Director: Priyankar Bhargava Sr Graphic Designer: Om Prakash Thakur Sr Web Designer: Shyam Kishore Editorial & Marketing Correspondence digitalLearning - Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, Stellar IT Park Office No: 7A/7B, 5th Floor, Annexe Building, C-25, Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, Phone: +91-120-4812600 Fax: +91-120-4812660 Email: info@elets.in WEB DEVELOPMENT & IT INFRASTRUCTURE Team Lead – Web Development: Ishvinder Singh Executive – IT Infrastructure: Zuber Ahmed Executive – Information Management: Khabirul Islam event team Manager: Nagender Lal Assistant Manager: Vishesh Jaiswal

digitalLEARNING is published by Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd. in technical collaboration with the Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS).

Owner, Publisher, Printer - Dr Ravi Gupta, Printed at Super Cassettes Inds. Limited, C-85, Sector - 4, Noida, UP and published from 710, Vasto Mahagun Manor, F-30, Sector - 50, Noida, UP Editor: Dr Ravi Gupta © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic and mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without publisher’s permission.

digitallearning.eletsonline.com | egov.eletsonline.com | ehealth.eletsonline.com | events.eletsonline.com Write in your reactions to Education news, interviews, features and articles. You can either comment on the individual webpage of a story, or drop us a mail: editorial@elets.in

6

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

GUEST EDITORIAL

Preparing India for the Future Even after 68 years of independence, India is yet to achieve complete literacy, possibly because the Indian education system still reeks of command and control of yesteryears, with students reduced to being shadows of passive knowledge receivers. But as the country heads for a digital tomorrow riding the ‘Digital India’ wave, it is time to set right all that has plagued the education system for decades.

Higher education in India is witnessing change at several levels. This assumes importance as India is home to about 600 million people under the age of 25 years. Needless to say, the existing system is not capable of dealing with the pressure and is in urgent need of expansion. The country’s young population has an immense appetite for education and with the rising middle class; an increasing number of this young populace is now ready to pay for it. Apart from the demographic dividend, India will also have the second largest number of graduates by 2020 - just behind China and surely ahead of the USA. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts that in 2020, 200 million of the world’s 25-34-year-olds will be university graduates and 40 per cent of these will be from China and India, representing a huge portion of the global talent pool.

As part of the plan to revamp higher education, the government has decided to overhaul its several aspects in the next five years. Prominent among these are quality assurance, international collaborations and new teaching methods. However, it remains to be seen how these plans translate into ground realities. One clear cut direction comes from the ambitious programme, ’Digital India’, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, that promises to transform India into a connected knowledge economy offering world class services at the click of a mouse. Technology and its use have swept all sectors off its feet with education being no exception. In today’s time and age, educational institutions need to concentrate more on quality of education.

From 20 universities and 500 colleges at the time of independence, higher education has panned out into a large system. In a scenario where expansion is rapid and keeping pace with global changes difficult, there is a need to deliberate upon and address the concerns.

Experts have been calling for a new direction to the sector to rejuvenate the education system and help India adapt to global educational challenges. Feeling the pulse of time, the new government is planning to set up an education commission to draft a new education policy. A new policy becomes crucial also because of several changes the Indian society has undergone since the last NEP in 1986 (later modified in 1992). Incidentally, India has been at the crossroads amid waves of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, besides democratisation of technology through mobile phones and the Internet. The new education policy would require looking at the needs, challenges and solutions in light of changing realities.

As new initiatives with global benchmarks are undertaken to meet the expectations of a rising India, it is worthwhile to recall what Noble Laureate Albert Einstein wrote. “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything one learned in school.” He should know.

Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai Executive Vice President & Principal Secretary, Science & Technology Department Government of Kerala

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

7

editorial

Shaping India, Shaping the Future As the country heads for a digital tomorrow riding the ambitious `100,000 crore ‘Digital India’ programme, it is time to set right all that has plagued every sector. Unlike many flagship schemes announced by successive governments since independence, the Digital India programme in one stroke puts every sector and every Indian as its focus to deliver better services and governance so far denied to them.

As an unbiased and clear-minded chronicler of this revolution waiting to unfold, we are headed for the tenth eIndia Summit (http://eindia.eletsonline.com/2014/), India’s premier ICT event at Kovalam in Kerala this month. To be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the two-day event (14-16 November) organised by Elets Technomedia jointly with the Kerala government will see stakeholders in every sector from across the country brainstorm on the way ahead for the Digital India programme. The education track summit will host education policy makers from states and the Centre, vice chancellors from eminent institutions and educators across the country.

Since the inaugural eIndia event in 2005, Elets Technomedia has closely watched and recorded the contemporary India evolve. Thinking ahead, we had strongly advocated the use of information and communication tools in more than half a dozen sectors to create opportunities and improve last mile connectivity in governance, education, health, infrastructure, communication, sustainable enviornment, smart cities and financial inclusion. That was the time when India was gripped by the BPO and call centre phenomenon.

Through the years, we have strived to offer a valuable platform for all like-minded stakeholders to show their achievements, share their success and explore partnerships with others ready to embrace digital solutions. For more than a decade, several thousands of innovators have been honoured by us for their contribution to create a digital India.

Not content being passive observers, we have also acted as an enabler to improve digital ecosystems in India. One instance of our intervention in education is the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI). Under this initiative, we offered expertise and assistance to the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, in the formulation of the National policy on ICT in School Education. Today, it is heartening to see how ‘Digital India’ has envisaged transforming education.

This issue of digitalLEARNING is a special issue on the ‘Digital India’ programme and has a holistic coverage of interviews beginning with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to other top policymakers. We have also engaged with leading educators, academics and corporates who offer their perspectives on challenges and opportunities thrown by this ambitious programme.

This edition of digitalLEARNING features preschool business in India that cries for immediate attention and regulation.

Let us gather at eIndia 2014 Summit set amid the scenic beaches of Kovalam in Kerala.

‘Digital India’ is not merely a flagship programme. It is the collective conscience of an emerging India to democratise basic needs and opportunities and consequently relegate poverty and enable India to be a global hub for manufacturing, education and health.

Let us leapfrog India from a developing nation into a digital nation. See you at Kovalam!

Dr Ravi Gupta Editor-in-Chief Ravi.Gupta@elets.in

8

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

education.eletsonline.com

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

9

nEWS

School

Education

To read latest news, log on to education.eletsonline.com

Indian woman educator bestowed with Order of the British Empire

A

n international educator for over twenty five years, Vanita Uppal has been bestowed with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen of England. Uppal is the Secondary School Principal of The British School, New Delhi. The formal ceremony will take place in November at the British High Commission’s residence in the capital. The British honours system recognises people who have made achievements in public life and committed themselves to serving and helping Britain. The criteria for awards include making a difference to their community or field of work, enhancing Britain’s reputation and changing things, with an emphasis on achievement.

Lack of teachers short-circuits primary education

W

ith less than two months to go for the 2015 deadline of achieving the ambitious Millenium Development Goals, several countries including India are far behind the universal primary education target. According to UNESCO, the world needs 27 million teachers to achieve the MDG. Of this, India alone would need around 3 million primary teachers. Pakistan, on the other hand, needs 1.56 million teachers while Bangladesh needs around 3 lakh teachers to bring students to classrooms. It is estimated that there are 29 million primary teachers working in classrooms around the world. At least 93 countries have an acute teacher shortage.

10

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

CBSE celebrates Rashtriya Ekta Diwas

A

fter having observed October 31 as National Integration Day to mark the martyrdom of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, India seems to have moved on to now celebrate the day as National Unity Day. This comes after the Modi government found its national icon in India’s first Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) celebrated the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) on October 31, 2014. Mass activities were organised by CBSE on two basic themes, “Unity and Integrity” and “Safety and Security”. While the first theme was based on unifying languages, rivers, customs, traditions and events such as festivals, national symbols, connection between individual effort and national growth etc, the latter was based on ideas such as contribution of various constituents highlighting the story of courage and excellence, ensuring safe environment for all, online safety measures etc.

nEWS

Higher

Education

To read latest news, log on to education.eletsonline.com

SAARC aims quality, inclusive and affordable education

E

ducation Ministers and officials of eight South Asian countries resolved to collaborate on increased use of information technology and improving the quality of education at an affordable cost. Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani chaired the second meeting of Education Ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held in October. The meeting was attended by representatives of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India’s initiatives for inclusive education, quality improvement, use of ICT in education, development and sharing of e-resources, connectivity, e-learning and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), mutual capacity building, more exchanges of students and researchers, etc. were also discussed. At the end of a day-long meeting, the ministers issued a joint statement titled ‘The New Delhi Declaration on Education.’ The priority areas of action decided upon include enhancing the learning and development readiness of preschool age children, ensuring education for all, expanding skill development, facilitating mutual recognition of qualifications and mobility of students and teachers and expanding alternative ways of learning like open and distance education.

The First Meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Education/Higher Education was held in Colombo in March 2009. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman of Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission, proposed a SAARC education and research network for sharing information and communication between the member countries. A technical meeting to finalise these plans has been tentatively scheduled for June 2015.

education.eletsonline.com

Cabinet approves School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014

T

he Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in October gave its approval to introduce the School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014, in the Parliament to bring all three Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) within the ambit of the School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014. The bill would adhere to government policies on reservations from time to time. The proposed Act will empower these schools toward degrees through an Act of Parliament. This would enable the SPA to become centres of excellence like IITs, NITs and help fulfill the need of the country for quality manpower in the field of architecture and planning.

All the money spent from the public exchequer will be accounted for and audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Annual report and audited accounts of each SPA will be placed before Parliament.

MHRD launches Higher Education survey

T

he government has kicked off its annual survey of higher education in India. The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2014-15 was launched

by Satyanarayan Mohanty, Secretary, Higher Education on October 27. The survey, undertaken as an annual, web-based, pan-India exercise on the status of higher education since 2010-11, covers all the higher educational institutions across the country. The annual survey collects data on several parameters like teachers, student enrolment programmes, examination results, education finance, infrastructure, etc. Such parameters and the data collected under these come in handy for making informed policy decisions and conducting research in education development.

Council for higher education looks at corporate linkages

V

ice-Chancellors of universities in Kerala have decided to set up a Chancellor’s Council for discussing issues in the higher education sector.

At the end of every three months, the council will present a report on the performance of the universities to the Governor. The council will have as members the Education minister and all vice-c hancellors among others. The council, to be set up at the initiative of Governor P Sathasivam, will encourage universities to establish linkages with the corporate world. It was decided that the council would promote signing of MoUs with corporate houses for establishing linkages. It will also encourage collaborations with international organisations of repute. There will be a Chancellor’s award for the best performing university. digitalLEARNING / November 2014

11

nEWS

School Campus

Education Calling

To read latest news, log on to education.eletsonline.com

Get ready for a breakfast with Dr Kalam

S

tudents in tier II and III towns in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will compete in apps development.

The Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) has joined hands with a group of organisations that organise hackathons in 60 engineering colleges in November in the rural, semi-urban and urban areas in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Winners of these hackathons will gather in Hyderabad in May next to join HyderabadHackers Fest and showcase their apps. The winners of these hackathons will be invited to a breakfast with former President of India A P J Abdul Kalam. Top teams will get the help of experts from IIT-Hyderabad on December 11 and 12 in shaping up their ideas into prototypes.

Siemens undertakes upskilling in Gujarat

G

erman engineering major Siemens will set up six more centres of excellence in Gujarat with an investment of `714.90 crore.

These centres of excellence will be set up at colleges in Morbi, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Patan, Jamnagar and Mehsana. Already Siemens has invested about `500 crore for setting up five such centres of excellence in the state for which MoUs had been signed two years back. These six centres will be in addition to the state government’s already approved five centres of excellence under PPP mode with the co-operation of Siemens Industry Software (India) Pvt Ltd. The main focus of these centres is to train students of different engineering institutes in line with the latest industry needs and emerging trends.

No fun trips

A

usterity measures are not meant for ‘babus’ alone.

The Modi government plans to catch students and train them young. Taking a cue from the government the Central Board of Secondary Education has recently asked principals to ensure education tours is relevant to the course curriculum. “The head of the institution should ensure that the tour undertaken is required for the benefit of students and is related to the curriculum of the course in which such students are enrolled,” said the first of 11 instructions on the circular. So, forget trips to Disneyland or NASA. The diktat comes in wake of a few tragic accidents involving students across the country.

12

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Ericsson funds for IIT students to develop technology

S

wedish multinational provider of telecom equipments-Ericsson will support IIT students develop technology patents and said that intellectual property rights will be owned by the developer team or students. Under the programme, the company will select two projects which will get a funding of `10 lakh each and developers may even get access to its labs for development of the product. “We are seeking to encourage the culture of innovation within the IITs and to support these talented young minds to develop more innovative and relevant solutions for the benefit of industry,” Ericsson head of India Region Chris Houghton said in a statement. Ericsson has invited project proposals in these areas from IIT students across Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Mumbai, Roorkee and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi.

education.eletsonline.com

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

13

industry Cover ss tory peak

Heralding a Digital Revolution There are high hopes riding on India’s ambitious ‘Digital India’ programme. It is the government’s belief that this programme can potentially revolutionise education in India.

India can ill-afford to ignore education anymore. A man with a humble background, Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows what ‘democratising basic needs and opportunity’ mean for a billion plus fellow Indians. However, there is a lot of ground that he needs to cover for this programme to turn into a digital revolution, writes K S Narayanan of ENN

14

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

education.eletsonline.com

Ashish Dhawan, CEO, Central Square Foundation “The government must start with articulating a strategic and holistic vision for use of technology in advancing the school education reform and not just making our children digitally literate”

F

rom kindergarten to higher education, a typical classroom in India has traditionally been about being crowded like a mini-auditorium, boring monologues by teachers and professors and students usually divided in their attention. Things, however, have slowly started to change now.

Contrary to pre-conceived notions of a land immersed in black magic, the great Indian rope trick and medievality, there is a new trend that is catching up fast in India. As digital technology permeates private schools and universities, both learning and teaching have become fun and easier. Educational institutions slowly begun embracing digital solutions for academics and campus management. This includes enrollment, attendance, teaching-learning process, managing curriculum and holding assessments and examinations. Many campuses have also started to slowly adopt hi-tech solutions.

Amid this wave of optimism that seems to have gripped India right since the announcement of this programme, one should not forget that there is considerable ground that needs to be covered. India has failed and has faltered on several grounds with regard to the Millennium Development Goals. As per Census 2011, India has managed a literacy rate of 74.04 per cent against 64.8 per cent in the previous census operations in 2001.

Anand Sudarshan Founder & Director, Sylvant Advisors Pvt Ltd “I believe digital connectivity for each individual is equal to a fundamental right. The world is rapidly morphing into a connected world and, as a nation, we have the collective responsibility to respond to this change. Else, we will have added one more dimension - the digital connectivity dimension - to those who define the haves and have-nots”

This, however, does not imply that all of them have attended school or hold degrees. The Census document itself states that it is not necessary for a person to receive any formal education or pass any minimum education standard to be considered literate. According to an estimate, 4 per cent of India’s children never start school, about 58 per cent don’t complete primary

R. Sreenivasan Chief Innovation Officer; Co-Founder, CL Educate “I would want to call it ‘Connected Bharat, Enabled Bharat, Empowered Bharat’ rather than DIGITAL INDIA” education and 90 per cent don’t finish school.

According to a UNESCO report, India needs 4 million teachers to keep children in classrooms. Those who do go to schools hardly gain much in terms of their learning outcomes.

This stark reality has been repeatedly pointed out to our Oxbridge policymakers who do not appear in sync with ground realities. The Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) brought out by Pratham since 2005 has pointed out time and again that much of emerging India can’t read and do basic math and that going to school is not the same as learning.

Similarly, in higher education, graduates passing out of enginneering colleges have not been found job-ready. Though policies have been scripted and funds allocated, the last 68 years of independence have failed to yield desired results.

Having stormed to power bringing to an end years of decision and administrative paralysis, the BJP government has set the tone for for a digital revolution in India – one that aims to impact the lives of 1.2 billion plus Indians. “‘Digital India’ is not an elite concept anymore. We have to use this idea to revolutionise health and education in India. Use broadband for education for rural areas, and telemedicine for the poor,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his maiden Independence Day speech.

Despite being a cell phone nation, India is also home to the largest non-Internet user population in the world. According to US-based global management consulting firm McKinsey, an

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

15

industry Cover ss tory peak

Pooja Goyal Founder Director, Intellitots, IntelliMinds “Digital tools offer significant opportunity to bring education to every corner of the country. MOOCs are a good example of learning and breaking the barriers of classroom walls”

comes to the education sector. The reason being a conspicuous silence on the deadlines for delivery in the education sector.

For instance, providing broadband connectity in schools or the digital literacy programme have no deadline.

While there may be lack of clarity on when these programmes fructify, there is one important area that has already been operationalised. This is the National Portal for Lost & Found children which has already been created. Although it is yet to be seen how successful we are in being able to track down thousands of missing children in the country who are forced into child-labour, prostitution, drug-peddalling etc., there is at least a beginning.

Huge Market Potential Pegged at an overall cost of `1,00,000 crore, Digital India in-

estimated 1.1 billion Indians remain offline, mostly in rural areas. The government’s digital push is aimed at bringing this population online. This is a major chunk of India’s populace that lives on less than $ 2 per day and it is this section that Modi aims to democratise basic needs for and provide opportunities that have been denied to them so far. “A digital India will enable us to compete with the world,” Modi asserts. The programme promises to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Of course, both Modi and India badly need the programme to succeed as it has the potential to act as the means towards qualitative improvement of the delivery of basic services, accountablity and overall governance.

Unlike many populist and hyped flagship programmes in independent India, ‘Digital India’ is unique in many aspects. The focus is making technology central to enabling change. Digital India is an umbrella programme covering many departments with the common branding highlighting its transformative impact.

To transform education, Digital India offer plans to connect schools with broadband connectivity, free WiFi in all 2,50,000 schools and develop pilot Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs). It also promises to provide WiFi in all universities and bring them all on the National Knowledge Network (NKN) and convert school books to e-books. To bring the rural youth into its fold, Digital India also proposes to train them for IT jobs.

In essence, the programme covers a wide range of areas that it seeks to develop under its ambit. What is heartening to see is that many of these ambitious plans also have stringent deadlines for delivery. However, there are doubts when it

Sundar Krishnan Director, American India Foundation “America India Foundation’s Digital Equaliser programme is a vision to provide oppportunities for underprivileged children in India and enhance their learning through technology. Through this Digital Equaliser programme, we are trying to bring in unity between the haves and have nots. My own pledge is to digitally unite 1.3 lakh schools in India” volves high-speed Internet access and offering government services online. “The sheer opportunity that Digital India will create will also become a great business proposition,” Communications and Information Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently noted. According to one estimate, India’s

Geethika Bahuguna GM, Quality Support Programme, Bharti Foundation “We are working with lot of government schools. We need to change the mindset of teachers to adopt digital technology though students are fascinated by it”

16

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

education.eletsonline.com

Sanyogita Sharma, Principal, Delhi-Surajkund Road, Faridabad Manav Rachna International School “The most important challenge for an educational institution (schools in particular) would be to guide the students on WHAT to see on the Internet rather than WHERE to see” online education market size is set to grow to $40 billion by 2017, up from the present size of $20 billion.

