May 2011
FTII Awaiting Waterloo? Investigative story on the crisis in Pune’s prestigious FTII
Overhauling B Schools
For improving quality of Indian management education
Rs 30 $ 5
Dr M S Valiathan
On the need for an Indian instrumentation industry
Advt
EDITOR’S NOTE Volume 1 Issue 1 | May 2011
Editor Prof James Joseph Managing Editor Tom B Mannapurathu Chief Executive Officer Jettin J Manuel Executive Editor Varghese Koshy A Features Editor James Paul Sr. Sub Editor Celine George Reporters Lakshmi Narayanan B Sreenath Design Kailasnath BUSINESS Head - Business M Kumar Editorial & Business Offices Bengaluru: ED TODAY MEDIA Opp. Mount Carmel College Palace Road, Vasanthnagar Bengaluru – 560052 Cochin: ED TODAY MEDIA Civil Lines Road, Padivattom Cochin – 24 Phone: 0484 – 4233305 Mail: info@edtoday.in UK: ED TODAY MEDIA 145 - 157, St. John Street London, EC1V 4PY Marketing & Sales Middle East: Radhakrishnan Ph: 00971 505081525 Colombo: Sivabaskar Ph: 0094 777747245 Delhi: Jomon Thomas Ph: 09911416803 Mumbai: Mathew M. Antony Ph: 09870323964 Bengaluru: Anish Antony Ph: 09845311332 Published from Shadwell Avenue, Civil Lines Road, Padivattom, Cochin – 692024 and printed at S.T. Reddiar & Sons (EKM), Veekshanam Road, Cochin – 682035. Printed, published and owned by Tom Baby.
Opening up Education Sector the Only Way Forward More than 500 million people of our 1.7-billion-strong India are below 25 years of age and for the country to achieve its pronounced goal of growth and development, it is imperative that our youth get proper education. But in spite of a higher Budget allocation, the 11th Planning Commission has identified a stupendous resource gap of a whopping Rs 2.2 trillion in the education sector which can only be filled by private funding. In this sector, it’s a known fact that the rates of return are high and the potential for growth enormous. No wonder then that it is one of the favourite destinations for private players and private equity funds in the country and the whole of the Asian continent, which of late has been attracting investment in this sector on a massive scale. However, in India, it is only in the relatively smaller non-formal education sector comprising preparatory schools, vocational training schools and similar coaching institutes for skill development that governmental regulations are minimal and allow distribution of profits. Not surprising then that private players are rushing to monopolise this sector. It, therefore, is important that the education sector is given the status of an industry to attract private players to the formal segment in this sector which constitutes 80 per cent of the market share. It is not that regulations are not necessary; they are, in fact, a must, to check undesirable elements out to make a fast buck from exploiting the situation. However, it is very important that over-regulations are done away with and the sector is made investor friendly. In this connection, the latest Government of India initiative to welcome foreign universities into the country is a step in the right direction. According to the 2009 Jandhyala B.G. Tilak Report on Household Expenditure on Education and Implications for Redefining the Poverty Line in India, it is for education of its children that an average Indian household incurs its third largest expenditure. This amply demonstrates the interest the average Indians show towards educating their children. So, it is essential that the government reciprocate adequately to the aspirations of the people and usher in the much needed reforms in this sector, viz, improving the standard and quality of education throughout the country, especially in the rural areas where it has been neglected. Asian Educator, arguably the first magazine of its kind catering solely to the needs of education in this country and South Asia in general, considers it its mission to serve the aspiring younger generation to get proper education, and would work towards educating the people and the government on what it would take to achieve the government’s set goal of educating all by 2015.
CONTENTS
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Cover Story
Should India’s Education Sector be Liberalised?
By evaluating the positive aspects of globalisation in the Indian economy, Sam Pitroda, the educational advisor to Prime Minister and a well known scholar has opined that such liberalisation should be extended to country’s educational sector.
34 Sam Pitroda
All About Education What it really needs is government is ready to put money where their mouth is. 11th plan is all about education, education, education.
22 Dr M S Valiathan Medical Education
What is imperative is we should develop a strong instrumentation industry in partnership with MNCs, if necessary, with the global market in view but there should be a differential pricing system for developing and developed countries.
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35 Investment
Opportunities in Education Sector
As India gears up for greater private investment in education, it is clear that the government is looking for a formal commercialisation of the sector.
Edu Branding
Branding of Education in India
should be clearly on the lines of career prospects that may be available for the candidates in the changing economic scenario in India in particular and the world at large.
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
CONTENTS
19 Edupreneur Prof A Balasubramanian The story of a successful edupreneur.
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Investigative Story
FTII Awaiting Waterloo?
53 Educationist
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII, Pune), the premium film institute in the country, which has produced stalwarts in the world cinema is on the bane and has been struggling for its survival .
Dr Vivek Sane
Speaks on the present management education scenario.
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Management Education
Turning B Schools into A Schools: Can we manage it? This is no time to tweak what has been done before. What is imperative is a thorough overhaul of management education.
46 Irina Ghose
37 P Radhakrishnan
The Role of Technology
Rising to the Challenges of Space
At Microsoft, our work is based on the belief that the fundamental role of technology is to help people achieve their potential—to provide them with tools and capabilities that empower them to unleash their knowledge and creativity. ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Today we rank among the nations with an advanced space program. Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the great visionary and founding father of the Indian space program had said in the 1960’s.
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NEWS PICS US - China education Germany most supportive cooperation Germany has been named the most supportive country for overseas students. Among the attractions is the increasing availability in Germany of courses taught entirely in English. UK was ranked, China fourth ahead of US in sixth place. India was placed 11th. A major attraction of Germany is that overseas students do not pay any more in tuition fees than home students and many German universities do not charge tuition fees at all. _ British Council
UAE education spending on the rise Dubai: The overall expenditure on education in the UAE has been steadily rising, from $1.83 million (Dh6.7 million) in 2005 to $3.4 million in 2010, according to a Euromonitor International data. It showed that university fees could now amount to Dh50,000 annually. A bachelor undergraduate degree can cost anywhere between Dh24,000 and Dh66,000 a year; for medicine it could be Dh80,000 a year. For overseas education, expenses average Dh179,000 a year. The average annual cost of study abroad will amount to approximately Dh155,000 at a UK university and Dh165,000 at a US university.
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Taliban no longer opposed to female education Afghanistan’s Education Minister Farooq Wardak said that the Taliban no longer oppose schooling girls. Minister told that a “cultural change” was underway in his country and that the Taliban were “no more opposing girls’ education”.Under the Taliban regime, girls were not allowed to go to school. Even recently, female education provoked violent protests. In November 2008, unknown attackers sprayed acid on the face of 14 female students and teachers in Kandahar to “punish them”, an act that cause protest and raised worldwide concern.
Washington: The US and China have identified steps to further cooperation on education. The steps were discussed at the second annual high-level US-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange. The US-China Fulbright programme has provided support for more than 3,000 American and Chinese students and scholars to study teach and conduct research in one another’s countries. China and the US launched CPE in May 2010 in Beijing to strengthen ties between their citizens in the areas of women’s issues, education, culture, sports, and science and technology.
AICTE allows foreign tech institutions to operate in India The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has allowed foreign institutions to set up their campuses in the country. The foreign institutions can impart technical education but will not be allowed to offer their own degrees to the students. As per the new ‘approval norms’, foreign institutions can set up campuses or collaborate with technical colleges approved by AICTE anywhere in the country. Foreign institutions can also collaborate with any company established under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956. This has come even as HRD Ministry’s Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation and Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 is still impending.
IIT Delhi emerges as top university for IT graduates IIT Delhi has been ranked India’s top university for IT graduates, according to GILD report. The Delhi institute was created as a centre of excellence for higher training, research and development in science, engineering and technology in India.IIT Delhi is one of the seven institutes of technology, the others being those at Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Bombay, Guwahati and Roorkee. GILD, the fastest growing network for technology professionals, has announced the release of the first ever GILD Talent Report for the India market, which comprises a comprehensive analysis covering over one lakh IT professionals who are active members of the GILD network. ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
NEWS PICS Harvard, world’s best The Times Higher Education magazine has listed 200 top universities based on how they are regarded by a panel of international academics. In third place, Cambridge is top among UK universities; Oxford is 6th and London School of Economics 37th. 1. Harvard 2. MIT 3. Cambridge 4. California, Berkeley 5. Stanford 6. Oxford 7. Princeton 8. Tokyo 9. Yale 10. California Institute of Technology. Seven of the top 10 are US universities, headed by Harvard and MIT. Fourteen of the top 20 are from US. In Asia, six of Chinese universities figure in the list of 200. However, no Indian institutes of higher education figures in this ranking report. Though IITs, IIMs and JNU had figured in the list of 200 institutes in the past, this time they don’t a place in it.
World Bank urges joboriented education
The World Bank has asked nations across the world to focus on imparting employmentoriented education. World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick has asked developing nations to benefit from education. The World Bank has pitched for a education framework that will prepare students to compete in the market and make them more industry friendly.
China to promote rights education
Malaysia launches global education hub Malaysia is positioning as a global dominant player in education by launching a major hub for higher education that is already attracting world-class universities to settle on its soil.“We had originally planned for EduCity to host 12,000 students when it’s completed,” Khairil Anwar Ahmad, the chief executive of Education@Iskandar, a a special purpose vehicle set up to develop EduCity project, said.Work is under way in Southern Malaysia’s Iskandar zone to build EduCity, the educational project which officials hope will set Malaysia as the new global and regional center for education. ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Beijing: Chinese Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of human rights education and training bases in Nankai University, China University of Political Science and Law and Guangzhou University. They will be the first batch of national-level human rights education and training bases at Chinese universities. Li Buyun, a well-known jurist and director of the Human Rights Research Center under Guangzhou University, said that the establishment of the bases will greatly promote China’s human rights education. Currently, more than 40 colleges and universities in China offering courses on human rights laws to undergraduates and graduates of various majors. “Human rights have a direct bearing on people’s vital interests, and human rights education and training is beneficial to both the country and the people,” Li said.
Sex education delays teen intercourse A US study has found that school-going teenagers are less likely to experiment if they are provided sex education at schools. The finding was based on a study, led by Trisha Mueller, an epidemiologist with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that male teens who received sex education in school were 71 per cent less likely to have sexual intercourse before the age of 15. Similarly, 59 per cent of educated female teenagers were less likely to have sex before attaining the age of 15 years. Meanwhile, males who attended school were 2.77 times more likely to rely upon birth control the first time they had intercourse if they had been in sex-education classes.
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PERSONALITIES
An Officer and a Lady Sajita Nair is a retired Short Service Commission officer of the Indian Army, one of the first few women to achive this goal. Her work ‘She’s a Jolly Good Fellow’, talks about her experience in the Army. She may be contacted at mail@sajitanair.com
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career in the armed forces is the right choice if you are a young and spirited woman looking for something beyond the ordinary. Get commissioned as an officer in the Army, Navy or Air Force and feel the thrill of wearing the uniform, undertaking challenging tasks, adventure activities and travel. Fly planes, handle guns, ride in tanks, command troops or manage equipment and resources – here’s a career that is offbeat and yet immensely satisfying. The role of women in the armed forces was initially restricted to the medical profession. It was in 1992 that women began to get commissioned as regular officers in aviation, signals, education, logistics, law, engineering and administrative branches of the armed forces. Currently, women serve as Short Service Commissioned
(SSC) officers for up to 14 years. In most branches, permanent commission is also offered to those who are found professionally competent. On completion of their tenure, SSC officers are released with gratuity. They can also avail of ex-serviceperson benefits such as medical facilities, canteen facilities and coveted club memberships. Levels of entry differ based on academic qualifications. Women can join the armed forces after graduation, post graduation or professional courses such as law or engineering. Selected candidates undergo training at the training establishments i.e, the Officer’s Training Academy, Chennai for the Army, the Naval Academy, Ezhimala for the Navy and the Air Force Academy, Dundigal for the Air Force. On successful completion of training they are commissioned as officers. As young officers posted in defence establishments, right from day one, you learn to shoulder responsibilities, manage your sub-ordinates and your resources. You learn to be a good team player, a resourceful individual and develop a multi-dimensional personality. Irrespective of the branch you serve in, managerial skills, discipline, grit and positive attitude are qualities you imbibe as an officer. These qualities stay with you for life and are much sought after in any avenue of work. Most women officers on completion of their tenures in the defence services are absorbed by private or public sectors. Some of them head organisations while others hold important positions. Each one however, cherishes her tenure in services and the values she imbibed as an officer and a lady. In 1994, when I joined my first unit, men were awestruck at the idea of women serving in the regular Army. To earn their acceptance and respect, I undertook difficult tasks and honed my leadership skills. By facing new and challenging situations at my workplace, I learnt to overcome odds, work as a team and get along with individuals of different temperaments. Post my Army tenure too, these qualities have helped me. As a struggling writer facing rejections, my discipline, perseverance and positive attitude have come to my aid. There may be other professions that lure you with money. But a service in the armed forces still retains its sheen. The uniform gives you what no other profession can - a deep sense of satisfaction and pride to know that an entire nation places its trust and expectations on you. So if you have what it takes, march right ahead and prepare for a rewarding career in the services. w
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
YOUNG ACHIEVERS Age:26, Qualification: engineer, Profession: singer, director, actor… Vineeth Sreenivasan,son of writer, director and actor Sreenivasan, created history by making his debut as director at the age of 26 Basically, a mechanical engineer, he preferred the film industry following the footsteps of his illustrious father. Unlike his father, music is his passion and he began his career as a playback singer in the film Kilichundan Mambazham in the year 2002. Since then he has never looked back and has established as a playback singer with more than 60 songs to his credit.
of sales, which is gearing up to a $ 1 billion company. She was included in the director board of Sundaram Clayton at the age of 26 and became one of the youngest women to achieve such a corporate position. Lakshmi, the heiress of TVS group, graduated from Yale university and holds a doctorate in engineering management from university of Warwick,UK. She had her initial training for 3 years as management trainee in Sundaram Auto components limited, a subsidiary of Sundaram Clayton from 2003-06. There after her’s has been an impressing career growth. “I am lucky to grow up with my parents in their own businesses with completely different management skills and different ways of handling situations”, Lakshmi proudly says.
Research is her passion
Apart from playback singing Vineeth has been composing music albums. Majority of his albums have become campus hits. In the year 2008 Vineeth made debut as an actor in the film Cycle. Makante achan, Traffic are some of his box office hits. He was awarded the Ujala-Asianet new face of the year for the best performance for his debut film Cycle. In 2010 he created history by directing the film Malarvadi Arts Club and became the youngest film director in the Malayalam film industry. Script and songs of the film were also his contribution. He has proved himself as a talented, multi skilled personality like his father and has carved a place for himself in the hearts of his audience.
Dr.Linshy Ajesh was awarded the Young Scientist Award by the Indian Science Congress for her research in the field of marine pollution. Marine pollution is evident, when organisms of the higher tropic levels are affected; a base level detection of pollutants is not achieved. An effective tool to address the problem is time series pollution detection by using foraminifera as proxy, she observed.
Women corporate power
She did her Ph.D. in Marine Science, from Dept. of Marine Sciences, Goa University, 2010 and post Graduation (Geology Hons.), from Dept. of Geology, University of Pune, 2003. She graduated from Christ College Irinjalakuda, University of Calicut, Kerala, 2001 in Geology.
A young dynamic lady with high determination in her eyes, has established her name in the Indian corporate industry by being one of the directors of Sundaram Clayton. Daughter of TVS motors cochairman Venu Srinivasan and corporate women Mallika Srinivasan, Lakshmi has strong corporate management experience of her own. As the 3rd women manager in the automobile industry, Lakshmi has added enough feathers in her cap. She was the manager for TVS, the country’s third largest two wheeler manufacturer in terms ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Dr.Linshy was also awarded ‘Women Scientist Fellowship (WOS-B)’, Science and Society Division, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India (2005-2008),Best Poster Prize XXIth Indian Colloquium of Micropalaeontology and Stratigraphy, (2007),UGC-DAAD short term Research Fellowship (2008),CSIR-Senior Research Fellowship (2008- till date), awarded Fast Track fellowship for Young Scientists by Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India (2011).
She is settled in Mumbai with husband Ajesh John and one- year old daughter Ashlyn. Her husband Ajesh John is working as a Geo Scientist, Reliance Industries Ltd. Mumbai. w
VOICES
In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity--it is a prerequisite. And yet, we have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish. This is a prescription for economic decline. Barak Obama
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Vice Chancellors are appointed at the instance of the political establishment. This must end. If we really want our system to thrive, then the academic world should be left free to its own devices in the hope that you create a future for the country. Kapil Sibal, Union Cabinet Minister for Human Resource Development
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Semester system is a very good and positive system; it enhances learning; it ensures that education goes on throughout the year. Lt Gen DDS Sandhu, Vice Chancellor, Kurukshetra University
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The current education system has definitely increased the supply of the number of work force to the world and there is a great demand for our graduates in other countries but we have to achieve excellence, especially in the field of research. Dr M Ramanathan, Vice Chancellor, Annamalai University
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Plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. .. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education. Jean Jacques Rousseau
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Universities should have a different freedom system. In the universities system itself, we very strongly recommended that single discipline institutes are not universities, they can’t be universities. All over the world, great institutions started in one subject but then they expanded and included all the subjects. Yash Pal-chancellor JNU
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Teaching the Next Generation to Manage Water
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“Our country is facing a severe scarcity of experts in the field of water management. As our population is soaring, water management is very important for economic growth”.
he time has come to address the impending threat of a water crisis which will jeopardise the very existence of human race around the world. Change in climatic conditions, depletion of traditional sources and the steady decline of rainfall in many areas have made the crisis severe than ever before. Water scarcity will be the most serious problem which the human kind is going to face in the near future. The problem should be approached with urgency and solutions should be found at the earliest. Trained professionals are required to address this problem that may bring the life in this world to an end. Karunya University has designed and begun an M Tech course in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) with a vision to achieve scientific water management and water security for all, especially those in the semi-arid zone, with the application of academic, scientific and other relevant inputs. Karunya is the only University in the country which offers such an integrated course in Water Management. “Our country is facing a severe scarcity of experts in the field of water management. As our population is soaring, water management is very important for the economic growth. Water is the main input for growth not only in agriculture and industry but also in all aspects of human development. We become bewildered when a flood or drought hits us badly. We don’t know how to deal with such natural calamities. The challenges from these areas have increased compared to the earlier generations and we need experts to tackle these issues. Our course in water management will equip the students to address the problems in this area” said Dr. E.J James, Director of Water Institute at Karunya University. He insists that research activities should be conducted in the areas related to water pollution
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and water scarcity. The University has introduced the special course in Water Management with a mission to impart higher education, to carry out research, to build capacity, and to solve location-specific problems for achieving sustainable water resources management, especially in the semi-arid zones of India The inter-disciplinary research activities have already been initiated in the Institute under the guidance of Dr E J James, formerly Scientist-G and Executive Director, Center for Water Resources Development and Management (Calicut). Four PhD scholars, who have done their Masters in IITs /NITs and universities abroad, have already come forward to pursue their doctoral programme in the Institute. The institute will also take up consultancy assignments apart from transfer of technology, extension, training and capacity building, entering into MoUs for joint research etc. The Water Institute - a Centre of Excellence of Karunya University (KU) came into existence in August 2008. It was the fulfilment of the vision of the Founders of the University to make use of science and technology to address basic social issues, especially those pertaining to livelihood. The Institute is perhaps the first of its kind to be started in a university in India to address the multifarious functions associated with the water sector, academic programmes, R&D, extension, consultancy and collaborative research. The Institute proposes to start two unique postgraduate courses: one in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) for graduates in engineering and postgraduates in science and another in Hydrogeology and Water Management for graduates in geology.The R&D projects initiated by the Institute include: management of Point Calimere wetland in relation to its drainage basins; and application of isotopes to study the recharge of ground water due to the tanks in semiarid zone. An MOU has already been signed between KU and the Desert Research Institute, Israel for collaborative research on the water problems of arid and semi-arid regions. Two of the faculty members of KU have been invited to do research in Aachen University under DAAD programme. One of the faculty members of the Institute is doing her post-doctoral work at Aachen University. w ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Assessment
NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION
Students Deserve a Better Deal An overview of novel methods in the assessment of student performance There is a nationwide call for new techniques in assessing the performance of the students. All the techniques available today are comparatively new and the oldest in vogue is only five years old. Alternative assessment is a form of student performance grading that allows for a more holistic approach to student assessment. Each of these new techniques has its own merits and demerits and their feasibility is yet to be tested. The traditional form of assessing a student involves an average grading for a cumulative set of work in a given time period. Alternative assessment methods expect students to provide their own responses rather than simply selecting from a given list of options. The new techniques are wide and diverse. In the traditional method students are assessed on the basis of their response from a set of choices. There are true and false responses and a student’s thought is on the method of eliminating the false response or getting the best possible selection based on the given criteria.
But the alternative assessment calls for a much wider examination of a student’s knowledge. Here, the students are expected to provide their own responses rather than simply selecting from a given list of options. Alternative assessment can also include a list of work to represent an entire use of ideas, similar to the way a traditional final examination is intended to be a complete representation of lessons that he has learned over a given period. Alternative assessment is based on authentic tasks that demonstrate learners’ ability to accomplish communication goals .In these methods both instructor and learners focus on communication, and not on right and wrong answers. Learners help to set the criteria for successful completion of communication tasks and have opportunities to assess themselves and their peers. The different methods of alternative assessments include essay responses, oral presentations, and portfolios of compiled work, short answer questions and demonstrations of a concept or strategy Alternative assessments are best used at given intervals for grading or at important junctures like final examinations or promotion to the next grade.
NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION
Assessment
Advantages of Alternative Assessments Alternative assessments have their own benefits. Traditional assessment techniques often save time in grading compared to alternative assessments which prove the depth and breadth of a student’s learning is more time consuming. It may be called to mind that the whole effort of the student over an entire semester cannot be put into a nutshell of multiple questions. The portfolio of work presented by the student demonstrates his/ her ability, skill and understanding of concepts. Alternative assessments have Simultaneously it also their own benefits. Traditional serves as a resource for assessment techniques often the teacher to learn about save time in grading compared the pros and cons of the to alternative assessments various methods of which prove the depth and teaching adopted. Like the breadth of learning is more traditional assessment time consuming. It may be methods which can show called to mind that the whole the paucity of effort of the students over an understanding concepts, entire semester cannot be put alternative in to a nutshell of multiple assessment techniques questions. also help in estimating a student’ caliber.
Usage and Utilisation Alternative assessment methods can be implemented successfully with the help of enlightened teachers who are able to develop the students’ inherent ability. The teacher resources available to assist with the deployment of alternative assessments in the classroom setting should include more than simply testing options. The study skills required to ensure sufficient supporting information prior to an actual alternative assessment event are critical to the success of students. Teacher worksheets and lesson plans will invariably help students in getting familiar with the alternative assessment model as there happen to be many students. By continuing to foster a sense of ownership and student accountability for their contributions to their own assessment, many of these students will become more effective with their overall assessments. There are a number of challenges in the implementation of alternative assessments. The assumption that teachers will teach appropriate material in appropriate ways, no matter how they prepare students for a test, is false. Teachers may end up shaping lessons to the test format, without teaching underlying concepts, just as they have done with multiple-choice tests. It is not easy to create valid, reliable, largescale assessment systems that can be used to hold schools accountable and provide teachers with assessment information that is useful for improving instruction. The very aspects of external testing programmes that allow teachers to embed state assessment activities in regular classroom instruction are those that pose the greatest problems for states trying to meet existing standards of test validity and reliability. States can ensure the reliability of their assessments fairly easily with greater standardisation of tasks, revision of rules, and test preparation. These measures tend to isolate assessment tasks from ongoing instruction, lessen the role of classroom teachers, preclude use of the assessment as a direct window on instruction, and lessen teachers’ incentives to reform instruction on a daily basis. w ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
RIGHT CHOICE
BS Warrier
Attitude is Most Vital Some of us have the weakness of presuming that our knowledge is complete, although we have not done any homework for updating our personal databank. These are times when courses and programmes of education are undergoing rapid changes.
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ducation that is an engine of change for individuals and for society is sometimes taken by many just as a medium for securing a job. This is natural in a society soaked in insecurity caused by the threat of unemployment. Even though an academic certificate is no sure passport for a job, people trust that it is indeed a useful tool that would come in handy when they launch any kind of enterprise. Even among the well-educated classes, there are only a few who take a keen interest in garnering full details of possible courses that will benefit their children, when they are at the crossroads for choosing career options. Some of us have the weakness of presuming that our knowledge is complete, although we have not done any homework for updating our personal databank. These are times when courses and programmes of education undergo rapid changes. New disciplines emerge and some become obsolete. Areas such as biotechnology, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, oceanography, robotics, ITenabled programmes, international trade, and spatial design may not easily come to the minds of those who retain their conventional knowledge, unpolluted by the ingress of new ideas. There are different kinds of Universities and courses. Many aspirants of degrees often seek clarification on their recognition, as if there were blanket recognition. It should be remembered that a University may recognise a particular course of another University, but at the same not recognise another course. Then, there is the question of recognition of Universities. One accepted principle is that any University that has the membership of the Association of Indian Universities is an authentic one. However, that does not confirm that its entire courses stand universally accepted as an equivalent to corresponding courses in other Universities. What happens if you get a qualification from a University that is not ‘recognised’? There are two aspects to be considered. One is that you will not be allowed to join a higher course in another University. The second aspect involves the recognition of the qualification for appointment
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in Government or public sector organisations. Private organisations including multinationals may not often insist on qualifications that stand the test of conventional rituals of official recognition. What they try to ensure is competence of the individual in performing the assigned tasks. Of course, a standard educational qualification is one of the criteria in predicting such competence. If however there is statutory requirement relating to qualifications as in the case of a medical doctor or a company secretary, you will have to fulfil the stipulated requirements, even in private organisations. Change stumbling blocks to stepping stones “Obstacles cannot crush me, every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind”, said the great Leonardo da Vinci. What is to be done is to work hard with determination, with the clear objective of excelling in our chosen path, whatever it may be. “If you are a worm, be a glowworm.” We sometimes forget that “it is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.” Selecting the right course There is a wide variety of educational programs available. How do you identify the one that suits you most? We should remember that there is nothing like the best course of study. A course that is fine for you may be a pain for me. No person is a carbon copy of another. There would be differences in aspects such as taste, attitude, and approach. Let us indicate the factors that have to be taken into account before deciding a course of study for a student. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Aptitude of the student Learning ability of the student Financial capacity of the family Prospects for higher education Duration of the course Proximity of the institution Reputation of the institution Gender factor Market value of the course Potential for early placement
The reminder from the noted marketing genius Sidney A. Friedman that “you can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end” is most relevant. It is not the knowledge or skill alone that counts. It is the attitude that is most vital. w The writer can be contacted on e-mail : bswarrier@vsnl.com ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Prof A Balasubramanian
Prof A Balasubramanian popularly known as Prof Bala
started his career as a waiter in a hotel. Now, with a triple post graduation, he is an educationist and a writer of many management books and is the Founder President of Balaji Management Institutes, one of the premier management institutions in India.
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e started his career as a waiter in a hotel. Now, with a triple post graduation, he is known as an educationist and a writer of many management books and is the Founder President of Balaji Management Institutes, one the premier management institutes in India. Prof.A. Balasubramanian, popularly known as Prof.Bala, had a dream even when he was struggling for survival in the early years of his life and had the stamina to work hard to reach his goal. Those were the only attributes which took him to these heights. He recollected his agonizing past in the comfort of his luxurious office on the campus of Balaji Institute ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
of Modern Management (BIMM, Pune): “I was a bright student. I studied at a school in my neighbouring village till VII standard. My father didn’t allow me to continue my education. He said the school was far away in the next town. Higher education costs were also very high at that time, compared to our income. He wanted me to concentrate on agriculture instead of studies”, Bala recalls. He had no other choice, but to run away from home to continue his studies. Young Bala took refuge in an orphanage and continued his studies till he completed his 10th Standard. “But I failed in my 10th Standard. At that time Indian Army was on a massive recruitment drive after the 1962
EDUPRENEUR
war against China. I made a casual visit to such a camp and they recruited me as a subedar and sent me to Nashik. I worked there as an orderly to a senior officer. The only difference between him and me was that he was a `matric pass’ while I was `matric failed’. I decided to continue my studies. I subsequently passed my SSLC exam and went on to secure a master’s degree in arts,” he said. Bala was then transferred to Southern Command Headquarters in Pune. Management institutes in Pune worked in the afternoon. So he decided to join PGDM course in IMDR. He came out with flying colours. Subsequently he joined Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) where he got his Master’s degree in personnel management with distinction. After opting for voluntary retirement from the Army in 1991, Bala was introduced to the founder director of Symbiosis Society, Dr. S. B. Mujumdar. “I was introduced to him by Dr. George Judah, the then director of SIBM. George was the pillar of SIBM. His contribution to SIBM in its foremost years is proverbial. I will always remember him for it was he who gave a turning point in my life by asking me to join SIBM. Based on his recommendations and my credentials, I was appointed as the Head of Department of HR in SIBM. Not only did Dr. Mujumdar give me a job, he also solved my housing problem by making me the rector of the Symbiosis hostel,” reveals Prof. Bala, acknowledging the efforts of two of his closest friends and fellow teachers. “The entire credit for what I am today in management education shall go to the greatest educationist of Maharashtra, Dr. S.B. Mujumdar. I had the privilege
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EDUPRENEUR
Prof A Balasubramanian
Devastated at the sudden turn of events,
Prof Bala would have retired but for his friends from the industry who advised him to start something of his own. Recalls Prof.