No wonder, digital czars from Sillicon Valley, such as Amazon.com chief executive officer Jeff Bezos, Microsoft Corp. chief executive officer Satya Nadella and Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg have recently been seen making a beeline to visit India and meet with key government functionaries. This is being seen as a move that could only reboot their global profit enginees.

Needless to say, business opportunities to be unleashed by Digital India for those in the education sector would involve firms depending on the nature of their services or products.

This would primarily include digital content providers, software technology providers and infrastructure companies.

A key question is whether the Digital India programme allows big MNCs to exploit new opportunities here or will it create a class of new entrepreneurs as has been done in China?

More importantly, can India uphold its digital soverieignity or is it happy playing the emerging market for the Big Boys of Sillicon Valley?

One of the long-term visions should involve building the infrastructure locally by Indians. For instance, India Post (India’s Postal Department) can provide citizens with digital cloud and e-mail facilities instead of asking them to sign up for Gmail or

Ryan Pinto CEO, Ryan International Group of Institutions “We will ensure that through our schools, we will focus on digital pedagogies, professional development of teachers, suitable curriculum, classroom management techniques etc. to ensure that these become accretive to the education experience and add value to the students not only in cities but also in remote villages in India”

Yahoo services etc. Also, why not allow India’s homegrown software giants build these services?

Challenges Some of the key challenges include building data centres, man-

Dr Neeta Bali Principal, G D Goenka World School “Digital India programme is a ground breaking initiative by the Prime Minister. We, as educators and facilitators, are learning a great deal from our students too who are digital natives while we are digital migrants.

They are well ahead of us” aging security issues, safe and sound cyber laws and training government staff on protocols, data use and the legal ramifications of data breach. More importantly, for true success of the programme, the government will have to work on the basics.

Mckinsey estimates that a total of 4 billion people in the world don’t have access to Internet - India accounts for 25 per cent of them. As India gears up for 4G, network coverage is poor in villages as most service providers don’t have the fiber lines covering those parts of the country, the report adds.

Till date, we have had no programme that has been conceived on this scale and magnitude, and the Modi government is aware of hurdles and bottlenecks in the Digital India implementation. To micromanage technical issues, the government has decided to appoint ten Chief Information Officers (CIOs) at key ministries to supervise the implementation. Besides, a Digital India Advisory Group (DIAG) would also be created, which will be headed by Minister of Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad. Of course, the presence of the Prime Minister is an assurance that it does not end up as only hype or as a pipe dream like many schemes in the past.n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

17

industry Cover ss tory peak

Having set off his political career with the Kerala Students Union, which he served as President from 1967 to 1969, Oommen Chandy is now a 10-time legislator and is currently serving his second term as the 21st chief minister of Kerala. Prior to being sworn in as the CM for the first time in 2004, he was also part of four different governments holding diverse portfolios and several constitutional positions.

Towards new-age Kerala In an informal conversation with Elets Technomedia CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Dr Ravi Gupta, and Nayana Singh of Elets News Network, the septuagenarian politician reflects on the strides Kerala has made vis-Ă -vis development, mistakes that previous governments made with regard to ignoring the power of IT and the measures initiated to offset losses from follies of the past

Tell us about the state of overall development in Kerala and the pace of infrastructure creation.

Our investment is very low and leads to unemployment and lots of development issues. This time round, we are putting thrust on social sectors like education and health to keep up the pace of development. We are also giving due importance to infrastructure development. The upcoming Kannur International Airport will be the fourth international airport in a small state like ours. Kochi Metro will be another feather in the cap of the state.

We have acquired almost 55 per cent of the required land for the Metro project.

18

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

education.eletsonline.com

Then, there is Millennium port – a dream project of Kerala, which will be getting final clearance in the days to come. We want to commence actual construction work early next year. We had also been planning Monorail for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, but some feasibility issues cropped up. So, we have shifted to light metro now. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) is ready and plan approved, and the Cabinet will clear the project for the two important cities soon.

Coming to strengthening the national highway network in the state, the main problem is land acquisition. Land is very scarce and costly. Some people are not happy as they demand more, which is too costly for the state. So, we have worked out a different plan for acquiring land for the expansion of national highways. In short, we have commenced infrastructure development in Kerala in a big way.

“We top the literacy and education chart, but we are amongst the last in terms of introduction of IT in different sectors.

That’s why, now we are keen to develop the IT sector.”

Kerala has a large number of expatriates. Do you have any plan to retain the local talent?

In Kerala, youngsters have not been very keen entrepreneurs traditionally. They either go for degrees to get government jobs or seek visa to go abroad. But of late, we are witnessing a shift in the attitude of youngsters in the state. In September 2012, the Prime Minister unveiled the student-entrepreneurship policy and launched “Emerging Kerala” project. I also pushed the student-entrepreneurship policy with a view to turning them into job-creators instead of jobseekers. The response was very encouraging, especially in the second year of the policy.

We convened a big summit on September 12, 2014, named “Young Entrepreneurship Summit” (YES) and it was a great success. It was attended by some 4,500 delegates as against our expectations of 2,500. A new trend is here, and we are encouraging the startups.

Can you tell us something about the IT parks in the state?

Thiruvananthapuram Techno Park is best not only in India but in whole of Asia. As this Techno Park is full, we are planning another techno park city here. An info park in Ernakulam and a cyber park in Kozhikode are already under way. A smart city is also coming up, and a Dubai company has been provided 256 acres of land. The first stage of smart city is to be inaugurated in March 2015. We are fully satisfied from changes taking place in the development arena.

What about healthcare facilities in the state?

Literacy in the state is cent-per-cent and there is no starvation.

However, according to our assessment, healthcare is one of the

most important issues in today’s Kerala, as a large number of people require government assistance in this area. Although world-class healthcare facilities are available in Kerala, owing to financial problems, those are not available to everyone. A large number of families are yet to get access to health services in the state. So, we are planning a host of healthcare programmes. When we came to power in 2011, there were only five government medical colleges. We have decided to set up 16 government medical colleges across the state. We intend to provide free healthcare services to the common people, including free medicines and other facilities.

How do you think IT can help improve governance in Kerala?

We lost lot many opportunities to develop IT network in the state, as since the 1980s, CPM opposed computerisation. They said computer is enemy of the youth. And, it was the time when other states excelled in computerisation and IT sector. We top the literacy and education chart, but we are amongst the last in terms of introduction of IT in different sectors. That’s why, now we are keen to develop the IT sector. We lost our chances in the past, but we will make it up through expeditious implementation of e-governance in Kerala. The Government of India has decided to make 50 districts of India e-districts, and among those 50 are 14 districts of the state. We are giving adequate importance to e-governance to ensure better delivery of citizen services. Akshaya service, first started in Kerala, is a model to the country. People living in villages are also getting excellent services…we want to take it forward.

You are also directly looking after the Science & Technology department in the state. What are the notable interventions in these areas?

The Science & Technology department in Kerala was established in 1972. Over the last three years, the department has added four premier institutions. To strengthen education and research in Basic Sciences, a new institution, Srinivas Ramanuja Institure of Basic Sciences (SRIBS) has been established at Kottayam. This is modelled on the lines of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. For felicitating technology transfer, in collaboration with Science & Technology department, Government of India, the State Centre Resource Institute of Partnerships in Technology (SCRIPT) started functioning in Trivandrum. To add value addition to the costly mineral sands of Kerala, a research & development institution, namely Critical Minerals Research Institute (KSCAT), was established for felicitating education, empowerment and employability of differently abled people, particularly the blind and visually challenged. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

19

industry Cover Ss tory peak

Heading towards Modernisation The imminent need in the field of education in Kerala is modernisation and the state is heading towards it, says A Shajahan, Secretary, General Education Department, Kerala, in conversation with Nayana Singh of ENN Please give us an overview of operations in your department?

We have around 12,000 schools under the direct management of the government. 62 per cent schools are in the government aided sector. Aided sector means the school is managed privately and salary to teachers is given by the government. 38 per cent schools are government and 62 per cent are government aided schools. 11,999 schools up to class 12 are in our system. Apart from that, we have some CBSE and ICSE schools, which are permitted to function in Kerala with the permission of the government. In Kerala, schools are operated under the purview of state education rules. There are state-specific education rules that require minimum criteria to be fulfilled to set up a school in Kerala. Kerala has comprehensive procedures for the education sector as stipulated by the Right to Education Act. We have achieved 100 per cent enrollment with cent percent retention and less than .5 dropout. We are even making efforts to bring the dropout students back into education. For general education development, there are institutions like State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT), State Institute of Education Management and Training (SIEMAT) and a special project termed ‘IT at School’. We have a unique educational channel under this department and are planning 17 hours telecast under the channel named Victers. The equipment for IT facilities like computers, smartphones, and broadband connectivity has been accomplished in the state. In addition, we are also providing ITbased training to teachers through Victers.

20

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

What are the new schemes or initiatives that the state government has launched towards digitisation at the school level?

We have come up with a scheme of UID for all students and have already covered 90 per cent UID for enrollment. We have a software solution that has complete database of teaching and non-teaching staff of Kerala. We have also captured the database of all school infrastructure including furniture, building, equipments, etc., for any further planning of the schools. We have introduced IT text books for conducting examination for IT as a subject. We are also implementing SSIRMS, MP, MLA and local body funds for provisioning better education in the state. The administration of the school is distributed among local bodies. For operational ease, we have a good system of decentralisation that enables a project to be managed better.

Education sector in the state is one of the best in the country and the state has the highest literacy

rate. What is the reason for your success?

Traditionally, in the state, promotion of education has been given highest priority by missionaries and community educationalists. The geographical condition of the state and its socio-cultural exchange by the means of trade relations with China, Sri Lanka, and Middle-East have also exposed the state to development outside and created an environment of development. The state is even in direct influence of western civilisation since the arrival of Vasco da Gama to Calicut in search of America.

What is your vision for future development of the state in terms of education?

Quality is an important issue to be catered to. As we are into the third generation of education, the public see scope in English medium schools which are more in demand now-a-days. Technology and physical condition of school is another big issue in Kerala education. We have school buildings that are approximately 50 to 100 years old. Some schools here even belong to the 11th century. We have to modernise those schools. One such example of a school modernised with public participation is a girl school in Calicut, where alumni and school foundation has invested `15 crore and have led the school to international standards.

The state education department, with the help of associations like IIM Calicut, is devising programmes to train teachers for the modernisation of schools. So, imminent need in the field of education in Kerala is modernisation and we are heading towards it. n

AL

KER

27

SCIENCE C O RESS NG

A

industry advertorial speak

Development Initiatives: The Pathway to ‘Skill India’

I

ndia stands at a profoundly significant juncture which can define its future and accelerate its growth, unlike any other phase in history we have seen so far. In view of unprecedented possibilities, we also face the same old issues which plague us, as usual. For a country embarking on growth juggernaut, based primarily on the idea that the largest part of our population is constituted of youth, it is challenging enough to equally and adequately skill the young population in such large numbers. On the one hand, it is a documented fact that 10% of our general graduates and 15% of our technical graduates are readily employable. On the other hand, it is found in survey after survey that 48% employers find it difficult to recruit in India. There is a large skills deficit staring at us while we bask in the glory of changed circumstances.

Appreciating the scenario a decade earlier, Station-e was envisioned to provide complete skilling solution for India. As against the conventional education system that privileges marks and grades, we had decided to focus on actual learning because it is tangible learning that translates into tangible skills. In order to ensure that the youth of the country becomes readily employable, Station-e conceptualized training programs ranging from Communicative English to Call Centre Training, from Vedic Mathematics to Computing Skills, from Interview Skills to Leadership. After the launch of Station-e a decade ago, we have implemented salient and wide-ranging training programs to address the diverse needs of the country.

In the attempts to upskill India, we have made ample use of the differentiator of the present age- technology. It is the deft use of technology and its blend with human intelligence that determine the success of any and every project today. Statione’s campaign to skill India has served its purpose due a considerable extent to the integration of cutting-edge educational technology in the training and learning of the aforementioned courses. Station-e Skills Development Centre (SDC) is the next generation lab in which skills development is defined and redefined with the use of technology. Every activity and every process is powered by the harmonious integration of technological prowess and human excellence. Each learner is empowered and armed by sophisticated tech tools to learn and deepen the

22

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Dr. Haresh Tank, Director, Station-e Language Labs & Vice Chairman, CII, Western Gujarat Zonal Council learning that takes place with complete and total customization, unheard of so far in the space of education and training in India.

Where India lacks in digital space is in imagination. We have simply not been able to imagine how innovatively and creatively we can apply and integrate technology in education and training. Our conventional structures and processes have lost all the charm because the world went digital decades ago and we still continue to languish in the 20th century practices.

India definitely lacks in infrastructure but India does not lack in talent to find a solution around the difficult situation that the country usually offers when it comes to implementation.

We have been skeptical in making a drastic break from the past in terms of full-blooded integration of digital tools in education and training. If Station-e has been relatively effective and successful in skilling India in the decade-long run across education institutions – schools, colleges, universities etc, it is primarily because we chose to break new ground using digital means.

How we wish to see the program go forward is that Station-e becomes instrumental in upskilling India with an accelerative thrust not witnessed in the recent past and the scale of which should put us past competing economies in terms of ‘Scale, Speed and Skill’. The growth of this breath-taking society and exemplary democracy lies in the skilled hands and trained minds of the youth. We see the Station-e skilling campaign and its initiatives going forward to reach its culmination in the next decade and enable the fulfillment of the aspirations of its people. n

industry leader sspeak peak

‘I expect wonders over the next three years’ I will act as an enabler and an important cog of ‘Digital India’, says Dr S S Mantha, Chairman, AICTE, in an interview to KS Narayanan of ENN The Digital India programme is on ground now. What, according to you, will it take to make this programme successful?

It is a great idea to connect every corner of the country. Digital capability is important as a growth vehicle. A lot of fibre runs across the country. That infrastructure is in place. A lot of value applications developed by different bodies are there in education and other sectors. What needs to be brought into this space is the last mile connectivity. Many of our institutions have a certain bandwidth with them through service providers.

What government should aim is connecting each of these institutions together.

It will first allow you to share information across institutions and select 500 best institutions excluding IITs and NITs and share best practices, R&D experience and good faculty. For this to happen, you need best last mile connectivity. I am stressing on this because we cannot start off a lecture and link breaks after 10 minutes on account of power or data failure.

Anytime timeframe we should look at before we call it a success?

A lot of infrastructure is already in place.

What we need are cutting edge applications that reach the common man down the line and certain applications that are nationally important and industry specific.

A lot of success comes when there is a will.

I expect wonders over the next three years.

How do you see yourself contributing towards Digital India?

I am part of the entire development process. Therefore, as a chairperson of the apex technical education body of the country, I will act as an enabler and impor-

24

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

education.eletsonline.com

sultancies they offer to industries. Very little happens as of now. It is limited to IITs and government aided institutions.

What are the challenges that I don’t expect every institution to tie up need to be addressed to revamp with L&T, Siemens etc. I know it will not technical education in India? happen. There is a huge medium, small, Technical education in India has seen micro enterprise sector in India. If I asa lot of expansion. As a result, access is sume one institution tying up with one taken care of. Any student who wants to MSME in the district, it helps both. Instistudy engineering, technology, pharmatute will understand what is happening ceuticals or architecture has the opporin MSME and industry benefits because tunity to get into any college. However, they get additional inputs and can even 90 to 95 per cent of technical institutes expand and employ from these instiare in the private sector. Over 12,000 tutes. institutions in India have been set up in In our country, there is hardly any the private sector and 1,000 are governproduct created. Most of the research ment-run or government-aided. Funds is faculty and not industry/product/ What innovative measures do to these institutions are difficult in both patent-oriented. So we need to look at you advocate to ensure better the sectors as many of them are locatGermany’s “Fraunhofer Model”. Under technical education? ed in rural areas. There are additional this model, there is an institution at the One factor which puts Indian instituchallenges of getting faculty, retaining, centre. This institute sets the goal for tions at disadvantage in terms of ranktraining and re-training them, indusproductisation and acts as coordinator. ing is quality parameters. Any institrial internship for faculty and students.

Take combat recovery vehicle which is tution can grow provided there is a So, while accessibility issues have been imported into India today addressed, quality issues as an example. I would persist.

“In terms of accessibility, we have brought want to manufacture it down the entry level percentages. Now at the here. Every system can be How do you address discretised into electrical, quality issues? end of four year period, to expect students control and so Quality is not limited to who comes out of this setup to be of quality is electronic, on. Smaller centres look at physical infrastructure in asking for too much” each of these systems and terms of good classrooms design the sub-system. and labs. One important facThese sub-centres will tie up with approcross-cultural mix of students, faculty tor is good faculty and good students. priate industries. Very tough deadlines and so on.

Faculty has its own aspirations. Faculty are drawn and pilot is implemented by We have made some interventions by looks at career prospects and wants their the central institute while manufacturallowing vacancies to be filled by foreign own children to get into good schools. ing is done by whom they have tied up students by allowing 15 per cent over They also look at the research and develwith. So, a huge ecosystem is created for and above supernumerary seats where opment facilities available at these instiproductisation. This results in new prodthere are no vacancies. Both the governtutes for them. Providing all of these in ucts and improves the job market. ment and institutions need to go to SAAa rural set up is a challenge. Retaining RC countries and get students. Our eduthe faculty is another challenge. So we Is India adopting ‘Fraunhofer cation is way ahead of what they have. see many students migrating from rural Model’?

Therefore, we have to create an enabling to urban areas. Expansion is also hapWe have created council resolution to mechanism. Similarly, we should also inpening in cities with existing colleges create five to six centres in different parts vite faculty from UK, US etc to visit our adding more classrooms, campuses and of the country. We are talking to governinstitutions for at least one semester and courses. As a result, finding students for ment. Once necessary approvals come, not one-day visits. It will bring best pracinstitutes in rural areas is a new chalinstitutes will take off. tices and raise the bar. lenge. A lot of job opportunities in the Innovation and research by secondary and tertiary sectors have to What about financing it? universities drive economic grow in rural areas as well. Unless that Initial finance can be from central govgrowth in many South East Asian happens, the quality aspect in the rural ernment or bodies like AICTE. Once it is economies. What about India? sector is difficult to monitor. In the urban set up, it should run on PPP model and We should also have strong linkages areas, there are good colleges. Cost of each sub-centre should become a profit with industry. At least our best instituliving is high and a teacher, who is good, centre. n tions should have revenue from conwould expect respectable salary to take tant cog of ‘Digital India’.

care of his or her needs. So, institutions will have to cut a compromise between these requirements. Good institutions will grow while institutions that look at academics like any other job would not succeed.

My own belief is that quality of an institution is also based on student intake. . We need to look at technology enabled mechanisms. Faculty should also be encouraged for industry internships for three months every two years to get an understanding of the market and the demand it places on students. This would improve the quality matrix.

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

25

Higher Education industry speak

India’s Achilles’ Heel

Higher education in India is at a crucial juncture at this point of time. On one hand is the mammoth task of making India’s young future-ready and on the other, challenges that seem insurmountable.

Elets News Network takes an eagle’s eye view

N

ews headlines and analyses in the past few months since the new government came to power have been laden with information about ways that the new government programmes are going to transform the face of the nation in coming years. In the education sector, there is a buzz about the transformation that the Digital India programme is going to bring about. Digitisation of educational services and curriculum is a welcome move. However, lack of technology alone is not what ails this vital domain.

India’s education sector is amongst the biggest in the world. The number of higher education institutes too is high. The challenges are several and most of them are linked to the basics – accessibility, power, availability of teachers, infrastructure, so on and so forth. These are issues that have existed for long and the problems – especially in rural and tier II and III cities is only compounding.

Lack of proper colleges, staff crunch and uncertainty has acted as the biggest hurdles for students in higher education. Finding good, motivated teachers and retaining them is getting tougher by the day. Higher education acts as a vital link between the aspirations of young India and the demands that the industry places on them. The integration of vocational courses with formal education is one issue that has captured the imagination of the government and the nation alike. The increasing number of technical graduates being rendered unemployable by the industry must act as a wakeup call. We must realise that there is a difference between creating a skilled workforce and an army of clerks.

Higher education institutes either funded or aided by the state or central governments also need greater assistance and autonomy to function. Too many regulations and bureaucratic machineries Getting Future Ready at all levels have plagued this sector for long and this is something that India can ill-afford. Higher d By 2030, India will have the largest population investment in this sector will be crucial to developin the world in higher education ment and improving quality standards and learn d Rapid industrialisation would require a gross ing outcomes. Research and innovation need to incremental workforce of 250 million be ramped up across universities if we really see d Transformational and innovative interventions ourselves competing with the rest of the world. would be required across all levels

d India will need a robust higher education system that can deliver on multiple imperatives d 23 Indian universities are among the global top 200, up from none two decades ago d India is a regional hub for higher education, attracting global learners from all over the world

28

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Each of these issues assumes importance as they will define the future roadmap not just for the country but the entire world. India will have the youngest working population in the world in the coming decades and the sphere of India’s global economic influence is only going to increase. The road that India takes in these years is going to be extremely crucial. The world is watching.

Leader speak

education.eletsonline.com

‘Education policy needs structural changes’ Increasing enrollment requires more institutions with quality faculty and infrastructure, says Prof. P P Mathur, Vice Chancellor, Kalinga University. In conversation with Elets News Network, he says India needs structural and operational changes in the education policy What are the challenge areas you see in revamping Indian higher education in general and in your state?

Currently, higher education system needs to be reviewed seriously in terms of excellence, equity and expansion. At this time, the country is experiencing explosive growth of involvement in higher education as around 35 per cent of the population is in the age group of 15 to 35. In this context, the country faces an increased demand for specialised human resource. In order to accommodate such an increased demand, providing quality education to a large population is a great challenge. Some of the related issues are lack of availability of quality faculty and infrastructure, outdated teaching curriculum and scarcity of financial and other resources. Increasing employment opportunities for the students and creating more avenues through skill-based and value-added training are also required.

What are the new initiatives which you have taken as the Vice Chancellor? Can you suggest if any of them can be implemented at pan-India level?

We have started new initiatives like the involvement of industrial linkages, periodical revision of syllabi, and skill development which have prepared the students to face the current

challenges. We have inducted a large number of experts from industry in our academic bodies and have ongoing joint teaching and research programmes.

There have been suggestions that India needs to increase the gross enrollment ratio from 18 per cent to more than 30 per cent. How do you see it?

At this time, we require many more institutions with quality faculty and infrastructure. The country needs substantial higher investment in education and effect structural and operational changes in the education policy. We need to use disruptive processes to achieve it. The country needs more checks and balances in the form of accreditation agencies.

Vocational courses, innovation and continuous learning centres need to be promoted. The new education policy should address the question of delivery of quality education to the masses which can only be done by incentivising teachers, providing education through MOOCs and social media.

Poor faculty and lack of teachers seem to mar Indian education at the primary, secondary and higher levels. How do you plan to address this challenge at your university?

The quality of faculty is very im portant for the delivery of quality education in any educational institution. We have been providing faculty development programmes and incentives for higher learning and research activities to our faculty.

We are constantly trying to recruit best faculty available and has mechanism of

360 degree feedback. The University is also planning performance based incentives. The performance of teachers has significantly improved after we brought in accountability in the system.

There is a concerted push from the government towards ‘Digital India’.

Are educational institutes geared up to take it on?

The country needs to have much more digital penetration in the education system. However, many of the institutions have severe challenges for making it happen. KIIT University is one of a few universities to have computer and Wi-Fi availability to all students and teachers.

Learning resources are also available online.

Innovation and research by universities drive industries and economic growth in may Southeast Asian economies.

How is your university engaging industries?

KIIT University, in all the areas of instruction, involves industrial participation in various forms. The university has several Centers of Excellence established by various companies in the campus. In addition, industry sponsored seminars, conferences and workshops are regularly conducted. Many industries are being encouraged to suggest training modules for our course curriculum and many members of the faculty have collaborative industry projects. The university also has a Business Incubator, a strong IPR Policy and a Students’ Research Center where several innovations have been done. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

29

industry Leader sspeak peak

‘Capacity building of teachers needs top priority’ Why do we need the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system in India? Is its target learner different from those in other universities?

The ODL system in the country is aimed to redeem the promise of providing access to higher education to all segments of society. For a majority of Indians in villages and small towns, reaching a centre of higher learning is a challenge and the ODL system has to facilitate access to education. We should not wait for learners to come to seats of learning. Instead, learning seats would have to reach out to them wherever they are.

Today, IGNOU as a National Resource Centre for Open and Distance Learning, with international recognition and presence, seeks to provide seamless access to sustainable and learner-centric quality education, skill upgradation and training by using innovative technologies and methodologies.

We cater to a unique type of target learners for our programmes. These include traditional teenage school leavers supported by their families or the state, teens forced into labour market for want of support and are in need of education, new learners who as adults want education/training for horizontal or vertical mobility on their terms, defense personnel and the digital natives who prefer distance modality to the four-walled regimen. We are the first university in the country may be in the world as well, who made appreciable education interventions initially in Tihar Jail and subsequently in about 94 jails across the country. We provide free education to all the inmates.

30

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Improving quality of educational interventions entails greater significance in the role of a teacher, believes Prof. M. Aslam, Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University. In conversation with ENN, he says IGNOU would like to focus on increasing access, equity and quality. Excerpts

Have you promoted any key initiative in reaching the unreached?

IGNOU has been mandated to reach out to the marginalised sections of our society. We have responded to the need to initiate special measures to attract learners from the disadvantaged groups. An estimated 690 Special Study Centres address specific educational needs of disadvantaged learners.

There is a lot of talk around ICT, digital learning etc. Since IGNOU is expected to make maximum use of ICT for teaching and learning, what steps have you taken towards ICT upgradation and outreach?

The university is keen to harness the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for enhancing the teaching-learning process. IGNOU became a pioneer in delivering technologi-

cal mediated education in South-East Asia. National and international agencies acknowledge the significance and contribution of IGNOU in offering qual-

education.eletsonline.com

paying special attention to programmes in-service teachers, employed by the ity education. The UNESCO described and courses in vocational and skill based Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.

IGNOU as a “… living embodiment of areas. We are also working on our flaginclusive knowledge societies in a gloship undergraduate programme (B.A. There is good amount of stress balised world”. The Government of Ja/B.Com) to blend its curriculum with from the Prime Minister on pan acknowledge the role of IGNOU in skill-based component so that along skill development vis-à-vis the delivery of telecast/broadcast based with graduation, the students can have actualising the benefits of India’s education by awarding the third Japasome skill competency certification to demographic dividend. How well nese Grant for the project “Strengthenhance their employability. are universities geared up to ening of Electronic Media Production address the mismatch between Centre in Indira Gandhi National Open How do you visualise the future of the industry demands and the University” with an outlay of 787 milopen & distance learning in higher students’ skills? lion yen. As a result of this, a high defieducation in India?

I fully agree that skill development in nition studio has been made operational The university stands at the threshold India needs special attention and the recently. Multi-media form an important of a future envisaged to provide leaderPrime Minister had rightly done so. Infeature of self-instructional materials ship and direction to the ODL system dia has set a target of skilling 500 miloffered by IGNOU to distance learners. in the country. This brings IGNOU has 4,375 video with it pride at our notable programmes and 2,258 The importance of technology enabled achievements but great audio programmes which education, skill development are other responsibility too. This supplement the printed course materials. Recently, changes that we need to keep pace with and calls for review, reflection, introspection and approwe launched web-based to draw advantages. To achieve above, it is priate action to enhance broadcast & telecast chanimportant that distance education system quality while maintaining nels for the benefit of its and consolidating our best students across the counis viewed as synergistic with conventional practices. We would like to try and abroad, who will educational systems dedicate ourselves to focus now be able to access high on increasing access, equiquality curriculum based ty and quality. Although, expansion of lion people by 2022, for which a hercuprogrammes and get an opportunity to activities of the university is an achievelean effort would be required. IGNOU interact with subject experts in real time ment in itself, it is equally important to offers several job-oriented programmes through this new initiative. ensure that we consolidate our efforts in several areas. In particular, I would and design, develop and deliver ‘quality like to mention about two of them. The Poor faculty and lack of teachers higher education’. It is only the quality first is the Certificate in Motorcycle Serseem to mar Indian education of our educational interventions that vice and Repair (CMSR) is aimed towards at all levels. How do you plan to will help us to make our presence felt nathe structured competency based skill address this challenge at your tionally and internationally. The impordevelopment training for the learners. university? tance of technology enabled education, Any functionally literate person who When we talk of improving quality of skill development are other changes that can read, write and understand and our educational interventions, role of a we need to keep pace with and to draw having basic knowledge of motorcycle teacher assumes great significance. In advantages. To achieve above, it is imsystems and repair on self-certification order to improve quality of education, portant that distance education system basis is eligible for this programme. This capacity building of teachers has to reis viewed as synergistic with convenis a collaborative project with Hero Moceive top priority. There are lakhs who tional educational systems. The boundtors Limited. The second is Certificate in need to be trained. The conventional ary between conventional face-to-face Bee-Keeping (CIB), which is a skill based system of training imposes lot of limitaand Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programme that requires only an 8th tions in terms of number to be covered need to be dismantled such that the two standard qualification. by training. The ODL system has the approaches are integrative rather than Consequent upon the Prime Miniscapability and capacity to undertake segregating. Given due and equal recter’s call of “Skilling India” and in line training of in-service teachers covering ognition, ODL will certainly live up to with the skill development initiatives of large numbers without compromising the country’s expectations of providing MHRD, the university is initiating steps quality. IGNOU has signed MOAs with quality education to the less privileged, to align some of our existing certificate Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram upgrade the skills of the aspiring and programmes with the National Skill and Sikkim to train about 36,500 inprovide enrichment opportunities wherQualification Framework (NSQF). The service teachers. The university has also ever they are in demand. n university has appointed a task force for taken up a project to train about 24,000

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

31

industry Leader sspeak peak

‘Increasing GER without Employability Unwise’ It has been proven conclusively that the government’s administrative machinery does not have any clue about managing institutions of higher learning, says Akshai Aggarwal, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Technological University. Excerpts from an interaction with ENN What are the challenge areas which you think that need to be urgently addressed so as to revamp Indian higher education in general and your state?

For SFIs (state funded institutions), the major issues include diversion of money paid by students out of the education system, non-payment of proper salaries to the faculty members and inadequate number of faculty members. For government-owned colleges and grant-inaid colleges, bureaucratic management has led to a total loss of morale, with no focus on organisational objectives. After decades of efforts post independence, it has been proven conclusively that the government’s administrative machinery does not have any clue about managing institutions of higher learning. The only way out is to give complete autonomy to the universities and to hand over the existing governmental colleges to universities as constituent units. The state universities may be declared legally as non-governmental institutions so that courts do not apply the governmental service rules to the faculty members, technical staff and non-teaching support staff. The boards/syndicates of universities may be made accountable like Board of Directors in registered companies. For deemed and other types of private universities, which depend upon the fees of students only, there is no way that they can conduct worldclass research and establish world-class learning systems without government support.

What are the new initiatives you have taken as the Vice Chancellor?

32

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Can any of them can be implemented on pan-India level?

Each of the following can be implemented at any university in India, provided the bureaucratic system which has chained the state and central universities can be removed: Practice-orientation in engineering programmes and immersion studies in non-engineering programmes. For this, we have connected every group of colleges with nearby industrial estates.

GTU has formed 25 such groups across the state. Special centralised evaluation and mentoring of Master’s thesis after literature survey and midway through the work on research. Annual centralised evaluation and mentoring of the research work by doctoral students.

Re-development of syllabi for designbased and project-based learning system; design orientation to be embedded into the new syllabi and open-ended problems to be included in the practical work. A strong 6-semester spine of design engineering to be included in the syllabi; seamless integration of design and project in the final year.

There have been suggestions that India needs to address the issue of increasing the gross enrollment ratio from 18 per cent to over 30 per cent. How do you see it?

Increasing GER, without addressing the issue of unemployability of university graduates is an unwise policy. First let us reduce the unemployment and underemployment of graduates. As we start getting results from these policies, then as a second step we may go for further increase of GER.

There is a concerted push from the government towards ‘Digital India’.

Are educational institutes geared up to take it on?

Most of the SFIs have not invested in making classrooms digital. In most of the government colleges, even digital projectors and accessories are not used by a majority of faculty members. Very few of the colleges are using Learning Management Systems.

Are the states geared up to make our education system world class?

No. India’s administrative system is not willing to release the higher education system from the crippling chains that it has been bound with from the very beginning of the modern university system in the Indian subcontinent. n

leader speak

education.eletsonline.com

‘Motivated Teachers are what We Lack’ Lack of teachers is not the problem, says A P Singh, Vice Chancellor, Central University of Rajasthan. In conversation with Elets News Network, he says good and motivated teachers are what universities lack today What are the challenge areas you think need to be urgently addressed to revamp Indian higher education in general and your state?

Teaching in universities is examination oriented where you memorise things and reproduce them in the examination. It has no relevance to the need of the society/industry. Practical application of the knowledge gained is missing.

The challenge is to create job-oriented courses and full weightage should be given to such courses and they should be recognised. For example, a course such as “Master in Car Manufacture” should be created where the student learns all relevant material dealing with manufacturing, marketing, technical skills, hands on with the industry etc., so that he is immediately absorbed in the manufacturing sector and does not have to wait for any training at a later stage.

What are the new initiatives which you have taken as the VC? Can you suggest if any of them can be implemented at pan-India level?

While the teaching faculty is required to teach and guide students and not get involved with administration work, the work of administration is to facilitate the teachers to work and not create hurdles.

There should be complete coordination between academic and administration.

A nodal committee consisting of members from academic and administration should be formed and meet regularly to set out any bone of contention.

An increase in our gross enrollment ratio calls for

substantial investment and a paradigm shift in our education policy. How do you see it?

Education is the key to the success of a country. Increase of gross enrollment number from 18 per cent to 30 per cent is a welcome step. Of course, there are going to be several problems in getting good faculty as well as the financial constraints. However, these should not deter us. Freedom and incentive should be given to teachers to move from one university to another to overcome the difficulty till we are self-sufficient.

Poor faculty and lack of teachers seem to mar Indian education at all levels. How do you plan to address this challenge at your university?

Lack of teachers is not the problem.

Good and motivated teachers are what we lack. For this, the selection at the very beginning has to be stringent as one wrong selection has to be tolerated for the next 30 to 35 years. They also

give a bad influence to the next generation. After selection, the faculty should be given a free hand to experiment with their ideas and also be accountable and well monitored. Their pay should be lucrative and at the same time, they should be accountable.

There is a concerted push from the government towards ‘Digital India’.

Are educational institutes geared up to take it on?

‘Digital India’ is the need of the day and the earlier we accept it, the better it would be. I do agree it is going to be difficult, but that should not deter us, as the best of a person comes only when he faces challenges.

Innovation and research by universities drive industries and economic growth in many South East Asian economies.

How is your university engaging industries?

Innovation and research are part and parcel of a university. Many universities have collaborations; MoUs signed with industries and have consultancy services. Our university (Central University of Rajasthan) is just five years old. We have signed MoUs with several universities and the industry. We have facilitated entrepreneurs.

How well are universities geared up to address the mismatch between industry demands and students’ skills?

Skill development is missing from our curriculum and I fully support that a lot has to be done in this direction. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

33

industry Leader sspeak peak

‘Digital India should begin with higher education’ The concept of Digital India should begin with higher education, especially in the professional institutions like medical, law, engineering, etc., and later enter basic traditional universities and colleges, Prof. S Jeelani, Director, Centre for Distance and Virtual Learning, University of Hyderabad, tells Elets News Network What are the challenge areas which you think that need to be urgently addressed so as to revamp Indian higher education in general and your state?

In India, many national research institutions are involved in excellent work in various applied aspects like rural development, agriculture, geology, meteorology, telecommunications and other fields. Such institutions may be given degree awarding facility by simplifying procedures of the regulatory bodies so that the available infrastructure, laboratories, library, hostels can help facilitate admission to various career and placement oriented courses.

The challenges include strengthening quality; promoting technology based learning; revision of course syllabi and curriculum; accreditation and offering professional courses like medicine, engineering, pharmacy etc to students through a subsidised fee structure by government and private institutions.

34

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

What are the new initiatives which you have taken as the Director?

Can you suggest if any of them can be implemented at pan-India level?

Offering joint collaborations with the public institutions and collaborations with industries in offering job oriented courses need to be initiated. Promoting technology based and virtual learning for those who cannot come regularly to the university from rural areas is also required.

There have been suggestions that India needs to address the issue of increasing the gross enrolment ratio from 18 per cent to more than 30 per cent. This calls for substantial investment and a paradigm shift in our education policy.

How do you see it?

Increase of course enrolment ratio from 18 per cent to 30 p e r cent is a

major challenge where it needs strengthening of existing 700 universities by means of appointment of faculty, administrative staff, etc., in the available vacancies. Jurisdiction of each state university may be expanded at least for two or three states so that colleges in one state can get affiliation with another university in the neighbouring state.

Establishment of common resource centres with all common facilities like virtual classrooms, instruments, laboratory facilities, and seminar and conference halls in each state is also required. We should also look at networking of colleges and universities so the lecture in one university can be shared and viewed by other university students. Increase of student enrolment may be given more emphasis in rural and semi- urban areas where there are more dropouts.

The HRD Minister has recently announced the formulation of a new national education policy.

What innovative measures do you advocate to ensure that it translates into quality education for all the Indians?

In India, there are more than 15 regulatory bodies like UGC, AICTE, NCTE, MCI, PCI, NCI, Homeo Council of India, etc.

These bodies are independently controlling permissions for establishing various courses like medical, pharmacy, engineering, law, agriculture, homeo, etc. If a university wants to support multiple

education.eletsonline.com

courses, it has to approach various bodies which is time-taking and has more constraints in getting approvals. In such cases, single regulatory body should be established which will monitor all the programmes. Professional courses have huge demand and should be encouraged. More programmes should be offered through virtual learning, ICT and online programmes.