Bala: “Unable to reach a decision on my own, I went to Tirupati and put five sealed chits in front of the Lord. Four of them had ‘no’ while one contained ‘yes’. I told the Lord that he would have to help me choose a path. I then picked up one of the chits. It was the one with ‘yes’ written on it.”
of honouring him later with an award of ‘Educationist of the Decade’ which was given by Balasaheb Thackeray.” By this time, however, the idea of a management institute exclusively for defence personnel and their families had already begun to take root:
an indigenous idea, which received the full support of Dr Mujumdar, but faced serious opposition from the army brass who scorned at the idea. Says Prof Bala: “Some sneered at the idea saying that a retired subedar was being given too much importance, but my guru stuck by me. Thus the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS) was born and I was appointed as its director.” It was while SIMS was going from strength to strength that Prof Bala was confronted with perhaps the darkest chapter of his illustrious life --- a phase that cost him his job as director of SIMS. Devastated at the sudden turn of events, Prof Bala would have retired but for his friends from the industry who advised him to start something of his own. Recalls Prof Bala: “Unable to reach a decision on my own, I went to Tirupati and put five sealed chits in front of the Lord. Four of them had a ‘no’ while one contained a ‘yes’. I told the
Lord that he would have to help me choose a path. I then picked up one of the chits. It was the one with a ‘yes’ written on it.” It was a decision that was to change the course of his life forever. On return to Pune, an emboldened Prof Bala released an advertisement in the papers. “It was a simple advertisement that invited applications for Prof Bala’s distance learning programme of management.” The advertisement attracted approximately 300 applicants from the Armed Forces. Encouraged by this overwhelming show of support, Prof Bala launched a family trust --- Sri Balaji Society--- and opened his first management institute --- Balaji Institute of Modern Management (BIMM). This was followed in quick succession by Balaji Institute of International Business (BIIB), Balaji Law College (BLC) and the Balaji College of Arts, Commerce and Science (BCACS). Many more colleges are on the cards. Continues Prof Bala: “I am grateful to the industry and proud that my BIMM students have received excellent placements. Many of them have also got international postings and my alumni are there everywhere. For this I am grateful to my friends in the industry and the corporate stalwarts who repeatedly take time out from their hectic schedules to come and lecture to my students.” Prof Bala’s wife Tilagwathi, stood by him through the worst phase of his life. Today his elder son, Prof B Parandhaman is the Principal Director of Sri Balaji Society and his younger son, Prof B Paramanandhan, is the finance director of Sri Balaji Society. w
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Socrates
S
ocrates taught us many things. But unlike today, where philosophy and theory are discussed by intellectuals in universities and conference rooms attended by professional academicians, we find Socrates taking up philosophical issues for discussion in the market place, in marriage venues and similar places where you find people from all walks of life engaging in various interactions that carry out their day to day life. He thus takes philosophy from the palaces of the aristocrats to places where common men and women assemble for carrying out daily business activities. With this he has taught us an important lesson; philosophy is not for mere intellectual exercise of a few in the society, but is for all who consider knowledge and truth are important.
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EDU PHILOSOPHER
Dr Sreekumar Nellickappilly
Great thinkers will have a lesson for every age. In one sense, they have taught us lessons, which have a value for all ages. What lesson does Socrates teach us? Nor did he establish any school of thought or an institution like the In his celebrated trial, where his mighty Academy, established by his student Plato which arguably opponents accused him for corrupting was the western world’s first university. But the name of Socrates the youth, we find an old man, represents an unending craving for knowledge, wisdom and truth. tirelessly defending himself alone in front of an audience consisting of He symbolizes man’s unending and uncompromising thirst for enemies and allies. He never pleads knowledge. innocence, nor does he beg pardon. Instead he announced that he had objective of human life consists in this reflection done nothing but go about persuading about the world and about oneself. his fellow human beings not to merely keep thinking about their persons or properties, but He reminds us that the ultimate objective of education is not first and chiefly to care about the improvement about just making a successful career, or making money and of their souls. Virtue, says Socrates, is not given fame, but realising the meaning of one’s own life. This is by money, but that from virtue comes money and essentially to transform oneself, which consists in the realisation every other good, public as well as private. He of one’s potentialities and discovering in oneself the very declared that this was his teaching, and if this had meaning of all existence. corrupted the youth, he was a mischievous person. But if any one says that this was not his teaching, Socrates lived like an ordinary man. He cracked jocks, ate and he was speaking an untruth. drank and enjoyed his evenings with his friends. But while doing all these things he persistently reminded others the importance The search for knowledge is unending. But of not doing anything without reflecting upon one’s actions. what is it that we are searching? When does Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, an important writer of the this search begin in the life of a human being? French Renaissance, tells a story where the great Greek sceptic Scientists say that it begins with the emergence philosopher Pyrrhus, along with some other people and a pig of consciousness—the ability to feel and facing a storm while they were travelling in a boat in the sea. experience, which even a few weeks old fetus All the men were obviously frightened, but the pig exhibited possesses. Life itself is supported by such feelings absolute calmness owing to its ignorance. J.S.Mill responded to and experiences. With the formal schooling, this story and stated that it was better to be an unsatisfied human we design and shape our learning process with being than a satisfied pig. It is better to be an unsatisfied man artificially devised methods and methodologies. than, being satisfied fool. The natural curiosity which we all had during our childhood—exhibited in the persistent questioning Socrates rightly compared himself with a gadfly of the state. of the child which often embarrasses and irritates As a gadfly stings the horse and never allows it to rest, Socrates the parents, slowly vanishes and most of us went on irritating his unreflective fellowmen with questions of become conformists, who live an unreflective and fundamental importance in life. He keeps doing it even today! w uncritical life. Socrates insisted that we become persistently critical and reflective. The ultimate
This man has not written anything
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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EXPERT INTERVIEW
Dr M S Valiathan
‘For the One Billion Who Can’t Do It !’
What is imperative is we should develop a strong instrumentation industry in partnership with MNCs, if necessary, with the global market in view but there should be a differential pricing system for developing and developed countries.
An eloquent speaker on any subject, especially subjects relevant to medical education and education in general, Dr MS Valiathan, is closest to the heart of any Indian as a world-famous cardiac surgeon, a renowned teacher and a researcher. In a freewheeling talk with Asian Educator, he spoke at length on the present-day problems faced by the Indian medical education sector, and prescribed the right remedies. Q. How do you view the present medical education scenario in India? Are you happy with the state of affairs? In the medical education sector, there has been a quantitative jump since Independence. For example, at the time of Independence, only 25 medical colleges were there in India. Now there are around 300 in number. Most of the MCs are in Maharashtra and South India. Reason: It’s there that money-minting entrepreneurs abound. But, along with this quantitative jump, there has been a qualitative plunge. The standard of medical education is on the slide. The Medical Council of India (MCI) was formed with a view to ensuring minimum standards in the quality of medical education. But when MCI itself became a hotbed of cancerous corruption, it was dissolved --- two years back. Another Act to form a body, a la MCI (National Council for Human Resources and Health), is in the offing. Hospital infrastructure, services, laboratories, etc leave much to be desired. In these sectors only the corporate hospitals stand out. Both the government and private hospitals share equally bad marks in these segments, except that private hospitals are not as overcrowded as government hospitals. There should be separate autonomous bodies to set standards for Public Health Centres (PHCs), Taluk and District Hospitals, tertiary institutions, etc. and for accrediting them. In the absence of accreditation, the institutions should not be
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eligible for reimbursement by the insurance companies. Committees, off and on, make recommendations on these lines but little follow-up is done.
Government hospitals such as PHCs, District Hospitals and Taluk hospitals are the only hope of poor people who cannot afford to access private hospitals or corporate hospitals for their health care. Most of our PHCs are not functioning properly; services at the other government hospitals are pathetic. So the common man is forced to approach private hospitals or corporate hospitals and spend unaffordable costs from their pocket. Medical expense in India is one of the highest in the world. There is only one treatment for this illness: social health insurance, with the government paying the premium of those below the poverty line (BPL). The Central and State governments have travelled some distance in this direction; but they have miles to go before something concrete is achieved. Q. Do you feel an absence of innovation in our medical system? Definitely. We are compelled to import 90 per cent of high-end instruments, devices, etc for our hospitals at high cost and replace them every 3-5 years at still higher cost. This pushes up the cost of specialised care in cardiology, neurology, etc and makes them inaccessible to the majority of Indians. MNCs estimate their Indian market as 200 millions who can pay --- they conveniently ignore the one billion who can’t do it. What is imperative is we should develop a strong instrumentation industry in partnership with MNCs, if necessary, with the global market in ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Dr M S Valiathan view but there should be a differential pricing system for developing and developed countries. Our present hope is that we have now a National Innovation Foundation. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) India helped establish the NIF - India, on February 28, 2000, with the main goal of providing institutional support in scouting, spawning, sustaining and scaling up grassroots green innovations and helping their transition to self-supporting activities. Q. Do you see a decline in the autonomy of premier medical institutions in India? Autonomy in government-funded institutions is a myth. The politician and the bureaucrat do not want it; and those in charge of institutions are culturally programmed to refer every issue to the government for prior approval although the rules do not require it. Statism is the rule. Proactivism is still a far cry. It’s genetically alien to us. Q. There is a new breed of contract research organisations which act as a sort of `event managers’ for the drug companies, organising clinical trials. Do you think they are good for the Indian scene? As things stand now, we are forced to wink at certain undesirable happenings --- not because we are for it, but because we are helpless. As in other fields, rampant commercialism is corroding the medical field also. With the present governmental set-up, minus sufficient money, knowledge or will, we cannot but pretend to ignore so many unethical elements masquerading their activities as medical service. Ethics cannot be injected or inculcated; it has to gurgle out from the depths of one’s heart, soul. Till such time we have `to stand and wait’.
EXPERT INTERVIEW
I’m interested in Ayurveda. I was appointed National Research Professor on 1.1.2006. After being so appointed, I continued work in the field of medicine and was engaged in developing the field of `Ayurvedic biology’. I’m doing research to find out how best Ayurveda and modern medicine can be linked for the benefit of humanity at large. Q. We would like to hear about Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology. I’m the Founder Director of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram. I could help develop the Institute from scratch into an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament in six years. I was there for 20 years: 1974-1994. The Institute offers not only first-rate hospital services in cardiology and neurology for common people, and postgraduate training programmes for doctors from all
Ethics cannot be injected or inculcated; it has to gurgle out from the depths of one’s heart, soul. Till such time we have `to stand and wait’.
Q. Can you explain the recent developments in your speciality? Cardiac surgery has witnessed major innovations in instrumentation, bioprosthesis, operative techniques, transplantation, etc and, above all, in simplifying procedures to reduce hospital cost. As none of these innovations --- even for reducing cost--- originated in India, there is no use discussing them. We are proud to be followers, with no aspiration to lead. Q. Your latest professional milestone? My term as National Research Professor has been extended for another five years (with effect from 1.1.2011), which is a great honour. Q. What have you to say on our medical science --- Ayurveda? ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
over India, but also promotes the joint culture of medicine and technology. The soundness of this policy is evident from the commercial success of TTK-Chitra heart valve, blood bag, oxygenator, etc which are widely used in India and also exported to several developing countries. When a heart valve costs Rs 60,000 outside, Chitra valve was being sold at a mere Rs 20,000. Reaching medical aid to the poor at affordable cost is tremendously satisfying. w
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CAMPUS FOCUS
NUS
Shaping Minds, Leading Future... Singapore’s flagship university is conquering new frontiers of excellence by transforming the way people think and act through education and research geared for distinction at all levels.
NUS was ranked the 3rd Asian University by the QS Asian University Rankings for 2010, while the ‘Times Higher Education’ of London placed it 34th in the world and 4th in Asia.
F
or a contemporary student dreaming of a successful career, having a penchant for the best, most modern and highly rewarding, it is natural if his attention gets focused on the National University of Singapore (NUS), a prestigious university in Asia, with international approach to education and research, focusing on Asian perspectives and expertise. NUS has illustrious alumni who include corporate heads, prime ministers and so on. Over 30,000 students from 100 countries and a talented faculty drawn from Singapore and the best centres around the world, enrich the dynamic community here with their diverse social and cultural perspectives, making campus life vibrant and exciting. NUS was ranked the 3rd Asian University by the QS Asian University Rankings for 2010, while the ‘Times Higher Education’ of London placed it 34th in the world and 4th in Asia. Dr.Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, the president of the university, is a renal physician and the Deputy Chairman of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research. He rightfully said, “I am privileged to serve a university with such a distinguished
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heritage, one which has nurtured many illustrious scholars and leaders over the course of more than a hundred years. From a modest medical school founded in 1905, we are now a renowned global institution looking forward to the future with great optimism and excitement”. The main campus is located in southwest Singapore at Kent Ridge. Faculties and Schools: The University offers 27 single-degree undergraduate, 115 masters, doctoral and graduate diploma programmes conducted by 13 faculties and schools, in addition to a music conservatory. The five NUS overseas colleges provide a year of intense experiential entrepreneurship education in vibrant entrepreneurial hubs in the US, China, Sweden and India. There are more than 60 double-degree and joint-degree programmes with top universities internationally, allowing students unparalleled access to some of the best professors in the world, while gaining valuable cross-cultural exposure. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences majors are divided into four categories: Asian Studies, Humanities, Social Sciences and InterASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
NUS Departmental. The Graduate Schools include The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering and the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore. Founded in 1965 as the Department of Business Administration, The prestigious NUS Business School , ranked 23rd in the world by Financial Times has six departments offering courses in Accounting, Business Policy, Decision Sciences, Finance, Management and Organisation, and Marketing. Collectively, the departments conduct classes in Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). Asia’s Global Law School: The Bachelor of Laws is both an undergraduate honours degree as well as a professional one recognised for practice in Singapore. The graduates are admitted to practice in Malaysia, in several commonwealth jurisdictions and some states in the U.S. Majority of the LL.B. students apply to the Faculty of Law after completing their pre-university studies. The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine: comprises the department of Anaesthesia, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Community, Occupational & Family Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology, Medicine, Microbiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Paediatrics, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Psychological Medicine, and Surgery. The School uses the British undergraduate medical system, offering a full-time undergraduate programme leading to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS).
CAMPUS FOCUS
consultancy in tropical marine science as well as environmental science. With its multi-disciplinary research laboratories and active international links, it handles projects relevant to Physical Oceanography, Acoustics, Marine Biology, Marine Mammals, Bio-fuels, Water Resources and Climate Change. TMSI also provides postgraduate research opportunities. Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music: The Conservatory (YSTCM) is collaboration between NUS and the Peabody Institute of University. The Conservatory presently offers a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree, with majors in Performance (Piano and Orchestral Instruments) and Composition. This is a four-year full-time music degree programme with an emphasis on music performance and music academics. Mehemet from Turkey was all praise for the academics. “I was attracted by the quality and reputation of tertiary education available in Singapore, especially at NUS, which has professional and competent professors”. NUS has several formalised international teaching and research collaborations with leading universities/ institutes like California Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Delft University of Technology, Technical University of Munich,“NUS has lived up to my expectations. I’ve been very fortunate to get work experience at some amazing companies in different fields and industries. With its’ vibrant culture, in which people worked hard and played hard, was also the kind of university I was looking for, felt an enterprising Meghna Desai. w
The University offers 27 single-degree undergraduate, 115 masters, doctoral and graduate diploma programmes conducted by 13 faculties and schools, in addition to a music conservatory.
Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School The Duke-NUS is an innovative collaboration between the Duke University in North Carolina, United States and the National University of Singapore. It accepts students who have a baccalaureate degree in any field other than medicine into its four-year Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) programme. An M.D. /PhD programme for students who are committed to intensive research-oriented clinical practice careers is also offered here. Students will be given a full scholarship for the PhD component as well as for the remaining tuition required to complete their M.D. training. The Tropical Marine Science Institute is within the university campus. TMSI is a centre of excellence for research, development and ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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CAMPUS FOCUS
McDonough
Gateway to the World Community of Business Leaders
“I
chose McDonough as it ranked 19th in the US News Business school ranking and is known for its global MBA program. My class has students representing 41 countries. Every student has to attend a mandatory global residency. I am traveling to China in March”.Shibu Mathew Panaatt, from Hyderabad who is pursuing global MBA has valid reasons for his choice. For those who feel that MBA is likely to further their personal and career goals and is on the lookout for the right school with an international reputation to gain exposure to different cultures, the McDonough School which has been preparing business world’s most respected leaders is an intelligent choice.
McDonough School of Business ranked 19th in the US News Business school ranking, is known for its global MBA programme.
The Robert E. McDonough School of Business located on the Georgetown university campus at 37th and O Streets in Northwest Washington, D.C., is one of the leading academic and research institutions offering a unique educational experience that prepares the next generation global citizens to lead and make a difference in the world with a strong and ethical grounding. Established in 1789, Georgetown is the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit University that upholds the Jesuit values. You come across a vibrant community of exceptional students, faculty, alumni and professionals dedicated to real-world applications of their research, scholarship, faith and service, at the 104 acre campus.
The McDonough School prepares students for success by offering a solid grounding in business as part of a liberal arts education. Excellent communication skills, a commitment to service, and an awareness of the global nature of the marketplace set the graduates apart. Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business prepares students via the Jesuit tradition emphasising superior teaching skills for disciplined and distinguished professional performance, encouraging continued pursuit of knowledge, and fostering a commitment to the service of others. The full-time Georgetown MBA programme is a world-renowned business asset which yields a general management degree that provides students with the functional knowledge and intellectual skills to manage and lead an organisation with insight and success. Building on a foundation of core business subjects, the programme allows students to select career tracks and elective classes tailored to meet their interests and goals. Ranked #3 in the world for international business by the Financial Times and No. 19 in America’s Best Graduate Schools 2010 by U.S. News& World Report, the MBA students benefit from a curriculum that incorporates a global mindset throughout classes and activities, including an international consulting project. Three-year, part-time evening MBA program identical in curriculum and faculty to the full-time MBA, offers working professionals an opportunity to gain advanced business education on a part-time basis while accelerating their careers. Taught by a faculty highly regarded for their outstanding teaching and by business leaders with real-time expertise, the accredited program confers the same degree as received by graduates of Georgetown’s MBA
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
McDonough
CAMPUS FOCUS
full-time program . Students work with and learn from fellow professionals representing a wide array of sectors including consulting, government contracting, federal, defence, nonprofit, housing, real estate, construction, and other corporate entities. Applicants are also expected to be able to demonstrate the potential for success in quantitative coursework. The Global Executive MBA –Georgetown Campus: Offered in two formats to meet the demanding schedules of accomplished executives who have a minimum of 8 years of experience and a strong interest in the complexities of global business. As a testament to its rigorous curriculum minimum of 8 years, and an average of 15 years in professional leadership experience, EML students include doctors, engineers, military officers, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs. In addition to regular coursework, all students participate in three residencies, held at the beginning, middle, and end of the program of which, one is conducted abroad.
and renowned faculty, Business Week has ranked the Georgetown Global Executive MBA in the top twelve among EMBA programs worldwide for the past nine years. Two international and two domestic residencies augment the programme. Executive Master’s in Leadership(EML) which offers a blend of practical skills and leadership theory is the only master’s degree programme of its kind offered by a prominent business school and university. It is an inter-disciplinary one-year program that draws on the lessons of individual, team and organisational aspects of leadership in different fields ranging from business and ethics to international relations, public policy, and behavioral sciences. Integrating practical management skills and advanced leadership theory, EML prepares executives to lead more effectively while developing a deeper understanding of management strategies. With a
Executive Education the McDonough School’s portfolio of degree and non-degree executive education programme is designed to address the needs of a wide variety of participants. Accomplished professionals aiming to reach positions of Global leadership have three degree granting masters programme. The same internationally recognised faculties who teach the full-time MBA Program deliver all executive education programs. Student–faculty interaction is strong and enables mentoring and individualised attention that is unparalleled at other top business schools. The university has an illustrious row of alumni among whom are current and former heads of state like Bill Clinton, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo(Philippines), Saad Hariri,(Lebanon) Galo Plaza,(Ecuador) José Manuel Barroso,(Portugal) and many more. Georgetown’s School of Business is named after the leading businessman Robert Emmett McDonough, founder and vice chairman, Remedy Intelligent Staffing.
Georgetown is the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit University that upholds the Jesuit values. You come across a vibrant community of exceptional students, faculty, alumni and professionals dedicated to realworld applications of their research, scholarship, faith and service, at the 104 - acre campus.
Through partnerships with over 70 foreign universities and colleges in 35 countries, roughly 45% of MSB students study abroad over the course of their college careers. Living in Washington further allows students to expand their learning by immersing themselves in the energy and diversity of the capital displayed year-round during cultural events such as the Cherry Blossom Festival and the multitude of activities that occur on the National Mall. w
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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BUSINESS MASTERS
Anand Mahindra
H
aving its presence in air, water and land, the word Mahindra has become a household name in India and the world at large. The man behind the success story of this Indian Multinational Company is Anand Mahindra. Born on 1 May 1955, in the family of business tycoons, Mahindra completed his education at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA with an
A Man with Wings and Wheels MBA degree and joined the family business as the deputy MD and president of MUSCO. His dynamism saw the company diversifying into new areas such as hospitality and real estate development. After taking over as the deputy MD of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, he climbed ladders to become the vice chairman in 1997 and as its chairman in 2003. Under his able leadership the company became a global player with the launch of Scorpio, the first India made SUV. After conquering horizons in the automobile industry he diversified into the booming finance industry by launching Kotak Mahindra Finance in 2003, this later was converted into a bank and is presently one of the leading private sector banks in India. His golden touch is very much visible even in his non- business activities. He is the cofounder of the Harvard Business School Association of India, an organisation dedicated to the development of professional managers in India and has achieved substantial success over the years. He was President of Confederation of Indian Industry for 2003 to 2004. His tenure as the President of the Automotive Research Association of India and as the director of the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, under the Public Representatives category, is appreciated by the industry. Mahindra is a keen educationist and is presently on the Board of Governors of the Mahindra United World College of India. He is also the chairman of the National safety council. He is the Founder Chairman of the Mumbai Festival launched in January 2005, which is the first comprehensive festival that celebrated the rich cultural diversity of the city. The year 2011 will be milestone in the history of Anand Mahindra and his industry, with the successful growth of 52% in the vehicle industry and the successful launch of Gipps Aero GA8-TC Arivan, air plane. Now the presence of Mahindra and Mahindra vehicles is there on land, sea and sky. Rodeo, Stallio, (two wheelers), Alfa (three wheelers),Gio ( commercial four wheeler), Arjun (tractor), Reva NXG (elecric car), Logon(car) Scorpio, Xylo (SUVs), MO33 (fibre glass power boat) Gipps Aero GA8-TC Arivan, (Air plane) etc are the main products of Mahindra and Mahindra. In the financial year 2009-10 Mahindra and Mahindra had an internal surplus of Rs. 2,800 crores and a sales growth of 17.46%. Anand Mahindra was awarded the ‘Knight of the Order of Merit’ by the President of the French Republic, the Rajiv Gandhi Award for outstanding contribution in business field in the year 2004, Leadership Award from the American India Foundation in 2005, Person of the Year from Auto Monitor in 2005, the CNBC Asia Business Leader Award for the year 2006 and also the Most Inspiring Corporate Leader of the Year 2007 from NDTV Profit group. Under his guidance, the company tapped the hitherto unorganised used car sector and has become a pioneer in the field apart from being pioneers in the manufacturing of electric cars and in the sales of imported state of art boats. Success has no short cuts and the manthra behind his success is sheer hard work. w
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
COVER STORY
? “We have to liberalise the education system. What we did to the economy in 1991 needs to be done to education now.� - Sam Pitroda
G
lobalisation of the Indian economy in the early 90s had far reaching effects which changed the face of the nation altogether. The Perestroika and Glasnost policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, the then President of the erstwhile USSR, lead to the debacle of socialist idealism all over the world and as an aftermath most of the third world countries had to abide by the diktats of the capitalist western world. India along with 40 other developing countries, under the influence and compulsion of the World Bank and the IMF had to open their hitherto protected market to the competition. India had a closed economic system, depending on imports, before it opened its frontiers to global giants. ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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COVER STORY One of the positive aspects of Globalisation is employment generation. Poor nations with low income group provide cheap labour to global players and encourage them to set up shop in the third world countries which make their products cheap and competitive. The products becomes affordable to the rising economy hence increase in sales. What Manmohan Singh did in 1991 to the economy should be done in the field of education. He opened up the system, brought it out of government control.
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Positive Aspects of Economic Liberalisation The economic crisis of early 1990s due to various problems like the Gulf war, unstable central governments etc, had a deep impact on its protected economy. India’s credit rating fell, foreign currency reserves went down to $1 billion, macro economic crisis erupted in the form of unsustainable fiscal and current account deficits and accelerating inflation to as high as 17%. NRIs were not interested anymore in investing in India. Then Narasimha Rao government with Dr. Manmohan Singh as the finance minister took a series of corrective measures to bring the situation under control. India’s frontiers were opened for the first time for free trade and investments from other nations started flowing to India. All restrictions on entry, exit, capacity and pricing were removed. Indian companies were forced to improve their quality to sustain competition from multi nationals and were geared up to meet
the new challenges.India witnessed an over all development in the last decade. Economic liberalisation has turned India into a force to reckon with among developed countries. The idea behind the new economic model known as Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation in India (LPG), was to make the Indian economy one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Arrays of reforms were initiated with regard to industrial, trade and social sector to make the economy more competitive. The economic changes initiated had a dramatic effect on the overall growth of the economy and it marked the integration of the Indian economy with the global economy. In respect of market capitalisation, India ranks fourth in the world. Agriculture is one area where the economic upheaval failed to play any magic and the share of agriculture in the GDP is only 17%. The number of landless families has increased and farmers are still committing suicide. But seeing the positive effects of globalisation, it can be said that very soon India will overcome these hurdles too and march strongly on its path of development. By evaluating the positive aspects of globalisation in the Indian economy, Sam Pitroda, the educational advisor to Prime Minister and a well known scholar, has opined that such liberalisation should be extended to country’s educational sector. Pitroda, who also heads the National
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
COVER STORY Innovation Council said, “We have to liberalise the education system. What we did to the economy in 1991 needs to be done to education now.” He also expressed dissatisfaction at the pace of development in the education system. “We have made recommendations. So far, they have not acted to my satisfaction,” he said. He also urged the Indian diaspora to invest in India’s education sector. Globalisation has a multi-dimensional impact on the system of education. It has underlined the need for reforms in the educational system with particular reference to the wider utilisation of information technology, giving productivity dimension to education and emphasis on its research and development activities. Education Minister Kapil Sibal also stressed the importance of liberalisation of the educational sector. What Manmohan Singh did in 1991 to the economy should be done in the field of education. He opened up the system, brought it out of government control through the liberalisation process to attract investment, allowed private players to come into the system which brought about a revolutionary change in the way our economy functions. In essence, that’s what we intend to do (in education),Kapil Sibal said in an interview in 2009. Foreign Education Providers Bill Kapil Sibal introduced the Foreign Education Provider’s Bill, a bill seeking to regulate entry and operation of foreign
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
educational institutions imparting or intending to impart higher education or practice of any profession, including award of degree, diploma and equivalent qualifications. The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010, introduced by the Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal, concedes that due to lack of policy or regulatory regime it was difficult to make “meaningful assessment of the operations of the foreign educational institutions”. It said the absence of such assessment has given rise to chances of adoption of unfair practices besides commercialisation of higher education in the country.
The Indian economy, mainly fuelled by the service industry, will get a boost with education sector becoming a large chunk of economic source.
Education is an important investment in building human capital, that is a driver for technological innovation and economic growth. It is only through improving the educational status of a society that the multifaceteddevelopment of its people can be ensured. In the post-industrialised world, the advanced countries used to derive the major proportion of their national income not from agriculture or industry but from the service sector. Since the service sector is based on imparting skills or training to the students and youth, the education sector is the most sought after. It must provide l
Annually around 1.60 lakhs students from India go to foreign universities.
l
Foreign universities take away around Rs 16,000 crore annually form India.
l
In reverse, India can earn Rs 2000 + crore yearly if it can accommodate 50,000 foreign students a year.
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COVER STORY gainful employment so that the sector is developed in a big way. It has also given rise to controversies relating to introducing changes in the intersector priorities in the allocation of resources leading to the misconceived policy of downsizing of higher education. It has also advocated privatisation of higher education without realising the danger of making the system a commercial enterprise.
Impact of Liberalisation on Education System in India Positive Impact Indian students will get a chance to study the innovative courses offered by foreign universities. Liberalisation will bring a constant stream of funding which will also facilitate a research-based career and make it a viable option for the future of Indian teachers and students. It will expand the supply which is in shortage and the competition among educational institutions will ensure that they do not charge excessive premium for education. Increase in the supply of education will automatically result in the fall of expenditure involved. The Indian economy, mainly fuelled by the service industry, will get a boost with the education sector becoming a large chunk of
economic source. Hundreds of thousands of Indian students study abroad at an estimated cost of around US$ 1 billion annually and it can even stem the exodus of thousands of students who left the country to study abroad. This will save India immense capital. Allowing corporate giants would ensure the development of better industry oriented graduates with specific skill sets. Increase in educated population implies rapid developments in technology and communications. It also implies the shift of society from industrialisation based to one that is information based. Liberalisation offers students an option of studying close to home with the added benefit of a degree which will be valid worldwide. It also curbs brain drain which is also a national loss. Negative Impact Here there are chances of poor students being denied quality education as international higher education is largely an unregulated market. While no doubt that there are prestigious universities hoping to build links overseas, recruit top students to their home campuses and strengthen their brand abroad, there is no dearth of mere subprime and low-end private institutions which are seeking to stave off bankruptcy through the export market and there are even a few respectable universities which have been forced by government funding cutbacks to raise cash elsewhere. Students and local institutions in developing countries are also similarly unregulated; they are mostly ill-informed and often naive. Students tend to avail such services without much information or understanding. A foreign label in degree is tempting enough to make them drop their wisdom. Uninformed or simply dubious institutions in developed countries may form partnerships with lowquality colleges and universities in India.There is also the risk of fake institutes which are looking to stuff their pockets whenever the opportunity arises. Education, as a service industry, is part of the globalisation process under the umbrella of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
COVER STORY However, there is every possibility that this might force countries with quite different academic needs and resources to conform to systems inevitably designed to service the interest of corporate educational providers, and thereby breeding inequality and dependence. In the wake of globalisation process and to cope with the changing priorities of the people, the planners are bound to revise their strategies in the education sector. Thus several specialist committees, involving the elites and captains of industry and education, constituted by the Union ministry are engaged in the process. Whereas, public interest demands a wider domain for the national debate on syllabus and curriculum reform among other related aspects. As usual there are several viewpoints of conflicting nature expressed by the captains of industry and education like Azim Premji, Prof.N.S.Ramaswamy, Kabir Mustafa and others. While there is a broad consensus on some points, some are almost at variance with each other. The common educational reforms that were endorsed by some of the eminent industrialists and academics include: •
Liberalise and deregulate the education system to encourage promotion of new schools, colleges, vocational and other institutions of higher education.