Private universities should be monitored by the national body for conducting quality standards, examinations reforms, and their revenues through the education so as to control the private universities from getting commercialised by simply distributing degree certificates to students without imparting any practical knowledge. Preparation of a national database for the teaching faculty so that the universities can invite the faculty of other universities for guest lectures and other exchange programmes should also be looked into.

Poor faculty and lack of teachers seem to mar Indian education at the primary, secondary and higher levels. How do you plan to address this challenge at your university?

The faculty at the primary, secondary education levels are better numbered when compared with higher education institutions. Though many people have required qualifications, they have not been considered for faculty as they lack experience and exposure. For example, many members of the non-teaching staff are NET, M.Phil and Ph.D. qualified, but they are not taken as teachers because they don’t have teaching expe-

rience. Therefore, for the appointment of the faculty, administrative experience in the academic institutions should be considered as teaching experience, so that the teacher positions in the higher education level can be filled up.

At the primary and secondary levels, state government has taken major responsibility in opening of institutions, appointment of teachers, promotions, etc. Therefore, many of the teachers are appointed by the state government under the scheme Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, etc. In case of higher education, most of the faculty is supported by the Centre only for a period of 5 years and the state governments are not getting any block grant for the appointment of teachers even after five years. The central government should allocate more grants to the state governments for the appointment of teachers and also for the infrastructure facilities in the schools and colleges.

Also, the Rashtriya Uccha Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) has only `22,000 crore. This grant needs to be increased to the tune of `1,00,000 crore in a plan period.

infrastructure facilities and laptops to the students. All students may be provided tablet PCs.

There is a concerted push from the government towards Digital India’.

Are educational institutes geared up to take it on?

The concept of `Digital India’ needs to be promoted in a phased manner. It should begin with higher education, especially in the professional institutions like medical, law, engineering, etc., and later enter the basic traditional universities and colleges as most of our students are still dependent on the traditional system. Institutions may be encouraged to come forward for ‘Digital India’ by providing

There is good amount of stress from the Prime Minister on skill development vis-a-vis actualising the benefits of India’s demographic dividend. How well are universities geared up to address the mismatch between the industry demands and the students’ skills?

Syllabus and curriculum need to be revised according to the needs of the industry. Starting of new employment oriented and industry oriented courses in institutions are also required. n

Innovation and research by universities drive industries and economic growth in many south East Asian eco omies. When can we expect Indian universities transfer knowledge to industry?

How is your university engaging industries?

The funding for state and central universities for innovative research needs to be increased as we have nearly 700 universities and only a few of them get innovative research support.

Are the states geared up to make our education system world class?

Many of the state universities are having the shortage of funds. Some state universities are facing shortage of faculty and infrastructure facilities. Syllabus and curriculum of the courses are also outdated.

If the above facilities are fulfilled, the university can become world class.

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

35

industry corporate speak

Opportunities Galore The challenges and opportunities that India’s potential digital revolution will present are enormous. There is immense hope and hype around the ambitious Digital India programme. The journey has just begun. Elets News Network reads the fine print

T

he announcement of the Digital India programme has been received with a lot of enthusiasm from the Indian corporate sector. For long, we have been listening and discussing the impact that technological interventions can bring to the education sector in India. News revolving developments was also limited to politicians, academicians and the industry recognising the merits of technology. However, never before had there been such a clear and visible push towards digitisation from the corridors of power.

The time for hesitation is over. The time now is to act. The announceament of the Digital India programme has triggered a lot of hope about the boost the corporate sector will get. Opportunities will be huge.

In a favourable scenario such as this, the engagement between the private sector and the government is only set to grow. One of the primary reasons behind this will be the government’s inability to meet the demands of higher education with limited public resources. One challenge that India faces at this point of time is heightening its funding for promoting research and improving quality. The participation of the corporate sector towards this end will be crucial. The government mechanism for funding and assistance is limited to maintenance and salaries. This approach does not manage to look into curriculum and quality improvement. This is one crucial area that the corporate sector can be roped in for participation.

India still lives in its villages. The quality of education in the rural areas and the interiors need utmost attention. Though recent times have seen interest by start-ups to cater to this section, private investment in this area has been negligent. Private universities have managed to fill this void to some extent. However, the impact towards improving the quality, access and affordability has not been addressed. Neglecting villages and tier II and tier III cities will fail India’s future both in terms of education and the Digital India programme.

Skill development is another area that India needs to urgently build. Time and again, we hear of India’s demographic dividend in the coming years and how India needs to take urgent steps to bridge the gap between the knowledge and skills quotient of university graduates and the demands of the industry. India needs to develop a skilled workforce if it has to claim its rightful place in future world order. Things, as they stand today, are worrying. Reports after report have pointed to the unemployability factor among young graduates and post-graduates and this will be one area where all eyes will be on us.

Emerging Opportunities d Indian education industry is growing at an average CAGR of 14 per cent d The size of business was $50 billion in 2011 d Expected to reach $87 billion by the year end d Higher education poised for a growth of 18% per year till 2020 d India’s economy is expected to grow at a fast pace d India has the opportunity to become a prominent R&D destination

36

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

In India, we breed a habit of blaming the government for all ills that plague our nation and society. The corporate sector and the government need to work hand in hand if India has to overcome issues plaguing the development of our education sector.

Advertorial

education.eletsonline.com

Exploring the possibilities with Online Education Taking hints from the current government’s enthusiasm to promote online education, and reflecting on the present condition of Indian education system, educationists and dexterous pundits are predicting that the year 2015 will see the heralding of a new era for education in India. Let us analyse the impact that online education will have in shaping the new face of Indian education and how technology can cure the ills that currently plague it?

Infrastructure India has the third largest base of internet users. Tapping into the power of this digitally literate population, the ailing infrastructural limitations can be easily done away with. A whole college or a school can be easily set up in the cloud, with the help of an online teaching system (like WizIQ). This simple yet revolutionary new practice will change the notion of infrastructure being the primary requirement for quality education. It may be a little difficult to accept it at first, but WizIQ is an online teaching platform which is already questioning the cliché.

Quality of Teachers For schools facing a shortage of quality teachers, flipped classroom model has a workable solution. Schools on WizIQ have access to the Content Library, which stores media files, documents, presentations, and more, uploaded by the teacher on the cloud. These can be made available to the learners for offline viewing and reviewing. The Virtual Classroom can also be used to make educational videos. These can then be recorded and used as classwork videos.

The students can download or view recording of the previous classes. Open resources like YouTube and Khan Academy can be used to build a curriculum for

WizIQ

schools with a want of teachers. All that is required is a computer and a working internet connection.

Scalability Public education in India is undeniably moth-stricken, and has been so for a very long time. As such, penetrating villages becomes a priority for online education. In the past, many initiatives like “each one teach one” failed miserably. But none of these initiatives have ever involved technology. If a dedicated amount of funds is utilised in setting up digital libraries in public as well as municipal schools, learners will have a greater exposure to digital literacy, and hence better education. The possibilities are endless.

Unemployment A MOOC has the ability to reach thousands, even millions of students at once.

It also has the potential to end the problem of unemployment in India. As more and more companies start recognising MOOCs at par with standard degrees, it is quintessential that the government makes MOOCs mandatory for the premier institutes. WizIQ has, in the past, collaborated with the IITs and IIMs to set up highly successful online courses.

Not only do these courses make quality education available to the masses, they also promise certificates of completion, which are useful to job aspirants.

WizIQ is an online learning and teaching platform that connects educators and students through its virtual classroom technology and cloud-based learning management system (LMS).

WizIQ is a highly scalable solution for both synchronous and asynchronous tutorials and assessments. Used for everything from teaching hybrid courses at major universities to offering one-onone classes across thousands of miles, WizIQ is an incredibly flexible tool for delivering and enhancing any type of training or instruction.

Future According to a McKinsey report, While India scores well on the availability of human and financial capital, it rates poorly on Internet infrastructure, Internet engagement, the ecommerce platform, the ease of Internet entrepreneurship, and the impact of egovernance. On most indicators of the strength of the Internet ecosystem, India ranks in the bottom quartile of our comparison set of 57 countries. Clearly, development of education and the internet ecosystem go hand in hand as their impact on the overall education sector in India is mutually beneficial. WizIQ’s mission of democratizing education falls in complete sync with the present government’s aspirations of developing India’s digital ecosystem for a sustainable and bright future. n

For queries, suggestions, feedback or ideas to share, feel free to drop a mail to Kalyan Sarkar, Director, Academic Liaisons, WizIQ.com, at kalyan@ wiziq.com or call +91-9915701494 or +91-9897072888.

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

37

industry speak

‘Resistance to change and mindsets key roadblocks’ How is the confluence of the four forces - cloud, mobility, big data and social media - creating a robust network for better solutions in education vertical? In this context, how do you see HP’s role in bringing a paradigm shift in education sector in India?

The confluence of the four forces namely cloud, mobility, big data and social media has democratised technology in a big way. As it has for businesses, this confluence of technologies has also touched the education domain in an unprecedented manner enabling content and context to a connected institute. At HP, we believe that this disruptive change enables great automation for the education sector; be it for experiential learning for the student or comprehensive tools for better managing the school, college or university.

When was HP Education Cloud launched? How successful has it been leveraging the massive opportunities in India?

HP Education Cloud was soft launched 3 months ago and has seen quick successes in schools and colleges across the country. Simplicity of use, single unified portal, subscription-based billing and service standards have been the driving factors. We are now looking at an aggressive GTM to reach out to schools and colleges across the country.

As several global firms are eyeing the Indian education market, what is the business strategy for IT leaders like HP in view of the ‘Digital India’ programme?

We believe that students should be engaged with learning tools that leverage emerging technologies

What is relevant to students will be the guiding factor for institutions, believes Lux Rao, CTO Technology Services, HP India Sales. In conversation with ENN, he emphasises on the importance of connecting with the student community on a plane that resonates with their learning priorities

38

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

education.eletsonline.com

such as Cloud, Mobility and MOOCs that provide an experiential training to students and skill seekers. This will create a new generation of digital natives who are conversant and prepared for the challenges of the increasingly pervasive digital-powered economies around the world. This will enhance the collective learning index (as opposed to studying for marks) and increase the employability factor.

Has HP done any impact assessment after its solutions been implemented in educational institutions in India? If so what are the insights?

While there are obvious gains on productivity and operational efficiencies by way of streamlined workflows on processes such as admissions, examinations, HR, finance et al, the biggest impact is in terms of the learning quotient for students. Initial pilots that were carried out indicated a 49 per cent higher test scores over just 2-3 months for the test group that were provided the tools vis-Ă -vis the group that were not provided the tools.

As HP has massive global presence, has it been easy to get a breakthrough in educational institutions in India?

The education segment has nascent opportunities for integrated solutions. HP Future school, as envisioned 3 years ago, has been the bulwark of these developments. This is a pioneering effort and the concept of a single stop learning-automation solution is unprecedented. We are putting in efforts to pursue the future school vision and solutions such as Education Cloud, VideoBook, SIMS (Student Information Management Solution) are the first tangible results of our program.

We have several innovative solutions and enhancements planned in our roadmap for the education segment in India.

The Digital India programme is now on ground. What, according to you, will it take to make this programme successful?

Our Future School vision resonates very

well with the Digital India objectives and we are confident that our solutions will provide impetus for skill building initiatives.

What are the roadblocks that you see in this process as things unfold?

Resistance to change and mindsets are the key roadblocks. We are confident that the gains experienced by early adopters will be the motivating factor for mass scale adoption. We are also working on driving awareness around education technology & technology for education that would provide a framework for accelerating the technology adoption.

Do you think there is a need for a paradigm shift in educational institutions for better teachinglearning outcomes and skill development?

It is important to connect with the generation in a way that is reflective of their learning behavior. For instance, the current student community can be classified as digital natives that are at home with Cloud and mobile Apps (although they may not know it consciously).

We believe that connecting in a way that makes learning a fun experience is the best approach. For instance, HP VideoBook is a solution that aggregates the best of videos from across the globe and provides relevant snippets of information. This enhances learning and provides a holistic view of concepts. This makes learning a very enjoyable experience.

How do you see the accessibility and affordability of education solutions offered by IT giants such as HP as many of these are targeted towards public and private schools and private universities?

Technology has made it possible to provide global standard tools at affordable rates. What was hitherto available only to elite institutions can now be implemented on Opex models. Institutions such as Xavier University have fully leveraged tools such as HP Education Cloud

to create a Digital University that stays relevant to the student communities with a slew of learning tools whilst having a campus ERP that covers the gamut of automation needs of a university.

Do IT firms see a volume business in state-run educational institutions?

Yes and concurrent technologies namely cloud et al make it very viable to address the needs of the volume business.

Technology is a great equaliser and democratisation of technology tools via cloud makes it possible to have global grade solutions at affordable rates.

Do you think education policy makers and administrators are taking long to adopt to digital solutions in their educational institutions?

The availability of affordable Internet, cloud based technologies, enabling and empowering policies and willing institutions has created the perfect environment. Hitherto, one or the other factors were short and hence resulted in rather slow adoptions but the current context is optimal.

Is it lack of finance or mindset that hampers digitisation of educational institutions in India?

It is a combination of both factors. While the mindset itself is a transient factor, it is important that technology providers ‘right-price’ their solutions and offer excellent value to stay relevant to the education domain. Solutions that are being offered on pay-per-use model (read Opex model) that can scale as needed are very attractive to institutions as typically they need low/no upfront investments (read Capex).

Most current solutions are built on archaic technology frameworks and are woefully out-of-context with the current generation. It is important to connect with the student community on a plane that resonates with their learning priorities and that will be one of key factors in driving adoption. In short, what is relevant to students will be the guiding factor for institutions. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

39

industry speak

Breaking Digital Barriers How does NComputing help in making the country digitalised?

NComputing tries to spread the benefits to millions of students and the underprivileged workforce across the world that do not have the privilege of access to computers due to budget constraints faced by organisations and institutions.

There are schools located in the rural areas of the country where they find it difficult to access the technology they require for making the school digitalised.

NComputing has reached them and has helped in setting up a computing infrastructure at a much lower price.

NComputing has been the enabler for providing computing/digital access to millions of people - not only in India, but also globally. With its array of affordable desktop virtualisation (also called shared computing) solutions, the company is working closely with the central government, majority of the state governments, and with many nongovernment agencies in the country to enable digitisation in the country by making computing solutions available at the most economical price point so that the benefits of computing reach far and wide.

Please give us a business overview of NComputing, its offerings for various sectors, revenues and performance.

NComputing’s mission is to enable everyone in the world to have access to computing at an affordable cost. The NComputing solution is based on a simple fact: today’s PCs are so powerful that the vast majority of applications only use a small fraction of the computer’s capacity.

NComputing’s virtualisation software and hardware tap this unused capacity so that it can be simultaneously shared by multiple users. Over a million NComputing seats have been sold to thousands

40

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

In a short span of 5 years, NComputing has deployed over 13 lakh seats in India and shared computing devices in over 50,000 government schools across the country. Excerpts from an interaction with Manish Sharma, VP – Asia Pacific, NComputing Inc of organisations to slash their computing costs by as much as 70 per cent and electric consumption by 90 per cent.

In the education sector, every subsegment (primary, secondary, college, university, training centres) needs to have computer labs or computers in classrooms so that students can learn about computers and learn their subjects on the computer through e-learning programmes (for example, english, science, math). Pretty much all educational institutions have limited funds for computer equipment. We enable them to use their existing budget and stretch it so that they can double or triple the number of students who can have computer access for the same cost.

In the business sector, there are many small and medium businesses that also have limited funds and watch every rupee of spending. Since most business users only use the computer for accounts, web or other low-intensity work, they use at most 5 per cent of the PC’s power. We enable them to share that computer’s excess capacity with many more users. They also like NComputing because they have to maintain far

fewer PCs than before. In government, we provide affordable computing for government offices (municipal, state, central) in urban as well as rural ar-

education.eletsonline.com

eas. In addition to government offices, NComputing is also a great fit for community computing centres and e-governance projects.

How does NComputing make computing accessible and affordable?

In a short span of 5 years alone, NComputing has deployed over 13 lakh seats in India, which is helping in transforming the lives of over 2 crore users in the country, daily. These 13 lakh seats comprise 5 lakh seats under government education (through various projects), 4 lakh seats in private education including schools, colleges, training centres, universities, etc; and another 4 lakh seats in SMBs and enterprises – these mostly focussed at verticals like manufacturing, service oriented organisations. The NComputing solutions are built specifically to break the price barrier, and have a unique way to enable computing access for people from different customer segments at a fraction of the cost of the traditional all-PC set up. While initially it was difficult for people to break away from the conventional/traditional way of computing, over time, as they realised the value that a revolutionary technology such as NComputing can deliver at half (or even lesser) the cost of the traditional computing set up. Its adoption across domains and verticals such as education, business, government, manufacturing, banking and finance, retail, and so on, has grown dramatically.

Please elaborate on your solutions for schools. How many countries have adopted them so far? How have these schools benefitted from these solutions?

There are a million public schools in India, and the vast majority of them cannot afford to provide their students with a sufficient number of computers. Our solution enables a school to set up a 40seat computer lab for less than the cost of 10 standalone PCs. We are growing rapidly worldwide, mostly in developing nations like India. Over the next 5 years, the growth of computing will be in the emerging markets and underserved

markets. Emerging markets are wellknown – these are the countries where PC penetration is still less than 300 per 1,000 population. What is also interesting (and often overlooked) are what we call “underserved” markets. So, there is still a large need for additional computing – if only the cost was more affordable. So, we see tremendous opportunity to bring affordable computing to the next billion people around the world.

All the state governments are increasing the budget for the computer education.

Their aim is to give computer education from the school level itself.

What are your views and perspective on the current demand for your product in the Indian market?

NComputing is an ideal product for the Indian market, making computing simpler, affordable and extremely energy efficient. The value the product can deliver is being understood by the government as well. Over 15 state governments have either deployed or are seriously evaluating this technology for their various projects. India is a huge potential market for NComputing and therefore it is a focussed country for the company. We are investing in teams and strengthening our channel and support network to service the rapidly growing customer base.

From your global experience of digitisation what are the biggest and immediate roadblocks that you foresee in the implementation of India’s ambitious ‘Digital India’ programme?

In India, the key challenges in achieving 100 per cent computer digitisation include limited funds for setting up and managing IT infrastructure, limited staff, acute power shortage; dependence on power backup systems and related costs; poor connectivity due to location in remote areas, and so on. Considering this scenario, ‘Making India Digital’ programme is a great way to develop the digital backbone of the country. There is no denying the fact that facilitating more and more computing access can go a long way in enabling digitisation of an economy, especially when it comes to emerging economies. This is true for India also. Hence, there is a great need to create a strong pool of computer literate people who will take India to the next level. The Indian government has been playing its part in enabling the spread of ICT in the country. However, leaving everything to the government is perhaps not the right approach; private sector also must support the government and play its part in making this endeavour successful. NComputing’s initiative to make computing affordable has also been a step in the same direction. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

41

industry speak

‘Document security a global issue’ The problem of document security is global and not limited to India alone. Our approach, however, is completely skewed and current solutions are nowhere close to solving the problem, says Subramanian Narayanaswamy, Managing Director of TRS Forms and Services, in an interaction with ENN

TRS has been projected as an innovative technology-based solution provider in the education vertical. How do you view it?

TRS is among the pioneers in technology solution providers in the education space in India. TRS works as an end-toend solution provider in data scanning, imaging and software solutions. We stand apart from other players because of our advanced and innovative technology solutions. Currently, TRS is a leading ITES provider that focusses on data-centric technology solutions for the education and government sector.

42

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

TRS is strongly focussed on research, innovation, developing and providing technology solutions rather than selling products. TRS has a strong resident IP with a completely indigenously developed multifarious product portfolio.

You say that TRS products and solutions are unique and innovative and that is the reason for your success so far. Can you substantiate this statement?

I am very passionate about technology and that is the reason for having an R&D division in TRS. I can proudly say that

TRS is the only SME in India in this vertical to have a full-fledged R&D division which even big corporates do not have.

Roughly, around 10 per cent of our turnover is being spent on R&D and that is paying dividends now. This has led to the introduction of automated solutions in the examination process. Today, we are proud to say that such a process is being widely used by the universities and education boards all over India.

Some outstanding products which are the result of our R&D are FireEye (Automatic Dummy Numbering), eSekure (Ultimate Document Security), eMar-

education.eletsonline.com

quer (On Screen Marking), eXtractpro (OMR Software) and TRS Smart Scanner (OMR Hybrid Scanner).

an outcome of TRS R&D, has been registered for patent. FireEye is used for automatic dummy numbering on answer booklet and data capturing. This has brought an end to the manual numbering and data entry along with the related serious manual errors. Now the process has become fast and accurate.

With the results coming on time without any issue, the student community will have more faith on the university/

to be one step ahead of others. My vision is always to put my footprint on whatever I do. Always try to be unique and not compromise on quality.

Which of your products would you How do you approach leadership? prefer to choose and why?

A leader should be a person who has Undoubtedly my choice would be eSgood domain knowledge and wants to ekure. This is a global product. The best really lead his team. He must be good in part is that this solution is not restricted communication. He must not differentito any particular vertical. In my view, ate or be biased with the subordinates. eSekure is a simple but powerful soluI believe in giving responsibiltion combined with lesser ity with accountability to my cost. That makes this When a person with a good aptitude for subordinates. I will give moral product a customers’ dework has full belief in his leader, only then support and also guide them light since they spend less whenever they require my but get more than what will he perform. It becomes easy for the Give them good trainthey want. It does not releader to guide him properly and extract the help. ing on their job before giving quire any investment at all best out of him the responsibility. Constantly from the customer’s side. update them on the current It makes any document technology and encourage them to use institution and on the examination pro100 per cent secure, tamper-proof and the latest technology and improve their cess as a whole. also provides instantaneous verification skill and productivity. When a person eMarquer is the On Screen Markpossible even on mobile. Introducing eSwith a good aptitude for work has full ing (OSM) software for the essay type ekure on certificates and transcripts will belief in his leader, only then will he of examinations. Again, TRS has been add credibility to the university/instituperform. It becomes easy for the leader the first Indian company to come out tion. to guide him properly and extract the with this solution. This process involves best out of him. digitisation of the answer booklets and What in your opinion makes makes the images available for valueSekure an outstanding product?

How do you maintain the balance ation online or in the Lan network for The logic that has been used to devise between your personal and the valuators to work on the screen. this solution is unique and has not been business life?

TRS has introduced digitisation process tried by anybody so far. At first glance, In the initial days, it was difficult to balboth with cutting and without cutting some people write it off as any other QR ance personal life and business life. I had of the answer booklet. The process as Code product. Some even claim that they to sacrifice lot of things in the personal such has many advantages compared have already introduced this process on life for the sake of achieving big in busito the manual evaluation. This solution their certificates. Once they understand ness. In the past 4 to 5 years, I have creis still in the infant stage and a few unithe eSekure process, then they accept ated and trained a second line of manversities and school boards have tried the uniqueness of this solution. There agers who now take care of day to day so far. are alternative methods like eTranscript activities of the business and allow me or Central Repository or QR Code which to concentrate on my favourite R&D. What is your business vision and has been tried world over. eSekure is the Hence, now I am able to share my time how are you charting the plans to only solution which is simple, powerful judiciously between personal and busiachieve it? and most importantly, cost effective. We ness. In situations where both clashed, I always believe that there is no shortcut have successfully implemented the same I decide based on the situation and prior substitute for hard work. If you are in a few prestigious universities in India. ority. one among the crowd, then you have no Tell us about your other products Firesense of achievement and spend most of Eye and eMarquer What qualities do you think are the time fighting for your share in the FireEye, the flagship product of TRS important to make a successful market. I do not like to compete but alwas introduced in 2011. This is the entrepreneur? ways interested in creating competition. product which brought TRS into the Any work you do, do it with joy and enThis is possible only if we have a unique lime light amongst the Universities and thusiasm. Grab any opportunity that product or solution which is required School Boards. This is the product which comes across. Prepare well and give 200 by the customer. By doing this, we have made everybody to accept that only TRS per cent to execute the job well. Success the early bird advantage. Since I am incan provide innovative and unique techwill automatically come. n volved in continuous R&D, I always try nology based solutions. FireEye, again

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

43

COMPANY

profile

Bringing World-Class

Education to India

Anand Sundaresan, Business Head, HCL Learning Ltd. Company Name HCL Learning Ltd.

H

CL Learning is a leader in offering digital interactive learning content. Leveraging cutting edge technology and global expertise, HCL offers customized content repository that caters to the K12 students’ learning needs. The content is designed and developed by HCL Learning Development Centre and certified by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. HCL Learning with its flagship interactive learning solution - DigiSchool, has built an enviable track record of reaching out to more than 3,500 schools in India & abroad

DigiSchool USPs • High Quality Content • Comprehensive coverage of content across K-12 segment mapped to CBSE/ICSE/Various state/ International boards • Content owned & created by DSIR certified HCL Learning Development Centre • Designed using EER [Engage – Explore – Reinforce] instructional model • Age appropriate content strategy • Content certified by Consulting club of IIM, Indore for making significant positive impact on teachinglearning process

44

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

MD & CEO Harsh Chitale

Regional Office(s) Bhopal, Lucknow, Noida, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Ranchi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad Email: info.hcllearning@hcl.com

Management Team Anand Sundaresan, K Venkata Ramanan, B Gopala Krishnan

Website: www.hcllearning.com

Head Office G-8, 9 & 10, Sector 3, Noida – 201301

Sales Support 9250003050, 9250003051

and empowering over 3.5 million students. HCL Learning has strengthened its presence across regions by developing innovative, high quality, world-class differentiated content solution.

Product Categories • Educational Content and Curriculum – Multi Media / 3D Content

Business Highlights • A part of $6 Bn HCL group • Present across 3500 schools in India and abroad • Services support with a reach in

more than 5000 towns & 720 direct support touch points across India • Empanelled by CBSE to impart CCE Trainings to the teachers in Indian and many other countries • Conferred with many international and national awards

Power to User • Digischool gives the freedom to users to create their own questions, assessments and lesson plans in an intuitive, easy to use manner

Fabulous Features • Interactive tools covering each of the stages of a teaching-learning cycle • Demonstrate using Interactive Virtual Labs, Simulations, Math Xplorer, Map Xplorer, Diagram Xplorer, Math formula builder • Engage using Concept Summary, Interactive Activities • Enable using Assets Library • Evaluate through Test, Quizzes, Question Bank and Worksheets

education.eletsonline.com

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

45

industry speak

‘Skill Development is not aspirational’

The opportunity in the skills space is huge and there is a lot that is required and at a much faster pace to keep India’s demographic dividend from turning into a demographic disaster, says Kamini Prasad, COO, Centum Learning. Excerpts from an interaction with Parimal Peeyush of ENN Having carried out skill development activities in several countries, how do you gauge your experience in India?

My first reaction is that it has been mixed. And it has been mix of a whole lot of things. One is that the skill industry is still in its formative stage. I am sure you have heard that it is not aspirational to be in skills and there is a lot of social stigma attached to it, which is why people are not coming for-

ward to do skill programmes. The government needs to come up with a lot of schemes and incentives to get people on to the skilling boat. It is an environment where things are developing at the moment. Where on one hand, we need to have the parents convinced about the opportunities, credibility or the benefits of the skilling programme and on the other, we need to have candidates aspiring for such programmes. Then you have the industry that needs to recruit these people coming out of the skilling exercises taken up either by the government or the private sector. There is still a lot of work going on in terms of the government having set up sector skill councils. 31 have been set up. But all this will take time. Is it that people who passed out from the STAR scheme, the skilling programme, were absorbed by the relevant industries? No is the answer. Therefore, it is a journey where the programmes that were conducted were very much backed by the industry. Yet, the industry needs to come forward and embrace these candidates.

The push for skilling is there right from the top. Yet, the recognition for skilling programmes does not exist within the industry.

46

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Where is the gap?

It’s a good question and this is the reason I said that the experience is mixed.

It is in all stages that we need to reach a level of maturity as a country. As a large organisation in this space and being more conscious of the qualitative aspects required to skill people, perhaps we are ahead. But I am talking of the country at large. So where does the gap lie? Initially, when these vocational programmes were launched, the industry was not taken into confidence. The gap was between the academia and the industry. Unless the two talk, where will the common path come from? Now there has been a beginning to rectify the issues that were there by bringing in the sector skill councils which comprises of the industry people. They sit together and decide that if these are the job roles for which we need people, what it is that they need to know. This is the reason that the National Occupation Standards are being defined and the training is built around it. But again, these are all in the initial stages and it will take some time before they reach even some level of acceptability.

We talk about the demographic dividend and competing with China. Do you believe we have missed the bus in terms of skill development?

I would like to answer this question slightly differently. Around this, there are definitely two very clear schools of thought. One says China has gone ahead, so on and so forth. Call me a nationalist, an optimist or whatever you want, but the systems that prevail

education.eletsonline.com

required because vocational is all about ITI could never do masters because he in the two countries are very different. practice and not about theory. Students was not considered a graduate. There One is clear mandate and the other is a in class IX need to have the exposure was no migration from vocational to fordemocracy. In democracy, you cannot and experience to relate to what is being mal. Today, with the NSQF, that first step have that rapid a pace of development as taught. The final exam is being conducthas been taken. If you ask us, we have you can have in that kind of a system. ed by the school and the board. been empanelled with the AICTE for the In our system, all parties, the people, last two and a half years; we have been parents, industry, need to agree. There How do you ensure the follow-up? with the CBSE for two years. But beyond are the pros and cons of this kind of a We have our teachers who are stationed empanelment, the last mile is just not system but this is what we have to live there at these schools. We are present working out. This is driven by the MHRD with. Have we missed the bus? No. havin 69 schools in Himachal and we have and the state governments that take the ing said that, the opportunity is huge a teacher everywhere. These teachers initiative. In these state government and there is a lot that is required and at stay at the school, come to the school schools, we have Himachal running the a much faster pace to at least make it a every day, work there along with the NSQF programme, Haryana, Punjab, demographic dividend and not a democandidate, we also have a lab that is esRajasthan, Uttarakhand and we are part graphic disaster. tablished. Every month, there is a guest of these.

The pace is essential because skill speaker who comes and interacts with development is not aspirational. We these students. The basic factor is not Can you elaborate on your don’t find people queuing up for skills just technical skills. It’s about life skills involvement in these training programmes. You have to catch them, as well. We know of various examples of programmes? convince them, put them through the people who did tremendously well acaWe are in schools in these states. The classes and put them through jobs. That demically but were unable to find jobs funding is done by the HRD ministry and is the kind of scenario. Here, the governbecause they didn’t have the ment support becomes critical at the moment.

“We have been empanelled with the AICTE for social and life skills that are Perhaps, with time, we the last two and a half years and with the CBSE required. So, programmes that we are talking of in vocational would reach a stage for two years. But beyond empanelment, the are a combination of techniwhere skills would becal, life skills, IT and language come aspirational. Lot last mile is just not working out” at some places. So, we continue of awareness needs to with them and it is not left to the schools the state government and it basically be spread across this. It is not that there to manage. says that as we move up the levels, the is a dearth of jobs - they may not be exvocational quotient in terms of curricuactly for the population at large - but How long have you been doing this lum keeps growing and the academic that’s the reason we see the emphasis on with the state governments? content decreasing. We are conducting building the manufacturing sector and Two years. training programmes for class IX, X, XI the construction industry which are and XII. For class IX , what we do is that large employers. So, awareness is first, So, the actual outcome will be the academic portion is taken care of government support is second, third is visible after two years, since you by the school. For vocational, we have having the industry and academia come have begun in class IX? our own teachers who provide training together. That journey has to be expeditNo, we have started this in class IX and and all the practical application that is ed. Fourth, we cannot wait for people to finish their class twelfth and graduation and then say, now let’s do vocational training. Vocational has to be as important as science, arts and commerce.

The government has announced it to be equivalent of that. So there is a Bachelor of Vocation that has been announced but where has it been implemented? It has been a couple of years that Delhi University announced it. At the school level, they have the NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) level 1 to 10 and are trying to bring parity with formal education and also bring in vertical mobility. A person who did

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

47

industry speak

“Skilling should begin in class III itself, though the government scheme does not talk about it. If you start appreciating your competencies early in life, you don’t have this clash of what I should and what I should not” XI. If you ask me, this should begin in class III itself, though the government scheme does not talk about it. If you start appreciating your abilities and competencies early in life, then you don’t have this clash of what I should and what I should not. It does not say that if I have taken a vocational programme in, say retail or automobile or heatlhcare, I need to remain in that domain for the rest of my life. That’s where vertical mobility helps.

I could be a class XII in automobile and then I decide to get into commerce, I still have a path to get into a B.Com. That vertical mobility has been established by policy. Implementation has started but it needs to be accelerated to reach the numbers that we are talking of.

Institutions today have also started to talk about skill development. Do you see that push in their formal curriculum?

There are a few colleges that have adopted it. I know a few that have these skill programmes being run by various skills institutes. It s not that skills programmes have come up today. I consider NIT a pioneer in this area. People would do graduation and along with it, do IT, but graduation was a must.

If you are not a graduate, you end up with no job. Now what the government is saying is that you can merge it together, where formal education and

48

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

vocational education come under one roof. Coming back to your question, higher education institutions, I would say, are doing it in pockets. There is a lot to be desired. Pune University, for example, has mandated that all the candidates across all its colleges need to go through vocational programmes for being employable. They are starting with the post-graduate level. NSDC is driving the programme and we have joined hands with them. But the pace here is what is critical.

Can this push for vocational education result in candidates losing academic excellence?

If I am an excellent welder, does it make me less qualified than another graduate?

In my field, I am number one and I have the capability to earn huge amounts.

Look at Germany, Australia and countries that have skills in place. In UK, a plumber gets more than an engineer.

But their systems have been entirely different.

Correct. And I have been there for decades. So we get the advantage of picking up experience from all these countries and make a jumpstart. But the jumpstart has to be further pushed faster to take it forward. But your question was whether the candidate needs academic excellence or not.

Since that is what the Indian parent and society recognises.

You are right. And this needs to change.

I believe that the level 1 to 10 (of NSQF) will perhaps bring that change. What it means that you can become a graduate, a post-graduate and even a Ph.D in vocational. So you have the academic excellence along with vocational skills.

They are not divorced. With the NSQF, this recognition for prior learning (RPL), if I have been a mechanic for 5 or 10 years, I can give various tests and become Level 1, 2, 3 - equivalent to graduation, post-graduation and Ph.D. The stature changes as it is not the same as being an illiterate mechanic but a Ph.D. So, will a mechanic who may be an 8th dropout, but goes through this training, get employment and the remuneration that someone with formal education would? Would an Audi hire him?

Why not? Provided he gets the requisite vocational qualification.

How long do think that will take?

I shared the example of we being empanelled with the AICTE and CBSE for the past two to two and a half years and nothing has taken off. We keep chasing them. People are interested because they see the benefit. It is a journey that the country will have to go through.

Leader speak

education.eletsonline.com

‘Technology a key Enabler’ Being a private university, has it been easier for you to adopt digital and campus management solutions compared to central and state universities?

It is relatively faster to take decisions once we are convinced on the efficacy of our initiatives. Since we had the autonomy, I had opportunity and privilege to move this project forward from initial vision to its completion. In July 2013, we were planning for the future of the newly created Xavier University. We looked 5

Education has experienced immense benefits of technology and is poised to scale to a new era of education delivery prompting a digital way of learning, says Fr. Paul Fernandes, S.J., Vice-Chancellor of Xavier University Bhubaneswar, in conversation with ENN

years ahead and aimed to develop and create the digital university with complete and holistic ICT solutions. Our vision is to provide the best quality of education and we see technology as a key enabler. Our objective was to automate the campus management and learning solutions and we explored potential solutions in the market before zoning in on the HP Education Cloud. We were cautioned about the many risks and hurdles on our path of creating the ICT enabled learning, teaching, campus ERP etc.

How do you see digital solutions impacting the university in terms

of learning-teaching methods and campus management?

Digital Solutions offer a better way of engaging with the students and providing a platform enabling holistic learning.

Technology is bringing a confluence of content, context and connect to education in a big way. In recent past, education has experienced immense benefits of technology and is poised to scale to a new era of education delivery methodology prompting a digital way of learning.

We are mindful of the challenges Indian professional and skilled workforce face in 21st century India and global digitally enabled education and economy. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

49

industry speak

‘Digital India needs Champions to Drive it Forward’

Education will be one of the prime beneficiaries of Digital India, says Edutech CEO Shameema Parveen in an interview to Elets News Network

Edutech was established in 1991 in Dubai. Could you briefly tell us about the journey to improve the learning and teaching curriculum in Dubai and other places?

As Edutech marches towards our twenty-fifth year, it has been a transformative experience for us to evolve with the changes in the learning and teaching space. ASF Karim and I started Edutech in Dubai when we felt there that Middle East education sector was at the crossroads of modernisation. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we felt we should use some of the best practices and proven technologies used around the world. We identified that

50

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

technology based learning is what we stand for and still continue to focus on that niche perhaps in a holistic manner.

With higher education institutions realising a change in educational approach was required to build self learning and critical thinking skills in students, Edutech was involved in resourcing hands-on learning through engineering labs and technology based learning centres in education and corporate sectors. We soon became part of many nationwide initiatives in the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. While continuing to cater to the expanding education sector, we served a lifelong learning market by also servicing corporates like oil and gas and the banking sector which had challenges to implement sustained and qualitative training programmes.

We noticed that hardware and analogue based learning technologies were soon making way for digital and software based learning tools like online learning platforms, Online examination systems, digital language labs etc. Also, we saw that library and information services were moving online for access to information. So, Edutech acquired those capabilities and offerings and was the preferred vendor for holistic learning solutions in the region.

We have a transformational impact on the re-

gion’s education and training space covering seven countries and over 2,00,000 users.

How vibrant is the role of education solution firms in improving the education system in India?