•
Confer institutional autonomy and decentralise syllabus design.
•
Central and state governments should change their roles within the education system, re-inventing themselves as facilitating and supervisory organisations.
•
Teacher training, infrastructure and syllabuses need to be urgently upgraded.
Social Obligations: In fact, the introduction of ‘cost recovery’ principles that results in a hike in fees contributes to reduction in the burden of the government in financing higher education. But, what about social obligations? Obviously, the composition of student population will change in favour of the higher income groups. Further, privatisation of higher education makes it expensive such that it is beyond the reach of lower income groups. Inadequate income implies denial of opportunity of the benefits ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
of higher education, whereas the denial of access to higher education results in the lack of fair opportunities to improve income. Finally, these reforms envisage the withdrawal of state from its social obligations once for all. Thus, each country should decide about the nature and extent of globalisation that can be constructively introduced in their socio-economic and educational systems. This is more so in the field of education, which is intimately concerned with the development of human capital. Ultimately, any hasty involvement in the global educational market can end up in harming the vital interests of students, particularly of the poor and downtrodden for generations to come. Conclusion Privatisation in the education sector is the need of the hour. India can become an international hub for education. We need to open up the system and allow equivalents of IITs and IIMs to be set up. The government should be kept out of the education business, partially if not fully. Its role should be restricted to regulating the sector. Just like in other markets, the educational market might have its share of market failures. Rectifying these should be the responsibility of the regulator and it must be independent of the government. To ensure that national interests are served and students do not receive an inferior service from unscrupulous providers, there needs to be transparency. It can be done by the government authority. This will also help universities think about their motivations for entering the market. w
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COVER STORY
We Have Discussed a Lot, Now It’s Time to Act We are all very clear about the challenges in front of us but we still keep debating, discussing, tweeting and not acting. Based on the focus on knowledge in education, government decided to spend $67 billion on education in the 11th Plan which is almost 4-5 times more than the 10th Plan. What it really needs is government is ready to put money where their mouth is. 11th Plan is all about education, education, education. On higher education the recommendations are loud and clear, I personally do not see any need to debate any more - Sam Pitroda I am seriously concerned as to where we are in higher education. Higher education has been on the national agenda of this government for the last five years. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is genuinely concerned about Higher Education as a result six years ago he decided to launch National Knowledge Commission (NKC) with clear focus on education that is in the agenda for the 11thfive year plan. He himself took personal interest in drafting the commission, looking at the guidelines and regularly sat with the commission for hours and hours. Fortunately, our founding fathers had the vision to focus on higher education and Science and Technology right after the independence, IITs, IIMs, CSIR, Space Research and Atomic Energy Commission. We haven’t really built substantial new institutions that we need for the 21st century in the last decade. So, when PM decided to set up Knowledge Commission rather than just Higher Education he wanted us to focus on knowledge as the next big paradigm for the 21stcentury. On higher education, I believe everything that needs to be done is pretty much known plus or minus 10-20 percent. We are all very clear about the challenges in front of us but we still keep debating, discussing, tweeting and not acting. I personally do not see any need to debate any more. The institutions that we created 50-60 years ago essentially these institutions are obsolete, they don’t work, some are corrupt and we know it all but we are not willing to accept this in public. We also know that we need course wise credit; we need to use technology effectively. We are known all over the world for expertise in IT and we use very little of information and communication technology to that productivity and efficiency in our education especially in higher education. I see lot of bad sites of our universities, we know that models have changed students do not learn the way I used to learn when I was young. Teacher today spends most of his or her time in delivering content and creating content. Content is already created on internet, there is no need for teacher to deliver content. Role of a teacher will have to change to that of a mentor. All of these models will change the way we used to look at education.
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We have now taken four-five years to debate on all these issues over and over again. We have multiple bills still those bills have not been tabled and I believe we just don’t have the sense of urgency. We waited for some of these reforms to take roots and unfortunately not much has happened. We are further debating the very foundation of what we have proposed at the end of the day there are really three challenges before the higher education, one expansion we need more colleges, more teachers, more seats, more doctors, more engineers, and more scientists, two we need to improve quality so beside expansion excellence giving aside 5-10 percent of our universities quality of education is pretty bad. Many of these graduates are not employable. We have 550 thousand young people below the age of 25 so we have to focus on expansion because this is the workforce for world but we have to make sure that the quality is reasonable to appoint when they come out of these institutions, they are useful citizens to the society. And the third is activity, we have to make sure that the poorest of poor indeed can get the best education possible how do we get to buy all these three basic ideas. When in 1991, we started to liberalise our economy deregulation and all, we didn’t realised that the private entrepreneurs will come forward and build an economy which is going to be the key to global economy in the next 10-15 years. Today we are growing at 8.9 percent, we hope to grow at 10 percent in next couple of years and lot of credit goes to deregulation, liberalisation, private entrepreneurs and innovations. My message today is time is running out, we have to act, we know all there is to know, we will make mistakes as we go along but from that we will learn, if we are willing to deregulate be flexible, open and trust our academic community sitting in Delhi you can’t really manage education system of a country of this size we just have given broad outline that’s what we did in 1991 to our economy and perhaps that’s what we need to do in 2011 to our education. w Excerpts from Sam Pitroda’s speech at the PanIIT 2010 Higher Education Round table at IIT Delhi.
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COVER STORY
Investment Opportunities in Education Sector The education and skills sector in India
which is growing rapidly offers significant investment and partnership opportunities at all levels. The need to develop the sector has been acknowledged at the apex levels of government administration and several ambitious projects have been envisaged. Economic liberalisation which began in the country in the 1990s has gathered momentum since and further reform and progress in the sector is expected from the congress-led government. The passage of the Foreign Education Providers Bill is a milestone in the history of higher education. The approval by the Union Cabinet will now pave the way for foreign education providers to set up independent colleges with the status of deemed universities that could confer degrees on its own without partnership with or affiliation to any other university. This definitely will improve the standard of higher education available in the country. The legislation when implemented will pave the way for the entry of native and foreign investors in the higher education sector. The present scenario The education sector in India with its large network of one million schools and 1800 higher education institutions by far has the highest capital investment. The government’s share of $30 billion in the sector during 2006-2007 represents 3.7% of the GDP.In the latest five year Plan, there has been a seven fold increase in the allocation for education; but the figure remains highly disproportionate in comparison with the country’s large population. India’s population of 572 million (2008) within the age group of 0-24 years is by far the highest in the world and is expected to increase to 600 million by 2012.As a result, despite having the world’s largest base for investment in the educational sector, the country is unable to meet the demands for education at all levels. In fact only 219 million are enrolled in schools while only 11million attend colleges. Only 34% of our schools provide education beyond the primary level, which means that the majority Expected Growth of K12 sector
of Indian citizens receive only 6 years of formal education. Moreover, 40% of the students drop out of schools each year from all age groups, including primary school. K 12 sector (Kindergarten to 12) The K12 sector is dominated by the public sector which has 80% of the 1.25 million schools. It has the major share in the primary and middle school segments. The private sector has 59 % of the secondary schools under it. On an average, private schools enroll more students (1200 per school), than public schools accounting for 40% of the total number of students enrolled in K12. The investment in the K12 sector is expected to increase from $24 billion in 2008 to $50 billion in 2015(with an estimated CAGR of 14%). Global population studies show that India has the largest population in the K12 age group, of these 39% are not enrolled in school which means that 142 million eligible children in India are being denied education. At the higher secondary level (9-12 grades) this figure further rises to 68%; this is due to an inconsistent and relatively poor development in the public sector. There is a preference for the private sector, fuelled by a growing awareness of the importance of quality education with the improvement in the general standard of living. According to the National Council of Educational Research and training (NCERT), our present need for quality schools range between 20,000 and 25,000. K12 enrolment ratio Present enrolment of students
39%
IN USD
$50b.
61%
Eligible for enrolment but not enrolled
$24b. 2008 ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
2012
source: Report by Grand Thornton, March 2010
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COVER STORY Higher Education Sector Public spending on higher education in India has been gradually diminishing with the government’s focus shifting to primary education. The investment in the primary education industry is expected to increase from $8billion in 2008 to $32 billion in 2012. India is also one of the leading importers of higher education: with a huge $13 billion spent every year. The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) shows the need for 1500 universities when only 350 exist. The Foreign Education Providers Bill is likely to open the higher education sector to international competition which in turn will improve the inflow of foreign investors to India. Meanwhile, it is also hoped that an additional 800 private engineering and 60 medical and 300 MBA colleges will start functioning by 2012. The Changing Scene As India gears up for greater private investment in education with the help of the new legislation to promote foreign investment, it is clear that the government is looking for a formal commercialisation of the sector. The growth and development of the Indian economy also beckons native as well as foreign investors. The Great India Factors A recent Pricewaterhouse Coopers report, Destination India, points out that India is to become the world’s third largest PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) economy with an average GDP growth rate of 6% in the last decade; 8.2% through 2003 to 9.2% in 2006-07.The Goldman Sachs report shows that among Brazil, Russia, India and China, India will grow fastest over the next few decades. Putting another feather in its cap, India’s foreign exchange reserves shot up to the $300 billion mark and remains above the $250 billion level placing the country in an elite club of nations which in turn is a guarantee for any foreign investor. India ranks second among the most attractive destination for direct foreign investment Expected Growth of higher education sector
IN USD
$32b.
India: the next university superpower? According to the figures available with Government of India, the proportion of young people going to university will increase from the present 12% to 30% by 2025. It wants to expand its university system to meet the aspirations of a growing middle class, to widen access, and become a “knowledge powerhouse”. It will mean increasing the country’s student population from 12 million to over 30 million, and will put it on course to becoming one of the world’s largest education systems. KN Panikkar, vice chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council, describes India’s higher education spending as undergoing a “great leap forward”. The amount of money in the central budget for higher education in the current five year Plan (2010-2015) is nine times the amount of the previous five years. India’s National Knowledge Commission has estimated that the country needs 1,500 universities compared to around 370 now. The number of prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Management (IIMs) are being increased from seven to 15. w Under government control
Private sector
23%
77% $8.7b. 2008
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after China and is ahead of the United States of America. All these factors are pointers to the emergence of India as an educational hub in South Asia in the near future provided the government makes necessary policy changes. w
2012
77% of higher education institutes are privately owned only 23% under Govt. control
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
P Radhakrishnan
EXPERT INTERVIEW
Q. How would you rate our technological for communication, weather forecasting and advance in this field of space after the success of remote sensing. Further, an effective nation-wide Chandraayan-1? programme for space technology for the benefit We’ve done creditably in the field of space, no of society in various areas was undertaken like doubt. We started in early 60s from virtually telecommunication, TV broadcasting, telenothing. When the big powers entered the space education and tele-medicine, earth resources arena in the 1950s, they had a heritage of World survey, agriculture and forestry, hydrology War II missiles, a sound aircraft base; and a and water resources, weather monitoring and highly developed industrial infrastructure. We forecasting, disaster warning and so on. had none of these. When the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) was established in the early 1960s, it was with the collaboration of Soviet Union, USA, France, UK, Japan etc that we were launching sounding P Radhakrishnan, Scientist and Former Dy. Director, Liquid rockets supplied by foreign countries. Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Vikram Sarabhai Space A programme for Centre, Thumba talked to Asian Educator on the giant leaps developing our own India has made in space research and the promises the sounding rockets was started. By late programmes hold for the future generation. 70s, we had in our possession a family of Rohini Sounding Rockets tailored for different purposes in atmospheric research.