In a diverse country with the world’s largest number of schools and second largest world population, we would need all possible support available to improve the education system in the country. This includes government initiatives, education institutions, academicians and educationalists, teachers and students, trade bodies and, more importantly, education solution firms like Edutech can act as the greatest catalyst in this process. Having exposure to various countries where technology and best practices have improved their education systems, we at Edutech and several other firms in this space can add value by creating referral models and success stories that government and private educational institutions can replicate and scale.

We, at Edutech, are proud to be part of several such initiatives like implementing online learning management, STEM and robotics, e-learning, scientific and technical Labs, and online examinations in India since late nineties.

Adoption was a challenge those days but due to our constant thought leadership and awareness, we were able to bring in more users over time. Now, with government mandate to have better connectivity at grassroot level across villages and cities in India, it can enable a big leap in the way instruction and content and information is delivered and

education.eletsonline.com

consumed in the education sector across India.

Edutech is part of various government initiatives to improvise quality of education in India like TEQUIP, MODROB, FIST and several skill development initiatives of corporate and industry consortia.

and educational technologies in India.

Now, when the market is ready for next wave of adoption, education industry is looking at credible partners with local presence and history of delivery. With over fifteen years in India and seven offices across India and hundreds of employees, I strongly feel education sector and institutions need reliable partners beyond short-term profit motives.

is no other option other than to adopt digitisation and the use of ICT in learning whereever applicable. We are never talking of replacing the importance of conventional teaching, but building in greater qualitative process and access to good teaching and pedagogy.

How do you see the accessibility and affordability of education How have educational institutions solutions? received these solutions for better India’s volume-centric business can The Digital India programme is teaching-learning outcomes? be a misnomer. I feel we need to have now on ground. What, according Edutech has been constantly spreading volume-based business models in place to you, will it take to make this awareness on ICT in education, When that are a win-win than skewed toprogramme successful? we started our India operations in 1999, wards the product and service providTechnology is an enabler. We need clear perhaps we were too ahead of the curve ers or the customers. Let me explain . champions with clear mandate, resourcmostly because of the awareness and Several projects are executed with low es and accountability to drive these projlack of resources and infrastructure. price models of future forecasted Now, with better infrastrucvolume scales that never materiture coming in place and “Digital India and several other projects alise for various factors of execugovernment initiatives and and initiatives are well thought out and tion and systemic issues. In such educational institutions competing for creating a better I am optimistic of them improving the cases, vendors are left with unviable business models that affect ‘Education Experience’ to the Indian education sector” the quality and execution of the students, we are on the right project. We have to realise that track. for any project to be successful, service ects forward. This includes the customer When we first did the national level providers need to be profitable enough - vendors such as Edutech and end users Robotics championship in 2003, we to have good delivery systems in place. to make this whole practice sustainable. managed to create good awareness on Else, the complete project suffers.

STEM and Robotics in education. We We feel projects with clear milestones What impact do you see on saw international schools and students and attached volumes should be sustaineducation? with exposure to western world particiable on its on rather than tapping to the Education will be one of the prime benpate. Now, after 10 years, we see thouforecasted volume models with successeficiaries of Digital India. We have been sands of students in cities and towns ful emphasis on successful completion a proponent since we started in 1991. across India adopt concepts of hands-on making them eligible for higher volumes It will lend a lot of reach and quality STEM and enquiry based learning. that follow. to the learning and teaching process.

Likewise, online examinations were For example, this world fosters greater increasingly used by large IT firms with Do you think education policy voice and data connectivity to tier 2 and challenges in scale and qualitative asmakers and administrators are 3 towns and rural India where we need sessment roll now. Now, schools, corpotaking long to adopt to digital quality education the most. It is also rates and higher education are open to solution in their educational part of effective nation building exerdigital learning and examinations. Afinstitutions? cise. Likewise, more accessibility to usfordability and availability of computing The answer is more than yes and no. er-friendly computing devices will help devises, ease of use and awareness we There could be projects that were not students access content and teachers create help these practices grow. I feel executed well earlier and the sheer from across the country and even across the growth for next 10 years will be far diversity of the country and its decithe globe. Effective school and education more rapid and exponential. sion making structures could delay management policies and process could the process. There were several initiaalso be enforced by the system.

Several global education solution tives as early as 10 years back that are firms are eyeing India. How still on-going. Digital India and several What is a practical timeframe that is Edutech geared up for the other projects and initiatives are well we should look at before we call it challenge? thought out and I am optimistic of these a success?

Edutech has walked the talk in this improving education sector in India There are various phases we have to go space. We are one firm which has suceventually. n through. We need to realise that there cessfully implemented various learning digitalLEARNING / November 2014

51

special feature

Preschools Lead feature

Who’s minding my baby?

Preschool is one of the most lucrative segments of the Indian education market and is flourishing, unfortunately, sans regulation. Stakeholders are almost unanimous in calling for propoer guidelines and procedures to regulate this segment. Nidhi Sharma of ENN reads the tea leaves Jaya, Ekta and Abha (names changed) were housewives in the middle class locality of Mayur Vihar in East Delhi till a few years ago. Not any more. The trio is laughing their way to the bank every month. There are no bounds to their joy. The reason for their joy? The three of them have started preschools for tiny tots in DDA flats at their ground floor residence, with the verandah converted into a playground. Interestingly, the three schools started by these new enterpreneuers are closely located within 200 meters of each other!

This phenomenon is not limited to Mayur Vihar or Delhi.

Preschools continue to mushroom across the metros, tier II and tier III cities. It can also be started in the house one lives and can manage to keep clean and decorated. The factors driving such an unprecedented growth can be attributed to rapid urbanisation, parents’ rising aspirations for quality education (English Convent education), improved affordability and more women joining the workforce.

For the uninitiated, preschools are a part of the non-formal education system. Emerging as a lucrative business for everybody, it is known by various names such as creche, nursery, kindergarten, home-based child care system, preparatory schools and nursery schools. The age for admission to these schools typically ranges between two and six years - the most crucial stage of for a child’s development.

Regardless of its spread and rising demand, the preschool sector operates without any formal guidelines. This means there are no rules on minimum age for admission, teacher-child ratio, curriculum, trained staff, sanitation and safety and security measures. As a consequence, monitoring of these schools has become difficult. This has placed the kids at the receiving end with maltreatment and even sexual assault.

Sample the following: January 2014: Srinivas, 25, a bus driver at a preschool in Bangalore was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a two-and-a-half year old girl.

September 2014: A two-and-a-half year old child was repeatedly abused by Amit Kumar (22), a security guard-cum-help, who looked after the children in the absence of women staff at a playschool in Rohini, New Delhi.

October 2014: A 3-year old nursery student was allegedly sexually abused by office assistant Gundappa, 45, inside her class in Bangalore.

Low entry barriers, minimal investment and absence of regulations to oversee the preschool segment have attracted huge interest in this segment. No prior permission or licensing is needed and there is full freedom for promoters to design and develop learning programmes.

The preschool business operates in both the unorganised sector and by corporate. Some of the big businesses in India include Tree House, Bachpan, Euro Kids, Shemrock, Kangaroo Kids, Podar Jumbo Kids, Jumbo, Little Millenium, Apple Kids, Time Kids etc.

According to a Crisil research report, the preschool business is expected to touch Rs. 13,300 crore by 2015-16, out of which branded preschools are expected to contribute about Rs 4,500 crore. Similarly, another report estimates that the number of preschools in India will reach the 33,000 mark by the end of 2015, reporting a growth of 26 per cent annually.

52

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

PreSchool Yet, the preschool industry is in its nascent stage in India with around 1.1 per cent enrolment as compared to France or Scotland where enrolment is 100 per cent.

According to leading research firm Gyan Research and Analytics Pvt. Ltd., the organised sector comprises 17 per cent of the industry, with the penetration rate expected to rise to 25 per cent by 2015, due to the rapid growth of preschools in Tier-III and Tier-IV cities. In this background, exercising any control over the preschools for quality assessment to regulate the standards of preschool education is a huge challenge.

Time and again, whenever stories of sexual assult are flashed by 24X7 electronic media, it manges to momentarily stir the nation’s collective conscience. Stakeholders equally voice their concern for the need for formulating guidelines focusing on minimum age for admission, teacher-child ratio, curriculum, trained staff, safety and security measures and monitoring of these schools. At all other times, it is seldom taken seriously.

Experts also estimete that the organised sector comprises 17 per cent of the industry, with the penetration rate expected to rise to 25 per cent by 2015, due to the rapid growth of preschools in Tier-III and Tier-IV cities.

In this background, exercising any control over preschools for quality assessment to regulate the standards of preschool education is a huge challenge.

Of course, regulation is needed but it should not create Inspector raj and an avenue for extra income for those monitoring the sector. Raman Bajaj, Managing Director – Educomp Childcare Pvt. Ltd says, “Regulation is not necessarily a bad thing, but what we need is correct, meaningful and easily implementable regulation”.

“Regulations should not act as a disincentive…” he adds.

A S Ganesh, Founder & Managing Director, SMARTKiDZ Educare India Pvt Ltd. also believes that preschools should be regulated. “Running a preschool business in India provides the freedom to design and adapt the curriculum and has resulted in a lot of variation in the learning programmes.”

However, Ganesh acknowledges, there has been no system designed to measure the quality and output of the education programmes that have been designed for these tiny tots. Similarly, there are no parameters for the admission criteria for these schools.

Thus, kids enter schools from various socio-economic backgrounds, study in varied education patterns and enter primary schools with a variation in knowledge and understanding.”

Parameters that measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the early education imparted in preschools should be in place, he argues. “This quality assessment helps safeguard early education and helps in regulating the standards of preschool education. By doing so, the unbranded schools which follow little or no norms will be stopped, he says.”

Even as educators debate over what should govern the preschool business-government regulations or peer assessment or self-governance, the business of preschools will only grow in coming years. Vittal Bhandary, Managing Director, Learning Edge India, has a different take on the issue of regulation. “Branded preschools have their own way of regulating safety, hygiene, sanitation, curriculum delivery and teachers training. These are part of our policies and we have a robust team to audit this from time to time,” he says. His fear is somewhat different. “The moment these regulations go to a government body, it can lead to a lot of corruption,” he argues.

Key Risks

• Increasing incidents of child abuse • Exhorbitant fees • No prior permission or licensing required to start these schools • Quality of education or activities varies from institute to institute • Curriculum needs to be streamlined • Maintaining a proper teacher-child ratio, engagement of trained staff

To say that the preschool market in India is flourishing and rapidly expanding would be to stress the obvious. Fuelled by increased investments by existing companies and expansion into smaller towns and cities of India, the preschool segment is expected to generate revenues of US $3.24 billion by 2017. No wonder, several global preschool chains are eyeing business opportunities in the country. Latest in the list is UK-based Modern Montessori International (MMI) Group which is in plans to expand its reach in India by doubling preschool teacher training centres and franchisees for running kindergarten classes through major corporations. Having first forayed into the Indian market in early 2003, the group estimates a demand for 1,00,000 such educationists over the next 10 years.

Even as preschool businesses helps its owners and franchisee owners fulfil their own entrepreneurial aspirations, achieve higher profits every year, it would serve all the stakeholders better if the sector is regulated. digitalLEARNING / November 2014

53

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

‘No clear policy for standalone preschools’ Certain parameters that measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the early education imparted in preschools is essential, believes A S Ganesh, Founder & Managing Director, SMARTKiDZ Educare India Pvt Ltd. Excerpts from an interaction with Elets News Network What are the current trends in the preschool business in India?

The Indian preschool market is an under penetrated market. Less than 2 per cent of the children go to preschools in India because the awareness is very low about the importance of preschools. To bring about this awareness, we are conducting Positive Parenting Workshops in all the schools of Smartkidz to make a difference.

should be given utmost importance.

What are the different models in preschools? Is any model better over others? Why? Every model of preschools talks about nurturing children, developing their skills, brain development etc., and the approach to teaching-learning in each model is different. Finally, the whole idea of education is the holistic deve l o p m e n t of the child and should be child-centric, where hygiene and the safety of the child

What is the role of franchise in preschool education in India?

What are the trends?

The franchise should have a flair for kids, enough time to be focussed towards imparting proper education to the child by following the systems and procedures of the company and adapting himself to the present trends in the education by undergoing trainings from time to time.

Importantly, a franchise should not look at it only as an aspect of doing business.

What is the size of preschool market in India?

The preschool market size during the year 2010-11 had been `5,000 crore and is likely to cross `11,000 crore by the year 2015. This segment is growing at the rate of 35 per cent per annum as against the education sector which is growing at the rate of 15 per cent.

What is your USP? The curriculum is designed while keeping in mind the syllabus for CBSE, ICSE and SSC. This eases the process of admission of the child for the primary section.

The curriculum is followed uniformly in all our schools which are helpful for inter- school transfer across states. Another unique feature in Smartkidz is that we provide value-based education which is part of our curriculum.

In view of increasing need for preschools across the country and classes, do you think it should be regulated?

Yes, it should be regulated. Running a

54

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

preschool business in India provides the freedom to design and adapt the curriculum and has resulted in a lot of variation in the learning programmes. However, there has been no system designed to measure the quality and output of the education programmes that have been designed for these tiny tots. Similarly, there are no parameters for the admission criteria for these schools. Thus, kids enter the schools from various socioeconomic backgrounds, study in varied education patterns and enter primary schools with a variation in knowledge and understanding. It is therefore essential that there should be certain parameters that measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the early education imparted in preschools. This quality assessment helps safeguard early education and helps in regulating the standards of preschool education. By doing so, the unbranded schools which follow little or no norms will be stopped.

What are the laws regulating preschool business and operations?

Preschools come under informal schooling and are not governed by any regulatory body. There is no clear policy for standalone preschools and differs from state to state.

What is the investment required for starting a preschool? How lucrative is the business in India?

The investment for starting a preschool varies from place to place. It starts from `7 lakh and goes up to `15 lakh and sometimes more depending upon the location.

education.eletsonline.com

PreSchool The awareness of preschools is increasing at a very fast pace. In many households both parents go to work and being nuclear families, preschool comes as a boon to such parents. Most of the preschools also provide daycare facility and therefore the demand for preschools is increasing very rapidly. More so, the awareness and importance of preschools is spreading to smaller towns resulting in more preschools cropping up in these towns.

Are franchisees paying higher royalty in preschools and schools compared to those in professional education?

The percentage of royalty varies from company to company and generally ranges from 15 per cent to 20 per cent in the preschool industry. The royalty percentage in the professional education also should be more or less the same.

How many franchisees are planning to continue this business for a long term and what percentage of them are planning to start up their own businesses since they have gained enough expertise and exposure through this opportunity?

In case of Smartkidz, 100 per cent of the franchisees who have completed their term of 5 years have renewed the agreement. However, there are dropouts to the extent of 10 to 15 per cent due to their own reasons.

Is franchise fee higher in preschool compared to other education verticals?

In preschool segment, the franchisee fee varies from `1.5 lakh to `3.5 lakh.

However, in other education verticals, it could be as low as `0.5 lakh and could go up to `5 lakh for other education verticals.

Have teaching-learning methods changed in preschools? If so, how?

The face of education has changed dramatically over the past ten years or so.

The preschool education is the founda-

tion of children’s education. It is a vital aspect of a child’s learning and development. At this stage, the attitude and aptitude that is developed influences their later life. Early childhood education programme asserted the need of very balanced curriculum at preschool which integrates play and work as a basis of the curriculum structure. Education in preschool has been given a more practical approach which has made learning for the child more interesting.

Gone are the days when a preschool was a waiting room for children not yet age eligible for regular school admissions. Now-a-days, parents are more concerned with establishing a comfort level with instructors and care-givers in the preschool, than delving into the intricacies of the teaching methodology followed.

In recent times, newer systems and philosophies like the ‘play way’ method and multiple intelligence mapping have also been incorporated into the curriculum up to 6 years. Preschools in India have also adopted best practices of other teaching philosophies such as Waldrof, the Reggio Emilia etc. With new developments in the field of child psychology and early education, there is bound to be continuous innovation and introduction of new practices in preschool teaching methodologies. The key is maintaining an ideal balance of creativity, flexibility and structure that makes learning joyful for the child.

What are the criteria for selecting teachers in your school?

The appropriate qualification of the

teacher in education is to be a graduate with fluency in English. Apart from this, the teacher should also have qualities such as patience, listening skills, pleasing personality, initiative, creative and have an open mind for learning. NTT / ECCE trained teachers are generally preferred.

Global preschool chains are eyeing India for big opportunities to set up their franchisee and also in teacher’s training. What is the profile of people who are engaged in preschool education and franchisees in India?

The basic profile of most people in the branded preschool industry is qualified preprimary educators or with long experience in the industry, but in unbranded schools, it is not the case. Most of the franchisees in the preschool industry are women entrepreneurs and range from 80 to 95 per cent. In case of Smartkidz, more than 90 per cent of the franchisees are women entrepreneurs.

Last year, people had moved court to bring preschools under RTE’s ambit. What’s your take?

The RTE act does not apply to standalone preschools. However, it applies to preschools run by schools providing elementary education i.e. from class 1 and above. The RTE Act requires every school imparting elementary education to admit in class 1, a minimum of 25 per cent of the class strength belonging to weaker sections or disadvantaged groups to provide free education to such children.n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

55

industry lead feature speak

Providing Holistic Development

Genesis of the Group

SMARTKiDZ is a chain of Preschools, incorporated in the month of January 2008 and is an ISO 9001: 2008 certified company by TUV of Germany. It is a Hyderabad’s based organisation, hence we established franchisees initially in Hyderabad and gradually expanded all over South. Today we have 100+ franchisees across South and 185+ franchisees pan India. The main motive of the organization is to provide best educational experience and quality to the children.

School’s Philosophy Every child is a unique individual and they develop at a different pace. Children should learn in a safe, child centeredenvironment through exploration and a variety of open ended activities. We ensure that the children learn in an friendly envirnoment where they develop social, physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual skills to meet the challenges ahead.

Year of Inception: January 2008 CEO: Mr. A. S. Ganesh Age: 53 Educational and professional background: Mr. A. S. Ganesh, is a Science Graduate and Post Graduate in Business Management. His last assignment in India was with a multinational oil company as an Asst. Vice President. He has an overall work experience of over 25 years in India and abroad in the field of sales & marketing. He has also worked as a marketing consultant for an NGO. Head Office & Address: Smartkidz Educare India Pvt. Ltd Plot No. 97, Phase I, Gunrock Enclave, Near Mudford, Secunderabad – 500009.

Contact No: 040-27498117 / 118 USP of the Group: The USP of SMARTKiDZ is the methodology and the curriculum that we follow. The curriculum is designed by keeping in mind the syllabus for CBSE, ICSE and SSC curriculum. This would ease the process of admission of the child for higher classes. The curriculum is followed uniformly in all our schools which would be helpful for the interschool transfer across any state. The other unique offer from Smartkidz is that we provide value based education which is part of our curricullum.

Funding Source: Own Is any VC or private equity involved: NO How many franchisees are under you? 185+

56

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Expansion programme: Today we have 185+ franchisees in 13 states i.e.

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Pondicherry, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat & New Delhi. Every year there has been a tremendous growth by making our presence in new States. We had been growing at 40 – 50 per cent per annum.

We plan to make our presence in all the remaining states also.

New Education Verticals: Taken over and existing formal school Requirements for taking up franchisee with your group: Area: 2000 sq ft & above Investment capacity: `7 – 10 lakh Aspiring individuals having flair for kids and a burning desire to be an entrepreneur Deliverables for the Franchisee owner: Training – An intensive training is provided to the center head’s and the teachers which help them to carry out their day to day activities. They are also trained on the curriculum, events & celebrations.

Positive Parenting Workshops are conducted for effective rearing of the child.

Marketing– Pan India advertisement support including all the designs are provided to the Franchisees along with the guidance for carrying out the marketing activities.

Ongoing – Support for the complete school set up, technical support and day to day suport for the smooth running of the school successfully.

Branding – We carry out different activities for branding like news paper advertisements, online marketing ( SEO – for Google search), magazine advertisements, etc.

Contact details for Franchisee enquiry: 9581514444 /+917748974974 Website: www.smartkidzindia.com

education.eletsonline.com

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

57

special feature

iPreschools ndustry Lead Feature speak

‘Future holds tenfold growth in the organised sector’

The organised sector of India’s booming preschool industry is set for a tenfold increase in the coming years; believe Anurag Sharma and Kushal Suri, Executive Directors at Shri Ram Study World.

In conversation with ENN, they also say that regulations should be well-thought before being implemented

What are the current trends in the preschool business in India?

The preschool market in India has a huge appetite; there is a huge shortfall in supply of quality preschools, especially those that are children friendly.

The market meets only 20 per cent of the total demand, out of which majority are non-branded ‘Mom n Pop’ owned institutes. There is a huge market for good quality, branded preschools in the country.

What are the different models in preschools? Is any model better over others?

Preschools in India could be divided

58

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

into unorganised sector, organised sector and a K12 school-feeder model. The unorganised sector comprises of the majority of the market, the second being the organised sector which is very small at the moment but has huge potential. The future holds tenfold growth in the organised sector where a lot of foreign players will try to enter the space.

How lucrative is the business of preschool business in India?

The preschool business is the most lucrative business in the organised franchisee businesses in India at the moment. The payback period as compared to manufacturing sector is very fast, the gestation period is low, and it’s the most satisfying business in the service sector.

In view of the increasing need for preschools across the country and classes, do you think it should be regulated?

In the present scenario, with government regulations and the present economy, profitability in any ongoing business appears meager. There is growing concern that strict ongoing regulation in the education sector shall reduce venture in education profitability leading to fewer good ventures in the field.

I’m of an opinion that one should think twice on regulating this industry.

Venture capital funds have evinced keen interest in the pre-school sectors.Have they been funded by VCs? VCs have definitely shown a lot of interest in the preschool industry. There are Singapore, UK, Dubai-based funds which are looking to invest in Middle East, India, Russia, Brazil, China & Africa. The market in these countries is very big, and there is huge space for quality products in the organised sector. The pros of VC funding are the low gestation and fast return period of this industry. However, they are very hard to convince and the due diligence is very strict. n

What is the role of franchisee in preschool education in India?

What are the trends?

The franchisee plays a key role in this industry. With a steep rise in land prices, the economic viability and returns are very slow if one acquires land and builds the school. However, if the property owner is willing to rent the property, it makes more economic sense for him to take a preschool franchisee as it has a quick payback period and low investment, and can be opened anywhere within vicinity of offices.

Global preschool chains are eyeing India for big opportunities.

There are a lot of global preschool chains eyeing the organised sector in the Indian market as there is huge potential. However, there is an impertinent need of the right local partner, who shall implement the curriculum effectively and cultivate awareness about preschool education and its importance in local areas.

special feature

iPreschools ndustry Lead Feature speak

World Class Education for Kids

Background of Shri Ram Study World

Shri Ram Study World is a professionally managed company engaged in providing early child education and care in India. The company has been licensed to set up a chain of preschools under the brand “Kingdom of Kids” which is owned by the renowned and highly reputed Shri Ram Education Trust with a view to bring world class education and personality development practices for every young kid across India. Shri Ram Study World has a vision to combine conventional bricks and mortar education with cutting edge technology to provide holistic development of learners to make them champions of tomorrow.

Salient features of the approach 4 The structure is oriented towards the meeting of the varied needs of the child, each one of whom has his own special pace and process of development.

4 It is not merely the ‘subjects’ of study that should count in education; the aspiration, the need for growth, the experience of freedom, the possibility of educating oneself, of selfexperimentation, the discovery of the inner needs and their relation with the programme of studies, and the discovery of the aim of life and the art of life — these are much more important and the structure of the organisation must provide for them.

4 A great stress falls upon the individual work of the students. This individual work may be the result of the student’s own choice to follow a particular topic of interest; or it may be the result of a suggestion from the teacher but accepted by the student. It may be a follow-up of something explained by the teacher or it may be an original line of inquiry. The essential aim is to encourage and stimulate the student to find genuine interest and joy in work.

60

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

School’s Philosophy The structure is oriented towards the meeting of the varied needs of the children, each one of whom has his own special pace and process of development. We accept that it will be irrational to set a standard of progress which is uniform for all. It would be wiser although more difficult, to consider each individual as a special centre having his own unique rhythms and modes of progress and thus to assess each individual’s progress by standards appropriate to him/her.

Deliverables for the Franchisee owner: 4 Architect Brief and Assistance 4 Advice on Human Resource and Recruitment Management 4 Curriculum & Learning Management.

4 Advice on Procurement and Material Management 4 Advice on IT Management 4 Advice on Financial & Cost Management 4 Advice on Marketing & Promotion 4 Teacher Training 4 Training on Unique SRSW Sales System 4 Quality Audit Contact details for Franchisee enquiry: info@kingdomofkids.com Mayank Singh Serawat - 9873347846 Website: www.kingdomofkids.co m

Area and Investment The investment for opening a Pre-School in a constructed building is between Rs 35 lakh for a 100-kid school (3,500 – 4,500 Sq Ft) to Rs 75 Lakh for a 300-Kid school with an area of 8,000-10,000 SqFt. Expansion Plan – 500 Pre-Schools pan India in next 5 years Requirements for taking up franchisee with your group:

industry speak

education.eletsonline.com

Execution is the key Digital India is a great way forward, says Ratnesh Kumar Jha, Managing Director of Cambridge University Press. In conversation with ENN, he says that the programme will change the way India will look from the next decade What should be the new strategy for India given your own stint in IT, telecom, education solutions and now publishing?

Given India’s vast geography, technology plays an important role in terms of addressing the reach and capacity building. Education done through technology with the world class content will help build capacity and solution for last mile connectivity. That is where we should be going and a lot of tone for that is being set. It is very positive to be part of that tone right now as an enabler.

What will make Digital India successful?

It leverages on strength today. Without education, demographic dividend which we have envisioned for ourselves looks very difficult.

Cambridge in India now is 100 per cent Cambridge. What is the way forward?

India’s story is close to the Cambridge story. Now, across the verticals we work in-academics, K12, English learning, teaching etc, - we are engaged in building capacity and in creating new opportunities. We are engaged in helping India build its capacity in world class content, pedagogical intervention and creating more jobs by creating new solutions for skill building at the basic level. This is how Cambridge University Press plans to go forward and it is very exciting.

Several global IT and education solution firms are eyeing opportunities in India. ‘Digital India’ programme is

very encouraging and empowers India.

So can we support and complement the whole initiative? Yes, we are equipped to help India to realise it.

What does Digital India mean to you?

It means democratising basic needs for every Indian. It solves the problem of a student in a village in Bihar or Kerala or Nagaland who aspires to be part of growing India and dream to study in Cambridge University. Why should he not? If Digital India is disseminated and executed as envisioned by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is a great way forward for India and change the way India looks from the next decade.

Do you see any roadblocks in Digital India implementation?

Execution is the key. It needs to have consistency. It should not be caught in Centre-state issues. Then, we are talking about higher storages, building broadband, rich content. How do we build that kind of massive infrastructure unless you don’t take global players together who have been engaged over the years in such interventions? It will be very difficult.

Is momentum building up among corporates to contribute to Digital India?

Absolutely, it is nice to see people talking about a mix of books with digital resources. It is a very welcome change.

It is the right moment. Digital India has been launched at a time when it has maximum reason to be a great success.

But digital solutions are costly and targets private institutions.

It could be true of large technology companies. But CUP is pervasive and we are there in schools, colleges and universities across the country.

Since you interact with many educators, tell us what is hampering adoption of digital solutions in schools and colleges?

It is too early to make that statement if they are resisting any change. They are positive about it. But there are peripheral issues. For the first time, Government of India is talking about the bandwidth being built to connect colleges and universities. That is a basic infrastructure issue. Then the debate is over the device and content and how the device should be in terms of consumption. There is a huge amount of learning which needs to be done. What is important is creating an enabling environment rather than pushing people. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

61

special feature

iPreschools ndustry Lead feature speak

‘Parenting is becoming more outsourced’ Aspirational young working parents, their rising expectations from children and the demandsupply gap in terms of domestic help are all factors that are fuelling the preschool business, says Hazel Siromoni, Managing Director of Maple Bear What are the current trends in the preschool business in India? Some years ago, there was an IT boom.

Similarly, we see that preschool business in India is in its boom stage. But after the IT boom, there was a bust too, which I expect in the preschool business as quality will survive over quantity.

What are the different models in preschools? Is any model better over others? Why? There are two models primarily. One is self-owned preschools and the other is the franchised model. What is better is more in terms of accountability and quality assurance.

What is the size of preschool education in India?

It is huge and much data is available to determine the exact statistics to size up the industry. But most important is that the size of this business is growing and will continue to grow because of many reasons that favour this growth like aspirational young working parents, taking the risk of making a controversial

statement that parenting is becoming more outsourced, greater expectations by parents from their child for being star performers even as young as 2 year old, nuclear families, demand and supply issue as far as domestic help goes etc.

In view of increasing need for preschools across the country and classes do you think it should be regulated?

In my opinion regulation is a good thing which is in the interest of all the stakeholders. What is most important that it is transparent keeping procedures simple and focussed on weeding out unscrupulous preschools.

What is the investment required for starting a preschool? How lucrative is the preschool business in India?

For staring a Maple Bear preschool, investment could be in the range of `1520 lakh depending on the city and the condition of the site identified. It is a good business opportunity. Delivering a good quality programme does not mean you cannot make a viable business.

How many franchisees plan to continue in this business for a long term?

This has increased wherein more and more franchisees are coming into the business for a long term and are looking it as one of their core business. The entrepreneur profile is changing quite drastically from a homemaker to professionals giving up lucrative jobs as IT professionals, financial analysts, bankers, businessmen and women etc. n

62

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Changing Pedagogiges Shalini Jaiswal, Director-Academic, Maple Bear India How have teaching-learning methods changed in preschools?

Children are naturally curious about their world and are active learners. Playing is an important part of their learning. As they play, they clarify information, integrate ideas from their previous experiences, explore and experiment with their environment. It gives them the opportunity to add knowledge, learn new skills and practice familiar ones. They learn to deal with their feelings, interact with others and resolve conflicts.

They also develop imagination, creativity and solve problems.

Children need to learn to make connections with past experiences and current learning. Integrating topics with skill development will help the children make sense of the world and their learning. The skills are developed through a multitude of activities and the centers are used to extend their hands on learning.

What are the criteria for selecting teachers in your school?

The teachers should have some proven experience in working with young children in an education-like setting. A diploma in early childhood education is preferred. The teachers must speak excellent English and be capable of delivering the programme in English to students. They should have a pleasing personality and should show eagerness to learn and adapt to the Maple Bear pedagogy. Creativity in art and craft and drama are an added advantage.

education.eletsonline.com

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

63

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

Structured approach to learning concepts

Genesis of the company:

The Maple Bear™ programme is owned by Maple Bear™ Global Schools Ltd. Maple Bear™ Global Schools Ltd. was established by the Canadian Education Centre Network (CECN), a private not-for-profit organisation set up in 1995 with the support of Government of Canada dedicated to marketing Canada as a destination for international students. In March 2007, the Maple Bear Education System (TM) became part of Maple Bear™ Global Schools Ltd with Mr. Rodney Briggs as the President and Chairman and Mr. Gerald Macleod as the Vice President of Maple Bear™ Global Schools Ltd. In April 2011, Maple Bear™ in India entered into a joint venture with Modi Edutech. The promoters of Modi Edutech and Maple Bear™ form part of Modi Group of India. Under the leadership of Mr. Alok Modi, the main focus is education.

Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi (August 9, 1902–January 22, 1976) was a noted Indian industrialist and philanthropist, who co-established the Modi Group of companies and the industrial city of Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh in 1933. Later he established a chain of schools and colleges at Modinagar.

He also contributed a lot in the field of higher education by giving grants to established institutions such as Banaras Hindu University and different colleges in Meerut and other places. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Government of India in 1968.

School’s Philosophy: The programme is based upon Immersion language learning and modern education methods which stress direct sensory experience and structured approach to learning concepts. Maple Bear focuses on inquiry-based teaching and learning: learning through questioning, observing, investigating and doing.

Year of Inception: 2004 Managing Director: Hazel Siromoni Age: 45 Head office: Maple Bear Education Pvt. Ltd. 4-7 C DDA Shopping Centre, New Friends Colony, New Delhi- 110025

USP of the group: While the Canadian side of the partnership brings rich content and research-backed educational programmes starting from the early years going to Grade 5, the Indian side brings the expertise and understanding of the franchising business in India as well as the local market intelligence.

Expansion programme: 30 more schools in 2014-2015 Requirements for taking up franchisee with your group Area: Min. 3,000 sq. ft. (5-6 rooms of size around 300 sq.ft.)

Investment: The initial investments is `15-20* lakh (approx)

64

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

*Depends upon the location and site.

education.eletsonline.com

PreSchool Deliverables for the Franchisee owner: Training: • Initial Academic and non-academic training during start up.

• In-person training, observation and coaching and on-line support as needs dictate.

• Access to the best Canadian expert-led workshop locally once a year.

Marketing: Maple Bear helps its franchisees in media planning; provide creatives of all promotional materials like flyers, standees, canopy, posters, newspaper ads etc. A franchisee gets a wide reach through our online social media marketing.

Ongoing: Ongoing Maple Bear trainings are provided to the franchisees through technology platforms. Business advising and all the operational support is given throughout the year.

Branding: Maple Bear helps in branding through its website, monthly newsletter and social media etc.

ERP: Maple Bear will be providing Fee Management System to the franchisees which will ease off and automate their administrative work.

Launch: Maple Bear helps in planning and executing the pre-launch and launch through various promotional activities.

Others: Maple Bear assures the quality of program delivered by its annual quality assurance check.

Contact details for Franchisee enquiry: Mobile: 9873999279, 8882088218 Email: info@maplebear.in Website: www.maplebear.in

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

65

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

‘Preschools should not be Regulated’ What are the current trends in the preschool business in India?

Preschool education has emerged as the most lucrative segment of the Indian education market. According to the current market, the preschool business is thriving in India with the penetration rate expected to rise at a tremendous rate in forthcoming years. Preschool education in India has gained immense importance over the past years due to increased awareness and affordability among parents.

What are the different models in preschools? Is any model better over others? Why? There could be slight variations in different models in preschool.

This depends on the philosophy and curriculum approach of different brands. At Little

Branded preschools have policies in place to regulate safety, hygiene, curriculum delivery and teachers training, says Vittal Bhandary, Managing Director, Learning Edge India Pvt Ltd. In conversation with ENN, he fears that regulations in the hands of government could lead to corruption Elly, we follow a combination of Montessori and Waldorf method. We feel that our model of curriculum and concept methodology is the best in the industry.

What is the role of a franchisee in preschool education in India?

Franchisee plays a very important role in the preschool industry. Most of the preschool brands reach out across India through the franchisee model. Organised players are adopting the franchisee route because of low upfront investment by them. Franchising is very profitable as it creates new opportunities and increases the area of interest for an aspirant business owner who wants to start his own business and expects a quick return on investment.

In view of increasing need for preschools across the country, do you think it should be regulated?

Presently, there are no laws regulating preschool business and operations in most of India. I personally feel that preschools should not be regulated.

Branded preschools have their own way of regulating safety, hygiene, sanitation, curriculum delivery and teachers training. These are part of our policies and we have a robust team to audit this from time to time. The moment these regulations go to a government body, it can lead to a lot of corruption.

What is the investment required for starting a preschool?

For setting up a preschool, you need to

66

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

invest good amount of money depending on the scale at which you want to operate. The investment ranges between `8 lakh to `10 lakh depending upon the location and area chosen.

Are franchisees paying a higher royalty in pre-schools and schools compared to those in professional education?

The royalty in preschool may be slightly high compared to some training institutions. The percentage of royalty is directly related to the support and training mechanism of the brand. There could be brands in our industry that take a lump sum amount at the beginning and don’t support and naturally they may not take royalty.

Have teaching-learning methods changed in preschools? If so, how?

Preschool curriculum framework is designed for continuous in-school guidance and support. To engage our young learners, the teachers should be committed to their own learning and know how to go about it. Presently, teachinglearning methods have transformed immensely in preschools with innovative teaching strategies and technology enhanced learning. In choosing a learning experience for a child, knowing what’s age-appropriate, the teacher is sensitive to every child’s needs. They observe and understand each child’s ability to grasp skills and facilitate the learning process accordingly.n

education.eletsonline.com

www.littleelly.com

Your Child’s happy bubble is now a hop, skip and jump away...

With centers in almost every neighborhood, your child’s world of joy is never far from home. ssions i m d A for Open p ou 75 centres across Bangalore Playgr y r Nurse ten Collaboration with Glen Tree U.K. rgar Kinde are Dayc More than a decade of experience in managing pre-schools

100+ centers across India

Unique integrated curriculum of creativity & academics.

for franchise enquiries contact: 09035065699 To Locate nearest Little Elly center to you & know about admission just SMS “First three Letter of your City"<space>"First three letter of your area"<space><your message> to 9243000900

Corporate Office: Learning Edge India Pvt. Ltd. No.2, Honeydew Mansion, Near BDA Complex, HSR Layout, Sector VII, Bangalore 560102 Bangalore I Hyderabad I Chennai I Pune I Surat I Mangalore I Navi Mumbai I Hosur I Mysore I Belgaum I Davangere I Bhopal digitalLEARNING / November 2014

67

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

Making Learning a Pleasure

Backgroup of the Group: Genesis of the company

Little Elly is a noble initiative of Learning Edge India Pvt Ltd. started back in 2000 in the name of Salmiya Play School in Kuwait with a goal to provide the highest quality care and education for children and to ensure that parents are valued and respected.

In the year 2004, we ventured into preschool business in India on the same line of Salmiya playschool with new ideas suitable to Indian conditions in the name of Little Elly – Little world of joy.

We believe that every child is unique and special. Learning is a lifelong process and so each child needs to be guided at his or her own pace in an en ment which demonstrates love and acceptance.

Our aim is to be a global leader in the field of Early Childhood Education by providing a nurturing and stimulating environment responsive to the changing needs of children, parents, faculty, staff and the neighborhood.