Rising to the Challenges of Space
Our first indigenous satellite launch vehicle SLV–3 had its first successful flight from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh in 1985. It injected the 40 kg Rohini satellite into an earth orbit marking our entry in to the exclusive space club, becoming its 6th member. Though GSLV-Mk2 has flown 7 times, its performance has not been consistent indicating that some refinement is necessary. A bigger version named GSLV-Mk3 with a capability of 4000 kg is now under development. We have also excelled in designing and developing sophisticated satellites ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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EXPERT INTERVIEW
P Radhakrishnan
Today we rank among the nations with an advanced space programme. Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the great visionary and founding father of the Indian space programme, had said in the 1960s: “The question is not whether a developing country like India can afford space technology; rather, the question is whether we can afford to ignore it.” Dr Sarabhai now stands vindicated. Q. The India-Russia joint manned space mission, slated for sometime in 2013, is expected to carry ISRO scientific personnel on board the spacecraft. Will this joint mission precede the launch of an Indian manned space mission from Sriharikota sometime in the period 2014-15? I retired from ISRO several years ago. I am not, therefore, privy to its current policy decisions. Yet I can certainly state that India’s own manned space programme, which is predicated on the availability of the indigenous GSLV- Mk3, is doubtful in the stated time frame. GSLV-Mk3 uses a considerably bigger cryogenic rocket than does GSLV-Mk2, which had so far used mostly cryogenic rockets bought from Russia. The indigenous cryogenic rocket meant for GSLV-Mk3 is yet to be proven through a sufficiently large number of ground tests before it can be flown to launch even a satellite, let alone a manned mission. The recent failure of GSLV Mk2 in Dec 2010 has made the situation somewhat difficult. It points to the need for some in-depth probe into certain technical problems. Q. Do you think there is an increase in the number of applicants to ISRO that commensurate with an increased interest in space science? Are there courses exclusively for those who want to pursue a career in space
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science? Space Science & Technology is a multidisciplinary enterprise. Post Graduation in Physical Sciences or B Tech in engineering is the minimum requirement. Usually, space-related study is undertaken as a specialisation after a basic degree. There have been many reputable institutions in India offering M Tech courses in Aerospace Engineering. ISRO itself has recently established the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) offering courses leading to M Sc and B Tech in space science and engineering respectively. The selected students are exempted from any fee, and are assured of placement in ISRO on clearing the course with certain stipulated grades. IIST also offers facilities for M Tech and Ph D. Q. EDUSAT and SITE were planned to improve education and literacy. We have used our space technology for scholarly applications. Could you please brief on the contribution of ISRO in improving education, especially in rural areas? SITE (Satellite Instructional TV Experiment) and EDUSAT are separated in time by three decades. The former was conducted for one year during 1975-76 using the services of a communication satellite of NASA. It consisted of instructional video programmes, which were broadcast to 2400 remote villages in regional languages for six hours a day. The topics related to literacy, health & hygiene, agriculture, family planning, family welfare, environment etc. SITE was rated as the most massive socio-technological experiment in Asia. It proved beyond doubt the efficacy of satellite communication technology to handle developmental issues in the country. Soon the INSAT system came into being in the early 1980’s. As a result of the findings from the SITE experiment, school broadcasts had become a regular feature in INSAT program. The onehour ‘Country-wide Class Room’ by UGC became quite popular. In time, there was demand from various other educational institutions for transmission time. This demand was finally met by launching EDUSAT, a communication satellite exclusively for education in 2004. Q. Space technology has brought home things like the internet, mobile phone and television to the common man. Can we expect any further improvement in the near future? I’d like to add to this list some more vital services such as Weather forecasting, Remote Sensing for Earth Resources Survey, and Global Positioning System (GPS). All the service products of space technology have become an inseparable part of our daily life. In the immediate future, these ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
services will be intensified and possibly become cheaper. I’ve deliberately not mentioned exploration of planets, science experiments and manned voyages to moon or Mars, because their direct impact on quality of life on this planet is not easy to appreciate. Q. How far is our space programme going to help an average farmer? The services of Remote Sensing Satellites, however, do not directly reach the end user, namely the ‘average farmer’. without several levels of intermediary agencies between the space segment and the farmer. These intermediaries include technical experts who transform the satellite information into a usable form, planners and village level functionaries to disseminate and orient the users. Geographic Information System (GIS) has come now to wide acceptance; it combines the spatial geographic information with various other attributes pertinent to a given location. Village Resource Center (VRC) is an evolving concept that integrates satellite-based communication and earth observation capabilities with IT tools to deliver a variety of services. This holds a great promise of serving as a single-window delivery mechanism for services such as tele-medicine and tele-education, information on natural resources and weather for planning and development at local level, interactive advisory bodies on agriculture, fisheries, land and water management and livestock management; interactive vocational training for skill improvement etc. Q. Margareta Wahlstrom, the special representative to the UN Secretary General for Disaster Reduction, observed that India ranks second in the world for natural disasters after China. In this context do you feel that space technology can enhance our information processing levels to the extent of getting protected from natural calamities like earthquakes, floods and the dreaded tsunami? Early warning and swift communication facilities ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
provided by space-based systems integrated with administrative machinery, local bodies and NGOs can certainly minimise loss of life in case of a natural calamity by prompt action. Loss of property is another matter. Some experts believe that satellite observation related to geological fault-lines can forewarn us of an impending earthquake. However, the general opinion is that earthquakes are hard to predict at present. Since Tsunamis are caused by quakes beneath the sea, seismic detectors mounted on buoys on the sea can quickly send warning signals through communication satellites. Cyclones are comparatively easier to predict with the help of Weather Satellites. And, so are floods. A synergetic effort in advance action and crisis management involving many agencies is the key. Technology merely facilitates; timely action by human agencies is what fetches results!
All the service products of space technology have become an inseparable part of our daily life. In the immediate future, these services will be intensified and possibly become cheaper.
Q. What about the contributions of ISRO in the field of industry? There was a time when ISRO had to encourage the initially sceptical industry to serve its needs. Over the last forty years, however, the number of industrial units – small, medium, large – in public and private sector has grown to over 600. They have been fully reciprocating the trust ISRO has placed on them. Without the support from the industry, ISRO could not have accomplished much. Without any hesitation, one can state that India has a sound industrial infrastructure to support her aerospace projects. w
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EDU THINKER
Bertrand Russell
Education Should Liberate The Mind
E
ducation is a continuous and creative process seen as the foundation of society responsible for economic wealth, social prosperity and political stability. Many people who have made their mark in the world in various fields, and have been acknowledged leaders and innovators, have held different views on formal education and educational institutions. When one encounters the very vast topic of educational theory trying to understand its definition, objectives and methodology, Bertrand Russell’s educational theory, which beats limitations of time, stands out with its liberal outlook and precepts. Russell, as he himself observes in his autobiography, was a man who was governed by three simple but overwhelmingly strong passions, namely the longing for love, the search for knowledge and an unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These three aspects of his nature are reflected invariably in his outlook on education also. Russell’s educational methodology and theory become important when actual teaching is considered. Renowned scholars like Russell and a novice educator have one and the same desire to provide better education for children. Until the nineteenth century, education was reserved for the children of aristocratic and wealthy families and was out of the reach of ordinary children. Russell strongly criticised the system, saying, “Such method of education is only available to the privileged class. It has no place in an egalitarian society.” He goes on to say: “Education should take a form that enables it to be available to all children or at least all children capable of benefiting from it. The education system we should aim for is one in which every boy and every girl is given the opportunity to attain the highest level of education in this world.” Russell’s ideal was very radical for his time and because of that he suffered criticism. Yet his message retains its thrust even today. In his theory, education plays a key role in civilisation and social construction. According to Russell, the question is “whether education should train good individuals or good citizens”. Russell denied the latter. Education systems in developed countries have adopted Russell’s ideal in some ways, but in the underdeveloped countries most children take to work, not being able to afford education. He was the advocate of working class children and children with special needs, such as handicapped children. It is only recently that handicapped children have been given similar educational attention. It was natural for him to be chosen for the Nobel Prize in literature in recognition of his varied and significant writings which champion humanitarian ideals. Russell wanted all children to be given equal opportunities to receive the best possible education, and maintained that individuals with special needs should be given specific education.
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He calls for certain “sympathy with the child’s important desires, instead of any attempt to use him for some abstract end such as the glory of God or the greatness of one’s country. And, in teaching, according to Russell, “Every attempt should be made to cause the pupil to feel that it is worth his while to know what is being taught. When the pupil co-operates willingly, he learns twice as fast and with half the fatigue”. All these are valid reasons for a very great degree of freedom. In On Education (1926) Russell upheld an education that would liberate the child from unthinking obedience to parental and religious authority. We are faced with the problem whether education shall aim for packing the children’s brains with practical knowledge or giving them intellectual treasures. Russell observes that education should be practical as educational process is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. Education should aim for the happiness of each student. Russell’s views point out that education must not be instrumental in creating tailor-made children. Rather, it must encourage the children’s natural inquisitiveness and help them to solve problems and gain happiness. Russell puts great importance on early education. He emphasises the importance of the role of parents. The formation of a child’s characteristics starts at the point of birth. It is the foundation and the first step of the education for happiness. Unfortunately, Education has become a business and nobody is bothered about its real purpose and one ends up paying more in donation and not getting any real education. Russell’s concept of education remains the ideal one throughout generations and his theme of education for children’s happiness will be upheld by future societies also. w ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
FTII
Awaiting Waterloo?
James Paul
F
ilm and Television Institute of India (FTII, Pune), the premium film institute in the country, which has produced stalwarts in the world cinema like John Abraham, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Kaul, Shaji N Karun, Girish Kasaravalli to name a few, is on the bane and has been struggling for its survival . Government intends to make this prestigious institute into a profit making one with private participation. The government is giving a huge grant to upgrade the 50-year-old institute. Government has appointed Hewitt Associates, a firm that usually does analyses for corporate companies, to conduct a study and prepare an upgradation plan for FTII. The Hewitt report recommends public-private partnership for the upgradation. It states that the FTII should be re-modelled along the lines of public-privatepartnership by introducing short-term courses with a heavy fee structure in order to transform it into a profitgenerating institution. ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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SPECIAL STORY Students, alumni and the film fraternity around the globe are up in arms against the new proposals and the campus is fuming and is garnering support from all walks of life. Various demonstrations are being held against the implementation of the draft report by the Gurgaon based Hewitt Associates on ‘Up Gradation of FTII to International Standards’. The students and the well wishers of the institute feel that such a report is industry-oriented and study should be made by people who are connected with the art of film making, otherwise there will be clash of interests and differences in basic approach. The very purpose of establishing FTII, which was intended to give free space for the creative exploration of natural talent, should not be considered for making profit. It is reliably known that a major corporate house in India has already shown interest in FTII. Hewitt report proposes to begin course like an eighteen- month programme of MBA in Business Entertainment, a twelve- month programme in Advertisement and Film making, a twelvemonth programme in TV journalism, six-month programme for preservation and restoration of films with a proposed fees structure of 4.5 lakhs, 7.5 lakhs, 7 lakhs, 3.93 lakhs, respectively for Indian students and 9 lakhs, 15 lakhs, 14 lakhs, 7.86 lakhs for foreign students.
The Hewitt report recommends public-private partnership for the upgradation. It states that the FTII should be re-modelled along the lines of public-privatepartnership by introducing short-term courses with heavy fee structure as to transform it into a profit-generating institute.
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The main complaint of the students is the failure to update the syllabus according to the present trends. Accroding to them, late night sessions, lack of infrastructure and underpaid staffs are the reasons for the present trouble. Patreek Vasta, a final year ‘Direction’ student opined that there had been an exorbitant hike in fees in recent times. The fees, which was only a few thousand rupees in 1997 has gone up to Rs. 50,000 now and any further hike may be unaffordable and is against the very ethos of FTII. According to the students association, FTII’s syllabus for the 14 programmes it currently offer needs to be urgently upgraded and a new batch of students must not be admitted until the curriculum revision process is completed. Improvements to existing infrastructure including hostel facilities and technical equipment to accommodate an increasing number of students, a freeze on tuition fees, and filling up of vacant faculty positions are the other demands made by the FTII Students Association.According to John Sankaramangalam, the former director of the institute and a Malayalam film maker, private participation will help the institute to function more effectively. “FTII’s administration is futile. The syllabus is ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
SPECIAL STORY out dated. Students and teachers of FTII should behave more responsively. Government is granting huge grants to this institution. Let private parties join hands with government for the betterment of FTII. What is wrong in that? Students and teachers are against private participation, because they would be made answerable.” Sankaramangalam told Asian Educator. “Institute has initiated a high fee structure recently, which itself is a heavy blow to the students. Now they are planning to privatise. This outlook itself is wrong. The institute has failed to attract talents now. It is not fulfilling its demands for aesthetics”, said Shaji N Karun, the world acclaimed film maker and member of PK Nair committee. PK Nair Committee It was against the background of rising student protests that the FTII management appointed the P.K. Nair Committee to study the course structure and to recommend proposals to upgrade the syllabus and infrastructure. It has submitted its interim report, which recommends that the government should grant Rs 50 millions for clearing the backlog that has accumulated since 2005. PK Nair Committee has done a detailed study into the various aspects of the functioning of the institute. The committee has recommended that the money be utilised to procure equipment and appoint personnel like supervisors and mentors, so that the courses are completed as scheduled. “The committee has recommended a freeze on fresh admissions till the current backlog of academic and project work is cleared. We have done a detailed study about the present problems faced by the FTII. Privatisation is not a solution for the present crisis. Students and teachers are against privatisation. We suggest some administrative changes, which will be helpful for the smooth functioning of the institution” PK Nair said in a telephonic interview with Asian Educator. “The Committee comprising film experts, and representatives of FTII staff and students agreed that the Hewitt report was not feasible for an institute like FTII,” said Samarth Dixit, president of the FTII students’ association.
we have been following up on various issues being faced by the students. But nothing has changed even now. Instead, the government wants to change the whole spirit of FTII by turning it into a profitmaking institution.” “The institute is heading towards non-function and the administration doesn’t care. While students are facing a severe crunch of basic infrastructure, the administration wants to introduce another batch,” he added. It’s not for the first time that FTII has been facing such an agitation by students.The effects of the strike here when actor Mohan Agashe was the director in 1997-98 were felt in Delhi. Declining Standards Film fraternity agreed on one point unanimously that the standard of FTII was declining and that it had already lost its charm. It could not produce a John Abraham or Adoor Gopalakrishnan in last two decades. As K.G George, the wellknown Malayalam film director rightly said, the institution is in no way comparable to the period of yore. “When we were students in the institute, we had veteran film makers as visiting faculties from around the globe. Now the institute is not promoting visiting faculties. The syllabus also should include modern technology and change according to the new trends in world cinema. Privatisation is not a solution for this.” Institute is unable to attract talents from the various parts
Let private parties join hands with government for the betterment of the FTII. What is wrong in that? Students and teachers are against private participation, because they would be made answerable.
He added, “The report states that the FTII should be re-modelled along the lines of public-private partnership (PPP) thereby suggesting introduction of a number of expensive industry-oriented short-term courses to make the institute profitgenerating. This will turn FTII into a polytechnic. No action has been taken on our demands which we have been voicing for the last three years.” Samarth Dixit, said, “For the past three years, ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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SPECIAL STORY of the country as it did earlier. “We are not doing anything to find out talents and to promote them .Our institutional setup has no particular project to trace talents, particularly from villages. That is the major reason FTII is not producing any eminent film makers as earlier” said Shaji N Karun. Hewitt Associate report is very immature. The people who made that report are not connected to films. They have not been looking at cinema as an art. They consider it only as a money making industry. Government has no moral right to suggest private participation, he added. Background For the past fifty years, FTII has proved to be a central pillar in the evolution of Indian cinema. With their continued contribution to mainstream as well as regional cinema, the alumnus of the Institute has ensured that FTII is recognised as a national centre for film education and practice. Set up in 1961 with the aim of promoting good alternative cinema and setting new standards in film-making both aesthetically and technically, The Film and the institute has provided free space for thinking Television and learning to generations. Over and above, Institute of India setting critical benchmarks for the film industry (FTII) was set up while nourishing it with highly professional and with his great- focused people, specialised in various aspects grandfather’s of film-making, FTII resonates in the halls of vision and I’m World Cinema with its sensitive understanding going to request of life and film as a post-industrial art practice. Rahul Gandhi to Along with the National Film Archives of India save it, says Oscar (NFAI), the Films Division and the National Film winner Resul Development Corporation (NFDC), it has played Pookutty. a crucial role in the creation, preservation and “FTII is going propagation of our cross cultural heritage through through a very the medium of cinema. bad time. Now, the government Those who are favouring FTII feel that being wants to privatise re-modelled as a Public Private Partnership it. I’m making this (PPP) as per the draft report prepared by Hewitt statement directly Associates, Gurgaon, appointed by no less than to Rahul Gandhi.” the ministry, apparently proposes an embarrassing and ridiculous “upgradation of FTII to international standards”. The said report strongly advocates the launching of a number of exorbitantly priced, “industry oriented”, short terms courses to make the institute profit generating. The report clearly lays a blue print, which will ensure that in due course the Government can withdraw all support from the institute.