School’s Philosophy: Our Philosophy is about making TEACHING a JOY and LEARNING a PLEASURE. Year of Inception: 2004 CEO: Mr. Vittal Bhandary Age: 48

Educational and professional background: Commerce and Economics

USP of the group: We provide a nurturing and stimulating environment responsive to the changing needs of children, parents, faculty, staff and the neighborhood. LE program provides something special for each age group, with a multitude of activities and experiences encouraging children’s natural curiosity and sense of learning.

In Little Elly we instill and encourage passion in teachers because building relationships with the children and teachers, has allowed us to continuously improve ourselves and influence a positive change in the school culture.

Funding source: No Has any vc or private equity involved: No How many franchisee are under them? 110 franchisees Expansion programme: After gaining momentum and growth on the rapidly expanding educational industry, we are yet exploring opportunities to break into new zones. In future, we are expanding to 15 prime cities with 500 centers and also targeting a minimum of 3 International markets to expand overseas.

68

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Mr. Vittal Bhandary, Founder and Managing Director, conceptualized the Little Elly chain of preschools with the vision of nurturing great values in children, combining them harmoniously with early childhood education.

It has taken twenty five years of single-minded focus, great passion, concerted effort and deep understanding about the dynamics of childcare, for him to lead an accomplished team of professionals, in developing an organization whose prime focus is early childhood care, with the successfully run preschool and childcare environments being testament to that fact.

His innovation, dedication and phenomenal belief in this venture, has led to a successful diversification of the business, into the areas of children’s publications, learning aids, pedagogy support, early schooling, daycare and corporate affiliate programs.

Head office: Bangalore Address: Learning Edge India Pvt. Ltd. No. 2, Honeydew Mansion, Above Pizza Hut, Near BDA Complex, HSR Layout, Sector VII, Bangalore 560102

education.eletsonline.com

PreSchool New Education Verticals: Elly Plus – After school club Elly Plus provides After School Programs for children from age group 4.5 to 10 years. We offer various enrichment programs for children of varied age groups concentrating largely on Literacy, Numeracy and Science.

The programs aim to be hands on and experiential. They are also aligned to standard school curriculum.

For enquiries contact: www.littleelly.com/ellyplus Glentree Academy Coming Soon: New K-12 schools, first ever Green Concept Schools Glen Tree Academy operates on the philosophy of “Learning for Life”. The school distinguishes itself as a socially responsible institution, providing practical life skills integrated with academic learning through its core values.

Our vision is to create a holistic, green learning environment that nurtures and empowers our students to be responsible citizens/members of society.

Requirements for taking up franchisee with your group: Area , Investment capacity.

Total investment: 8 – 10 lakhs Area required: 2500 sq. feet

Deliverables for the Franchisee owner: Training: Franchisee Orientation / Coordinator training, Teacher Induction & ERP training Marketing: The team will prepare a pre - opening marketing campaign and design the requisite publicity materials, brochures and flyers for distribution, trade shows and specialized marketing events Ongoing: On - going PR, advertising and campaign on social networking sites Branding: Print media and Digital ERP: Customized software for management Launch: Free Seminar, Promotional Items, Open House

Contact details for Franchisee enquiry: 09035065699 franchise@littleelly.com Website: www.littleelly.com

Others: F Assistance of survey, study and site selection F Assistance of interiors and layout F Assistance in supply of teaching aids, toys and equipments F Assistance to recruit and train staff F Parents orientation program (POP) F Standard operating manual F Research and development

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

69

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

‘Venture Capital Funds should be seen with Caution’ What are the current trends in the preschool business in India?

The preschool market will reach US $1,833 million by 2014, growing fast at a CAGR of around 13 per cent during 2011-2014 and expanding as we move forward. This growth is a result of the rise in nuclear families and disposable incomes leading to higher demand for quality preschools even in small towns and non-metros. The business is expected to touch Rs 13,300 crore by 201516, with branded preschools expected to contribute about Rs 4,500 crore. However, the preschool industry is still in its nascent stage in India with around 1.1 per cent enrolment as compared to France or Scotland where it is 100 per cent. Even with the strong growth of preschools in India over the last decade, less than 20 per cent of the Indian preschool market belongs to the organised sector.

What is the role of a franchise in preschool education in India?

What are the trends?

When someone from the community takes up a franchise and drives early childhood education in that catchment area with local expertise and best in class tools, techniques, learning plans and training that Kidzee provides, it helps the community and the brand become one. Strong advantage of this model is knowledge sharing, experience, brand image, and technical expertise that brands like Kidzee bring to the table.

The industry is also witnessing an influx of women entrepreneurs.

In view of the increasing need for

70

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

There is a growing global interest in the booming Indian preschool market. In conversation with ENN, K V S Seshasai, Chief Executive Officer, Zee Learn, says though VCs’ interest is no surprise, it should be seen with a prism of caution in the interest of academic excellence. Excerpts

preschools across the country and classes, do you think it should be regulated?

There is a need for a standardisation to ensure certain basic pre-requisites at every preschool. Some larger players have brought that to the sector and Kidzee, as a market leader, has initiated various steps to ensure that there is standardisation across tool kits, look and feel, curriculum, infrastructure and more importantly, safety for the child.

How many franchisees plan to continue in this business for a long term?

Most of our franchisees look at expansion in the long term. In fact, some of our edupreneurs have gone ahead and started a Mount Litera Zee School (our K-12 brand) over and above Kidzee. The franchisees of Kidzee realise the association is a win-win.

What are the criteria for selecting teachers in your school?

All preschool teachers are to be at least certified in early childhood care and education. Exposure to managing, being active with the kids, command on English language are other parameters.

Global preschool chains are eyeing India for opportunities to set up their franchisee.

India is a vast country which has multiple ethnicities, languages, cultures and different parental mindsets. It is against this context that we need to look at preschool chains entering into India. There is no particular profile of a preschool franchisee and we have seen a mix ranging from fresh graduates looking to start their own venture to retired teachers/professors wanting to put their experience to use and even businessmen who have left their existing businesses to enter into this category.

Venture capital funds have evinced keen interest in the preschool sector. How do you view this?

Seeing the huge potential in preschool segment and the large number of entrepreneurs rushing into pre-school segment, the keen interest by VCs is no surprise but it should be seen with a prism of caution to ensure that academic excellence does not get overrun..n

education.eletsonline.com

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

71

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

‘Child is the Centre of our Universe’

Backgroup of the Group

Zee Learn Ltd owes its beginnings to a belief in the Essel Group and that of our Chairman Mr. Subhash Chandra that India’s future can be brighter only if quality education is imparted to its future generation to help prepare them to take on every challenge that tomorrow might throw at them. Started in 1994 with this belief, Zee Learn Ltd is a leading educational organisation from the group with strong brands that have delivered success, respect and immense satisfaction to all our parents, students & franchisees. It is a public listed company and addresses educational and learning requirements right from the age of 1.5 years till a child turns into a confident adult ready to take on the world of tomorrow.

Genesis of the company The purpose of Zee Learn is to help deliver best in class education and learning to our children so that they in turn can help India achieve its true potential from its demographic dividend. However, we saw a big gap between what education needs to do to prepare leaders and visionaries of tomorrow and what is being delivered. We at Zee Learn aim to bridge this gap by improving the human capital by helping individuals realise their unique potential through quality education and development.

It is this excellence and belief that has helped us scale new heights and spread quality education across 550 cities and towns. In some of our markets we have had to go out and educate people about the importance of preschool and that of Early Childhood in the shaping of a child’s future. Our PreSchool brand, Kidzee is today Asia’s largest PreSchool network with over 1350 Centres. Over 400,000 children have been enriched with an experience called Kidzee. Global learning and research helps us stay ahead of the curve and our roots in India help us contextualize it for the Indian audience thereby creating a unique learning experience through our Trademarked Pedagogy – iLLUME. We are also one of the leaders in the K-12 Education segment with over 80 operational schools across India by the name of Mount Litera Zee School.

ZICA & ZIMA offer vocational courses for youth. We have also recently launched Mount Litera School International (IB School) in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai as part of our commitment to offer the finest quality education across different segments and age groups.

Year of Inception: 2003 CEO: K V S Seshasai Educational and professional background: BE, IIM Head office: Mumbai Address: Fun Republic, 6th Floor, Link Road, Andheri (west), Mumbai - 53 USP of the group: While Excellence is at the core of our brands, one key aspect is that for us the “Child is the Centre of our universe”. We follow a philosophy of “What’s Right For The Child” and keeping that in mind, we have designed our curriculum and activities that go beyond the routine and make learning fun and engaging.

72

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

Number of franchisees We currently have 1350 operational Kidzee preschools which is incidentally Asia’s largest preschool network and have 150 signed up Mount Litera Zee Schools across the country.

education.eletsonline.com

PreSchool Expansion programme We have a dedicated expansion team that looks after increasing the Kidzee and MLZS schools. This team is core to the organisation as they help increase the base for the organisation and build a robust foundation for future growth. Currently lead the preschool category with Kidzee and continue to strengthen the position and with school are aggressively growing across the country. We have recently launched both our brands in Nepal and there are plans of entering most of the South Asian markets in the near future.

Requirements for taking up a franchisee with your group Area in sq ft

Investment in `

Breakeven in yrs

Current centres and how many franchised?

2000-3000 sq ft 2-3 acres

`10 Lacs `10 Crores

1.5 6

1350 Kidzee centres 150 MLZ Schools

Deliverables for the Franchisee owner: Since we believe in excellence across our company, for franchisees as well there are multiple differentiating points that Zee Learn offers: w We provide all our franchises with a proven model that helps them get Respect, Recognition, Rewards and Returns w Our organisation is backed up by the strength of Zee & Essel group and that helps us deliver the best in class support to help our franchisees to run a great educational institution w We provide end to end management services to get the preschool and schools operationalised w Help in enrolments through concerted and joint marketing efforts w Trademarked and best in class pedagogy for Kidzee and Mount Litera Zee Schools w Comprehensive training for teachers, business partners, counselors and parents w From starting up to running centres and from training to motivation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kidzee supports its entrepreneurial franchisees immensely.

Contact details for Franchisee enquiry: If you have the passion for being your own boss and are looking for a proposition that gives you Respect, Recognition, Rewards and Returns, then we are the ones to reach out to. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely easy to start a franchise with Zee Learn We have made it easy to connect with us via various mediums: Call to Connect: 093200 63100 Mail to connect: franchise@zeelearn.com for Kidzee or partner@zeelearn.com for Mount Litera Zee School Web Connect: www.zeelearn.com | www.kidzee. com | www.mountlitera.com At an initial level, a telephonic representative will get in touch with you to provide basic information and schedule a meeting with our regional sales leader.

To give you a comprehensive understanding of the model, the sales team will provide a business presentation to you where all your queries can be addressed. This sales leader is thereafter a dedicated representative to take the initiative forward on all aspects, i.e. paper work, fees, set up guidelines, etc.

Website: www.zeelearn.com | www.kidzee.com | www.mountlitera.com

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

73

special feature

iPreschools ndustry Lead Feature speak

The ‘play way’ to education

PreSchool

Both imagination and play are inherent parts of effective education, Arpita Mittal, CEO, Helen O’Grady International, tells Elets News Network

What is the role of speech and drama in the education of a child?

Guidelines from the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), two respected professional associations, affirm that play is essential for all children’s healthy development and learning across all ages, domains, and cultures. Play contributes to children’s cognitive, language, literacy, social/ emotional, and creative development.

Traditional education may be summed up as curriculum centred outside the child. However, the new movement in education, which has introduced the concept of child-centred education, is

74

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

combined with children’s play. Moreover, drama is seen as the “play way” to education. Both imagination and play are inherent parts of effective education.

What is the genesis of Helen o’Grady?

Founded in Australia in 1979, the system is widely used in over 25 countries across the globe. We are the world’s largest after-school drama programme which has widely gained acceptance by over one million children across the world. In India, Helen O’Grady International Pvt. Ltd. has partnered exclusively with Govind Knowledge Ventures Pvt.Ltd.

What is the USP of the group?

Well-defined international curriculum, innovative and unique methodology and comprehensive and systemised training of teachers.

Why choose Helen O’Grady drama academy?

To give your child the gift of lifelong confidence and creativity. The child will feel energetic, enthusiastic and more positive. Our classes are fun! We help the child to unleash his or her creativity.

The child’s conversation skills, listening skills and concentration skills will be enhanced.n

710, Palm Spring, Link Road, Malad (W), Mumbai - 400 064 Tel : 022 - 4022 7481 / 7482 / 7483 / 7484 Email : admin@helenogrady.co.in www.helenogrady.co.in

industry speak

76

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

education.eletsonline.com

77

industry speak

78

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

‘Regulations should not Act as a Disincentive’

Growing at an annual rate of 20 to 25 per cent, things are certainly looking up for the preschool industry in India. In conversation with ENN, Raman Bajaj, Managing Director – Educomp Childcare Pvt. Ltd, says that the industry today needs correct, meaningful and easily implementable regulation What are the current trends in the preschool business in India?

Preschool is a nascent market in India, with many families only now beginning to enroll their children for preschool education for the first time. The Indian consumer is becoming highly aware and conscious about the importance of early childhood education as the building blocks (foundation) of learning for future years. There is an increasing demand for scientifically developed preschool curriculum (not just “any” cur-

80

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

riculum). Preschool is a fast growing sector, growing at a CAGR of 20-25 per cent. Within the sector, the ‘organised/ branded’ preschools segment is growing very rapidly at a CAGR of 40-45 per cent, and is one of the fastest growing segments in the education space. Our preschool brand Little Millennium is one of the fastest growing chains of preschools in India with over 250 preschool centres now operating across 65 cities.

What are the different models in

preschools? Is any model better over others? Why? A preschool can be set up either in a franchise model or on one’s own. There are several advantages of franchising which are difficult to come by for entrepreneurs who choose to set up on their own. For example, franchising provides access to a well established brand, access to a scientific well-designed curriculum faster time to launch, proven methodology/ track record, access to established processes & systems, ongoing support &

education.eletsonline.com

PreSchool training and ongoing R&D and innovation, among other benefits.

What is the role of franchisee in preschool education in India?

What are the trends?

Preschool education needs to be available in every neighborhood, as children in that age cannot travel long distances.

Preschools need to be present in every neighborhood, every locality of every city. This is why the role of individual entrepreneurs who take up a preschool franchise, becomes extremely important. It is these franchisees who make it possible for structured and researched preschool curriculum to reach the millions of children all over the country.

We are seeing very encouraging growth trends in the market. We are witnessing a rapid spread of organised preschool education to tier II and tier III markets.

We are also seeing that more and more women entrepreneurs are coming forward to start preschools. For example, across the chain of Little Millennium preschools, almost 85 per cent of the centres are run by women franchisees.

In view of increasing need for preschools across the country and classes, do you think it should be regulated?

Regulation is not necessarily a bad thing, but what we need is correct, meaningful and easily implementable regulation.

We need to work on creating awareness amongst parents regarding importance of early childhood education and improving quality by adhering to minimum quality standards of delivery.

We need to work along with regulatory authorities towards regulations that are in the best interests of all stakeholders.

There is an increasing demand for preschool education across the country and regulations should not act as a disincentive for education providers to create the supply.

What is the investment required for starting a preschool? How lucrative is the business of preschool business in India?

One of the significant benefits of start-

ing a preschool venture is that it requires low startup investment. As a result, a well-run preschool can offer high return for the franchisee. The business also has a high operating leverage as franchisees can operate multiple revenue streams form the same fixed cost base (e.g. several preschools offer daycare service as well, as the two go hand in hand). This is also one of the best ventures of owned property centres. Overall, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very lucrative

business opportunity for entrepreneurs.

Are franchisees paying a higher royalty in preschools and schools compared to those in professional education?

No. How many franchisees are planning to continue this business in the long term and what percentage of them are planning to start up their own businesses since they have gained enough expertise and exposure through this opportunity?

Most of the franchisees that we have been working with, plan to continue this business in the long term and a large percentage of them (about 90 per cent) plan to continue the business in partnership with us. The key reason behind Little Millennium partners choosing to continue the partnership even after the contract term is the continued value that we provide on an ongoing basis. Franchisees also see a lot of value in continuous upgradation of curriculum, access to software systems and process, access to R&D & innovative teaching aids and creative and impactful communication strategies.

Is the franchisee fee higher in preschools as compared to other education verticals?

No. Franchisee fee for preschool segment are the lowest compared to other verticals.

Please take us though different steps of setting up a preschool.

We guide our franchisees at every stage of centre setup and ongoing centre operation. We engage with them right from finding and finalising a suitable location for the preschool, designing the preschool, recruitment of teachers, training, designing the marketing communication, ongoing quality audit, regular training, monitoring and support to ensure the success of the preschool centers. Global preschool chains are eyeing India for big opportunities to set up their franchisee and also in teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s training. n

digitalLEARNING / November 2014

81

special feature

iPreschools ndustry s peak

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;SMARTKiDZ Perfect for My Missionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Excellent curriculum, efficient management and the right ideologies are what attracted C Gayathri Jitendra to SMARTKiDZ. Five years as Center Head of the Bachupally franchise, she says she is proud to be part of this thorough and professional early childhood educator Why did you get into preschool education?

Education is my passion. As I saw my children growing, I learnt many things myself. Their inquisitiveness made me realise that with little guidance, they could do wonders. With this inspiration, I thought of running a preschool where I can help and guide other children in the right direction and in turn, help the nation by nurturing future ambassadors. I believe a preschool is the only place where we can give the right morals, values and make children aware of traditions and culture from an early age.

I believe one must have a strong foundation for a long-lasting impression.

Why Smartkidz?

I found SMARTKiDZ perfect for my mission as it is managed by efficient and capable directors. The quality of education

82

November 2014 / digitalLEARNING

and the ideologies are very well-suited for training preschool children.

What is the amount you invested?

The amount invested has been spread across couple of years. As it stands, school has become capable of handling its routine expenses without any external financial assistance.

What is the royalty paid by you to your franchisor?

A total of 15 per cent royalty is paid by the franchisee with extra service charges. I feel it is reasonable for the quality they provide.

How long have you been with Smartkidz?

I have been working with SMARTKiDZ as Center Head for the last five years and am proud to be part of this thorough and

professional early childhood educator.

What is the assistance you get from your franchisor?

SMARTKiDZ provides all guidelines throughout the year which includes training teachers, center head in handling and guiding the tiny tots in a professional way. The training includes personality development, enhancing extra-curricular activities, motor skill development, special care for overactive and differently abled children, organising special events, child care, child safety, and new methods of teaching.

What is the curriculum prescribed

by Smartkidz? Are the academic guidelines sufficient? Are you allowed to experiment?

One of the main reasons I chose SMARTKiDZ is for its excellent curriculum. Due to this prescribed curriculum, I have witnessed oustanding performances by children at school. Writing and reading skills have been introduced with easy and playful methods. Many concepts have been introduced through moral stories, pictures flash cards and puppet shows.

Practical knowledge is gained trough field trips. Animated audio visual sessions help children learn concepts easily. Focus and concentration of the child is developed through various motor skill development activities. As we all know, every child is different in his/her pace of learning. The curriculum is well designed to bring all the aspects of early childhood education. New technologies, teaching methodologies and creative ideas are encouraged to promote positive outcomes to their learning and behaviour.n

RNI NO. UPENG/2008/25311

UP/GBD-70/2012-14