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“There are people who are ignorant about cinema behind the new proposal at FTII “, says veteran film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He adds, “I will not let this happen. The private firm assigned for this purpose has nothing to do with cinema. It smells fishy when a private firm which is ignorant about cinema is approached to make the plan when there are government agencies and alumni like us. Nobody among the alumni will let this happen. I am with the FTII students who strike for this cause. The FTII is an asset of the nation. There is no necessity to upgrade FTII to global standard when it has already groomed a lot of filmmakers world-class. The institute is meant for all sections of the society. The poor should be able to afford the fees. I will fight against it if the plan is to start self financed courses or privatise the institute in the shadow of the name ‘upgradation’. I heard about the project to make FTII a global film school comparing it with institutions that have nothing to do with cinema. The institute is not a space for the ‘privatisation thirsty people” - w Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
Students feel that if the recommendations of the Hewitt report are accepted then FTII will cater only to a certain set of people – those who can afford it, making it exclusive and homogeneous, eliminating any of the plurality and diversity in creativity. Skills will be given precedence, and people will be ‘trained’ for the job market rather than organic professionals looking at cinema as art and not just a craft. From being an art school which encourages plurality of cinema, FTII shall be relegated to being a facilitator in providing skilled labour for an assembly line production system. It will be designed and constructed as an institution along the lines of a profit making one, giving no room for experimentation, or space to redefine the boundaries of film making and centralisation. w
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
HISTORY OF CHAMPIONS
A WILL FOR THE WORLD
The Nobility Behind the Nobel Prizes
A
lfred Nobel’s last will and testament, a cross-eyed one that shocked his relatives and friends alike, left approximately 94 % of his assets for establishing the most coveted international awards in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on as mankind.” A business man and inventor who had ninety-three dynamite factories in various countries, he never wanted to go down in history as ‘a merchant of death’. Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden to Immanuel Nobel, a wealthy architect, builder, and inventor and Andriette Ahlsell who also came from a wealthy family. Alfred’s father built bridges and buildings and experimented with different ways of blasting rocks. Immanuel Nobel was forced into bankruptcy the same year Alfred was born. He left Stockholm and his family had to start a new career in Finland and in Russia. He opened a machine shop in St. Petersburg with contracts from the Russian government to build defence weapons. Following his success in business, Alfred who was nine years old, his mother (Andrietta Ahlsell) and brothers (Robert and Ludvig) moved to St. Petersburg to join Immanuel in 1942. Alfred never had any formal education. Immanuel wanted his sons to have a first-class education and they were tutored at home by the best teachers.
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
By the time he was 17, Alfred was fluent in Swedish, Russian, French, English and German. His father who disliked Alfred’s inclination towards poetry and English literature send him for extended training to scientific institutions abroad. Alfred Nobel visited Sweden, Germany, France and the United States. In Paris, the city of his choice, he met the young Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero who, three years earlier, had invented nitroglycerine, a highly explosive liquid. Nitroglycerine was produced by mixing glycerin with sulphuric and nitric acid. Highly dangerous with very high explosive power, the liquid would explode in a very unpredictable manner if subjected to heat and pressure. Alfred established a small factory at Helenborg near Stockholm in Sweden to manufacture nitroglycerine. He concentrated on developing nitroglycerine as an explosive. In 1864, Alfred’s factory blew up - killing several people, including Alfred’s younger brother, Emil. The authorities banned any further experimentation with the explosive within the limits of Stockholm city. He moved his experimentation to a barge anchored on Lake Malaren and started mass production of nitroglycerine. For safety considerations Alfred experimented with different additives. In 1867, he invented a new and safer-to-handle explosive dynamite. The invention drastically reduced the cost of blasting rock, drilling tunnels, building canals and many other forms of construction work. The market for dynamite and detonating caps grew rapidly making Alfred Nobel a successful entrepreneur who had factories and laboratories in some 90 different places in more than 20 countries. By the time of his death in 1896 he had 355 patents. w
Alfred Bernhard Nobel a businessman and inventor who had ninetythree dynamite factories in various countries, never wanted to go down in history as ‘a merchant of death’.
This column is about nobel laureates who have turned around the course of history.
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EXPERT INTERVIEW
Irina Ghose
India’s 2.5 million
technical and engineering students do not receive the same
quality of instruction
I
rina Ghose is the Director- Education, and leads the overall initiatives of Microsoft India in the Education segment. In her career span of 15 years, she spent 9 years at Microsoft India. Prior to her current role, she was involved in multiple functions spanning Business Management, Sales Leadership and Excellence & Partnerships across various Industry segments at Microsoft. She was instrumental in building strong relationships with customers and partners and had led large teams consisting of enterprise sales, technical sales, services and partners towards envisioning and implementing strategic engagements. She has personally been passionate about the education segment and has also worked with institutions in the past for various solutions in this area. Prior to this, she was at Wipro InfoTech & HCL Info systems where she had worked across various streams namely, Product Management, Alliance Management, and Business Solutions & Sales Management. She spent her initial years in Tata Steel in their Export Oriented Unit at Jamshedpur. Irina holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from IT, BHU and an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Excerpts from her conversation:
The Indian Institutes of Technology are world renowned and their graduates are represented in some of the world’s leading corporations. However, these elite institutions are accessible to only a few qualified students, less than 1% approx. Many others among India’s 2.5 million technical and engineering students do not receive the same quality of instruction. Hence it becomes extremely important to increase impact of the teachers through technology to improve the quality of education. At Microsoft, our work is based on the belief that the fundamental role of technology is to help people achieve their potential—to provide them with tools and capabilities that empower them to unleash their knowledge and creativity. Irina Ghose explains.
Q.Will you explain Microsoft’s expansion plans in the education sector? At Microsoft, our work is based on the belief that the fundamental role of technology is to help people achieve their potential—to provide them with tools and capabilities that empower them to unleash their knowledge and creativity
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Irina Ghose
Microsoft has put together a comprehensive set of offerings under our Education Alliance Programme, to be implemented in partnership with state governments. As part of this programme, Microsoft has signed MoUs with 10 State Governments.
through the Unlimited Potential effort, Microsoft India is focused on long-term investments for facilitating relevant, affordable access to technology in areas which are aligned to India’s priorities – education being one of them . Q. Please elaborate the concept of E-learning courses of Microsoft? Microsoft E- learning allows learners to learn at their own pace, flexible and on their own schedule. Microsoft e Learning makes it easy for the learners to take Microsoft Online Courses, participate in Virtual Labs, and test their skills from home, office or anywhere that they take computers that have an internet connection. Microsoft E- learning comprises over 1000 Courses, and are available in 25 countries. These online courses provide a flexible learning experience for people of all skill levels, from office workers to seasoned IT professionals and developers. The E- learning Platform is built to help learners master complex material through hands-on virtual labs and interactive exercises. These courses reach out to a wide audience, starting with the Digital Literacy programme for citizens at large, Microsoft IT Academy for academic institutions, basic IT certification courses for the student & ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
teacher community as well as advanced courses and certifications for the technical community and developers. Q. Expenditure on education in India is sky rocketing. So the poor are being denied. What according to you is a solution for this? The Education Minister’s mandate is around accessibility, equity and quality. Over the last few years the government has launched several new policies like RTE, SSA and RMSA backed by substantial investments to ensure education for all; including the underserved community. The recent push by the Prime Minister for promotion of rural
EXPERT INTERVIEW
employment in skill development is a shot in the arm for the “Aam Aadmi” ensuring social and economic inclusion. The government has partnered with several private players for initiatives that enhance the education experience in the country and are affordable as well. We, at Microsoft are working towards facilitating the government’s vision of education for one and all by providing solutions which are relevant, affordable and accessible. For e.g.; Microsoft’s Windows Multi Point Server 2010 is one such solution which provides an affordable mode towards leveraging ICT in a classroom environment. . In a large number of schools in developing nations, a single computer is shared by multiple children, often with ratios of as many as 5-10 children to a PC. Users have their own independent and familiar Windows computing experience, using their monitor, keyboard, and mouse
EXPERT INTERVIEW
Irina Ghose
directly connected to the host computer via USB or video card. Windows Multi Point Server 2010 enables more users to access technology (reduces the hardware cost by almost 50%)., delivering more value within existing education budgets. Q. What does the future hold for technical education in India? The Indian Institutes of Technology are world renowned and their graduates are represented in some of the world’s leading corporations. However, these elite institutions are accessible to only a few qualified students, less than 1% approx. Many others among India’s 2.5 million technical and engineering students do not receive the same quality of instruction. Hence it becomes extremely important to increase the impact of the teachers through technology to improve quality of education. Some of the future trends in technical education would evolve around • Learner and faculty – concepts like web based learning, real time collaborative communication, content delivery engines, video broadcasting of lectures, • Quality Accreditation will rise in importance as more Foreign providers seek collaboration with Indian Universities and would look at specific benchmarks At Microsoft, our long-term vision is to enable a skill-based and knowledge-driven society in India where technology is an integrated part of the learning experience and we are confident that quality technical education can thus be provided to millions of students. Initiatives such as Innovation alliance, Education alliance, Imagine Cup and Dream Spark are some of the ongoing initiatives in the country to encourage innovation amongst the technical and engineering students in the country. w
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Microsoft’s educational initiatives in India Partners in Learning for accelerating IT literacy and enhancing the classroom environment among government schools across the country. Partners in Learning works in association with governments and education leaders around the world at the national, state and local levels to deliver a portfolio of professional development, curricula, tools and resources designed to advance 21st century teaching, learning and digital inclusion that improve learning outcomes for every student. Microsoft has put together a comprehensive set of offerings under our Education Alliance programme, to be implemented in partnership with state governments. As part of this programme, Microsoft has signed MoUs with 10 State Governments. The Education Alliance provides Digital Literacy Curriculum to minimise Digital Divide and improve employability skills, tools like Multi Point to improve delivery of education through ICT in class rooms, Live@edu program to enhance community level collaboration in education. Imagine Cup is a global contest held by Microsoft to provide student innovators from across the world a platform to showcase their software development skills. Microsoft Imagine Cup empowers students to apply their creativity, knowledge and technical abilities towards making the world a better place through technology, and to encourage students to develop applications that are relevant in today’s context. MS Learning is a programme that is aimed at reducing the barriers to training and certification at every level to help people get the training they need to maximise their potential. Microsoft Learning builds innovative learning products that enables people to learn Microsoft Technologies the right way, and provides cutting edge technology and world class training through its partners. Microsoft Student partners (MSPs) is an initiative by Microsoft that facilitates the students with a platform to learn new methods and techniques in the field of technology and develop their skills and competencies on Microsoft platform ensuring a sustained growth of their academic success and growth. There are currently about 750 MSP’s across the country. Innovation Alliance is a programme introduced to support and foster innovation and entrepreneurship amongst students through a formal association with colleges. This initiative provides an opportunity to bridge the gap between industry requirements and student readiness thereby creating better employable opportunities, industry adoption and strengthening competencies amongst students. Dream Spark: A software giveaway for qualified students in the country, Dream Spark aims to provide students with access to the latest Microsoft developer and designer tools at no charge to unlock their creative potential and set them on the path to academic and career success. w ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Management Education
ISSUES
Facts & Figures
India has around 1400 business schools accredited by AICTE. They produce management graduates seven times the number in United Kingdom.
Turning B Schools into A Schools: Can we manage it?
As business leaders try to navigate and rebuild economies ravaged by the global meltdown, business schools around the world are rethinking on how to train the next generation of managers to help them face the unprecedented challenges. This is no time to tweak what has been done before. What is imperative is a thorough overhaul of management education.
A
s in the case of all other types of education, management education involves taste (talent) and training. Talent alone or training alone won’t help much in the preset-day world of cut-throat competition.This situation explains the mushrooming of management institutes in every nook and cranny of our country nowadays. But the tragic part of it all is that the majority of such institutions manage more their interests, especially financial, than the interests of the students, with the result that the quality of business education badly suffers. This is the impression this writer gleaned after interviewing a crosssection of experts who had been, and who are now, at the helm of some of our management institutions. All organizations and their departments employ their own management methodologies, which include problem-solving techniques and guidelines for related activities. The popularity of business schools sky-rocketed with the emergence of globalisation in India which literally opened up a world of opportunity for students with aspiration for corporate careers. It is at this juncture that our `enterprising entrepreneurs’ decided to take the plunge, cashing in on the business opportunity unfolding before them, in terms of providing business organizations with the much-needed human resource necessary to carry the business forward. Liberalization and globalization tremendously impacted ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
management education. As business leaders try to navigate and rebuild economies ravaged by the global meltdown, business schools around the world are rethinking on how to train the next generation of managers to help them face the unprecedented challenges. This is no time to tweak what has been done before. What is imperative is a thorough overhaul of management education. This overhaul may well be led by India, where the demand for management training has crossed all bounds, and opened the door to massive growth and innovation in business school sector. India has around 1400 business schools accredited by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). They produce management graduates seven times the number United Kingdom produces. But can our so called B-school training be given A grade, compared with such schools abroad? Are they genetically potent to deliver entrepreneurs? How qualified are they to impart quality management education? What will be the quality of managers who are produced by these management institutes? Asian Educator has done an MRI scan on the subject. We spoke to the pioneers in Indian management education and their response was mixed –encouraging at times, and shocking The quality of most of at other times. the business schools here Everybody agreed that leaves much to be desired. all is not well with our They don’t have enough management education. qualified faculty and the They differed only in requisite infrastructure. their diagnosis and In foreign countries, the treatment. system is different. Deteriorating Quality Padma Bhushan Dr MV Pylee Dr MV Pylee, a doyen in management sector, has no great words for Indian management education. He said that Indian management education is still to cross its infancy. “The management education in India cannot hold a candle to that abroad. The quality of most of the business schools here leaves much to be desired. They don’t have enough qualified faculty and the requisite infrastructure. In foreign countries, the system is different. Take, for example, Harvard Business School. The School has a separate 40-acre campus which accommodates 33 buildings. In our country, particularly in Kerala, anybody can start a B school with a two-room `campus’. ``That will, invariably, affect quality”, he said. B-schools literally mean business and they know business. And, of course, they do
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ISSUES
Management Education business as never before. In western countries, B-schools set great store by case studies. Here the curriculum is different. Even Arts and Science Colleges start Management Courses on their campuses, as they find it a profitable business. It is not a healthy trend. Arts and Science colleges and B-schools have different cultures. B-school students should not be spoiled byArts college culture, Pylee said.
Dr Joseph I Injodey We, at Rajagiri, help students maintain an extremely close connect with the industry by providing them with the maximum industrial exposure through projects and industrial visits.
But Dr Vivek S Sane, Director of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (Pune) has a different view. He said that the standard of management education in India is on par with that of any other country. “Our system is producing managers who are competent enough. The reputed management institutes in India have a compact curriculum. We, here, have a vast and peaceful campus, which, we think, is a must for quality education. The future of management education in India is promising. Our economy is growing and we will have enough opportunities. I believe we need more B-schools to cope with the challenge”, he said. Dr Joseph I. Injodey, Principal of one of Kerala’s leading business institutes, Rajagiri Centre for Business Studies, rightly points out that we should scrupulously differentiate a good business school from the myriad institutions masquerading as management institutes.
industrial visits. Moreover, our students take on several extra-curricular activities on a large scale and, in the process, develop the requisite skills and capabilities they need for their future careers. We also have soft skill training that runs alongside the curriculum. Conceptual knowledge is strengthened by well-experienced faculty and this is supplemented with guest lectures from corporate personnel having experience at the highest managerial levels” he said. According to a study report by educational specialists Makarand Upadhyaya (ICFAI Business School, IBS, Jaipur) and Swati Soni (Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur) we have not been able to produce the best business leaders and managers across the world from our B Schools. We often boast about the quantity of our management education but we are not much concerned about the quality. Presently Harvard University stands first in the top US list of B schools and INSEAD stands first in the nonUS list. What is the official ranking of Indian management institutions across the world? Unfortunately, none of our B schools finds a place in the top 100 list. What ails our B schools? It is high time we introspected honestly and thoroughly. Many of our B-schools claim as being centers of excellence and charge huge fees. This is true with state-aided or controlled, university affiliated or autonomous institutes, and new private universities. On the whole, education in management, excepting for a few universities with their own campuses, is sub-standard and avoidable for various reasons. Is regulatory system necessary? Every year, in India, more than 1.10 lakh students aspire for and get admission in a postgraduate programme in management and its variants like MBA, autonomous Post Graduate Diploma in Management / Business Administration, and in other streams such as Hotel Management, Insurance Management, and Foreign Trade Management, etc.
What is an MBA for ? “We, at Rajagiri, help students maintain an extremely close connect with the industry by providing them with the maximum industrial exposure through projects and
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However, the quality of pass-outs from various university schools and private autonomous colleges is pathetic. In fact, a stage has already reached where anyone aspiring to get MBA/PGDM level certification can now get entry into one or the other school somewhere in India or even in foreign universities and institutes.
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Management Education There are numerous commercial and pedagogical (teaching) models that have emerged. The latest revolutions in convergence technology based on Internet, microwave and satellite transmission have helped this surge. A number of third-rate institutes and universities have rushed forward to make money by launching distance education programmes, which the very same universities don’t recognize for various purposes. So, do we need an independent regulatory mechanism for the management institutions or can they be self-regulatory? Dr Giri Dua, Chairman and Managing Director of TASMAC, said he will not subscribe to the view. “I don’t need anybody to advise me about education in my institutes. We don’t want to be affiliated with any university. We have a reputation. We have set a standard for ourselves and we don’t want any control over that”, he said. Dr Dua has the opinion that it not advisable to keep a tight rein on management institutions. Indian management institutions have different curriculums. Teaching faculties also are different. Some institutions are giving priority to the teaching faculty from abroad. TASMC has its own campus in London also, apart from its Indian campuses in Pune, Kolkata, Bengalooru and Mumbai. How can a regulatory system be possible for an institution which has campuses in India and abroad? Dr Dua asked. Dr Seema Sing, Director of Balaji Institute of Modern Management (BIMM, Pune) also feels that an independent regulatory system is not practical for management institutions in India. “It is true that a lot of management institutions have come up recently. That doesn’t mean that the standard of management education has gone down. There are institutes which consider management education as money- making business. But reputed institutions always give priority to quality education” she said. Role in shaping entrepreneurs Everybody agrees that our present management education system is not capable of churning out the required number of right entrepreneurs. “We are producing more managers than entrepreneurs. But it is not the fault of our education system. Our students are taking huge loans to study management. They have to repay the loans at the earliest. So they can’t wait indefinitely for their business ventures to make profits to repay there loans. They can’t ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
ISSUES
run the risk of running a business at that point of time” says Dr Seema Sing. According to Dr Vivek Sane, Director, SIBM, entrepreneurship is not something which can be acquired through studies. “Entrepreneurship is something which is in your blood. Students who have a family background of entrepreneurship will prefer to start their own business. But it is better to be with an organization for sometime and get experienced before you start your own business. But this situation is only a temporary phenomenon. Our economy is growing fast and it will give rise to more entrepreneurs in the near future.
Dr Vivek S Sane Our system is producing managers who are competent enough. The reputed management institutes in India have a compact curriculum. We, here, have a vast and peaceful campus, which, we think, is a must for quality education.
Findings from Ravi Paturi Study Report According to the study by Ravi Paturi and Prasanna Kumari B of Aurora’s Business School, Hyderabad, the current management programmes offer neither a good grounding for being managers nor a good preparation for entry into world of work. This is mainly because of the inexperience and immaturity of the students and the text-bookish nature of the curriculum. The majority of management education organizations in India are oriented primarily towards teaching. The materials used for teaching also are not tailored to the living experiences in India. The top 20 full-time Though the credit system is used as a global MBA programmes
2011
2010
2009
1= 1= 3 4= 4= 6 7 8 9= 9= 11 12 13 14 15= 15= 17 18= 18= 20
1 2 3 5 4 9 6 6 8 11
1 1 3 5 6 16 4 6 9 12
9 12 15 13 16 22 13 18 20
11 15 14 10 19 8 13 29 22
School name London Business School University of Pennsylvania Harvard Business School Insead Stanford University GSB Hong Kong UST Business School Columbia Business School IE Business School MIT Sloan School of Management Iese Business School II M, Ahmedabad University of Chicago: Booth Indian School of Business IMD New York University: Stern Yale School of Management Ceibs Dartmouth College: Tuck HEC Paris Duke University: Fuqua
yardstick to measure the effectiveness of class room participation, still, monitoring and implementation of these policies are of serious concern. Most of the management institutions have ignored student activities and no
Country UK US US France/Singapore US China US Spain US Spain India US India Switzerland US US China US France US
Courtesy: Financial Times MBA Rankings 2011
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Management Education
India’s best B Schools RANK 2010
RANK 2009
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1 2 3 NR 5 6 10 11 12 9 14 8 13 15 18 16 19 NR 22 31
INSTITUTE Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai Indian Institute of Management, Indore Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai Management Development Institute, Gurgaon Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Mumbai S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar International Management Institute, New Delhi Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai Department of Management Studies, IIT, Delhi Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai Acharya Institute of Management and Sciences, Bangalore
SCORE 845 837 793 743 742 738 722 715 706 699 695 694 686 685 675 640 634 630 629 627
Courtesy:BWSynovate B-school Survey 2010 weightage is given for social activities. A few B-schools don’t even have credits towards social activities. The involvement of governing council and academic council is only 20%, which is a cause for concern with regard to the current quality of education in management institutes. Conclusion The finding in the above report is shocking. The present management education has survived for nearly five decades in India and is struggling to expand beyond geographical boundaries. With rapidly changing technology and communication, the educational system is undergoing drastic changes although the pace is slow. The students in B schools develop the ability to network and grow fast. The marketplace for business schools today is characterized by relentless change. Increasing competition from non-accredited schools and globalization of the business education market are among the root causes for the instability plaguing the sector. Management education is at risk, and industry-wide leadership is needed to position business schools to respond to the emerging priorities and challenges to improve the education quality of management education in India in general. It is necessary for the groups to have a focused approach and deliver business education as any other practical course. It is essential to have more visiting faculty with diversified and rich experience in our management schools. w
History of Management Education
Process of globalization not only replaced the traditional approach of the system with a more efficient professional approach, but also introduced new-age courses which have more economic value in modern times. Management education is one among them. Andhra University was the first to start a fulltime management programme way back in 1957. The All India Institute of Management and Social Welfare, Kolkata, and Delhi University then followed it in 1958. It was in 1960 that the foundation-stone for the first Indian Institute of Management in Ahemedabad was laid. Now there are more than 1000 management colleges across India and many among them like the Indian Institute of Management(IIM) are counted among the best in the world. In response to this growing demand, private sector also entered into Indian management scenario. Apart from IIMs, some of the private business schools are also among the top business schools in the world. Management colleges like SIBM (Pune) Jamnalal Bajaj Inst. of Mgmt. (Mumbai), MDI (Gurgaon), FMS (New Delhi), IISWBM (Calcutta) or MICA (Ahmedabad) are well known management colleges across Asia-Pacific. w
I don’t need anybody to advise me about the education in my institutes. We don’t want to be affiliated with any universities. We have set a standard for ourselves and we don’t want any control over that. - Dr Giri Dua
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Dr Vivek Sane
EXPERT INTERVIEW
A REGULATORY AUTHORITY IS
NECESSARY
in management education sector It should ensure the quality of management education
Dr Vivek Sane has more than 30 years of teaching experience. He has completed his doctoral studies in Management. He has conducted corporate training programmes for many well known companies and developed study material for the same. He has been credited with developing new concepts such as Corporate Masking. Dr Sane has also presented research papers at numerous seminars and conferences. Armed with case studies and the latest developments in the Indian corporate world, Dr Sane also conducts courses at the post graduate management institutes of Symbiosis. He is a graduate in commerce from the University of Mumbai and has post graduate qualifications in HRM, Commerce and Management and a PhD in Management from Pune University. Currently he heads the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management. He talked elaborately about the present management education scenario in the country. Excerpts from the interview: Q. Do you think that the quality of Indian management education is not up to the mark when compared to other parts of the world? Dr Sane: No I can’t say it is not up to the mark. That statement is wrong. Standard of management education in India is at par with that of any other country. But the trend worldwide is that only those who have two or three years work experience enroll for management education. But in India 80 percent of the students enrolling for management education are freshers. They opt for management education ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
But in India 80 per cent of the students enrolling for management education are freshers. They opt for management education as soon as they complete their graduation. But the trend is slowly changing. More and more people from the industry with working experience are now opting for management studies. Our system is producing managers who are competent enough. The reputed management institutes in India have a compact curriculum. We, here, have a vast and peaceful campus, which, we think, is a must for quality education. The future of management education in India is promising. Our economy is growing and we will have enough opportunities. Dr Vivek Sane told our Features Editor James Paul
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COVER STORY
Dr Vivek Sane
as soon as they complete their graduation. But the trend is slowly changing. More and more people from the industry with working experience are now opting for management studies. Our system is producing managers who are competent enough. The reputed management institutes in India have a compact curriculum. We, here, have a vast and peaceful campus, which, we think, is a must for quality education. The future of management education in India is promising. Our economy is growing and we will have enough opportunities.
Allowing foreign universities to open campus in India will open new avenues. More and more institutions will come up. There will be joint ventures.
Q. Do you think that the management institutions should be self regulatory or should they have an independent regulatory mechanism? Dr Sane: We have regulatory bodies like Universities, AICTE, UGC and many others. Any regulatory authority should give confidence to the students in terms of infrastructure, faculty, subjects being taught etc. Otherwise anybody can start a management institute with few class rooms autonomously and can admit as much students as they like and charge them arbitrarily. That is not a healthy practice. A regulatory authority is necessary in management education sector. It should ensure the quality of management education. Q. Universities abroad are giving more importance to case studies in management education. Are we lacking that part? Dr Sane: I can’t say we are lacking that part. Slowly we are realising the importance of self studies. In SIBM , we are giving importance to case studies and we give opportunities to the students to learn through self studies and interaction with various industry experts. We offer specialisation within 45 days after a student registers with us. We have tie-ups with various industries in India like Godrej, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. etc. This will help to understand the present day business scenario of the country. We create cognizant, competent and confident business leaders. Our curriculum is designed like that. I
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want my students to enjoy learning in the class and outside. I want them to be knowledgeable, wise and street smart. Q. There is a severe faculty crunch in the management education sector. How do you tackle this issue? Dr Sane: It is a universal phenomenon. Management experts are getting better salaries in industries compared to teaching jobs. If my students are getting 15 lakhs per annum, I need to offer more to my teachers. It’s true that there is a shortage of faculty in management institutions. But the management institutions have visiting faculties who can fill the gap. Management institutes are now interested in enrolling their own best students as teachers. Q. Government plans to allow foreign campuses in India. Will it be helpful for the education sector in India? Dr Sane: Allowing foreign universities to open campus in India will open new avenues. More and more institutions will come up. There will be joint ventures. But if you look at education as a business, this will be harmful. The intention behind starting an educational institution is very important. Q. Do you think that the present management education is conducive for creating entrepreneurs? If not what are your suggestions to make amends? Dr Sane: Entrepreneurship is something which is in your blood. Students who have a family background of entrepreneurship will prefer to start their own business. It is better to be with an organisation for some time and get experience before you start your own business. But this situation is only a temporary phenomenon. Our economy is growing fast and it will give rise to more entrepreneurs in the near future. We need to have basic courses to create entrepreneurs. Q. What does the future hold for management education in India? Dr Sane: The future of management education in India is bright. Our economy is growing and we will be in need of more management professionals. All the industrial sectors are looking for management professionals. They are an integral part of any corporate establishment. More and more players will come to management education in the future and it will produce more professionals. Management education will concentrate on more subjects according to the need of the hour. Our future managers will be capable of managing the various corporate issues that arise at times. w ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
EDU BRANDING
EDU BRANDING “A product is something made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by the customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can quickly become outdated; a successful brand is timeless.� - Stephen King
E
du branding is a new concept of popularising or establishing brand equity for educational institutions and courses. Foreign universities have already adapted this concept. The process of edu branding is applicable only after the situation analysis of the contemporary market demand of education; courses offered by the institution, and the courses offered by the competing institutions. Present market demand in education is for various professional courses like B.Tech, MBA, MCA, MBBS etc. They fall into this category and demand keeps changing from time to time. Based on the present market demand, an analysis can be made on what the competition offers. The opportunity of edu branding lies in these three factors such as present market demand, courses offered by your institution and courses offered by the competitor. ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
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EDU BRANDING For tradionalists there always existed a clear separation between business and brand strategy. For years the philosophy was ‘brand follows business’. An enlightened business strategy like mission, competences vision, and core values were indirect forms of brand ideas like promise, essence, proposition and values. Business branding is targeted to the outside world and strategy is usually a boardroom work. Branding is for communication and easy recognition. Branding is an idea refined by brilliant CEOs as a weapon to influence the inside world and other core stakeholders. Such successful companies have changed the whole thing around and make their brand run the business. The brand is the emotional reflection of the sensible business. Branding is an appeal to emotion and the cognition follows the emotion.
to demarcate their product. Man began to think on branding for marketing their products, to ensure the quality and guarantee of the product, as well to show the honesty and responsibility of the producer. They also tried to establish a brand for their product to keep the individuality of the product, make aware of its quality and by which establish an emotional bonding between the producer and consumer. Branding in the modern era also keeps the thought with some slight changes to serve the purpose of establishing a corporate brand. Several autonomous institutions and deemed universities are already in market with their established quality contents. Among these, positioning ones own institution with its unique identity and specialties have become an inevitable factor in education sector.
Your relevance
Edu branding is a new concept of popularising or establishing brand equity for educational As far as India is concerned, branding of institutions and courses. education is slowly Foreign universities coming of age. Brands have already adapted like IIM A, NIIT etc., are this concept. The process setting benchmarks in of edu branding is this type of marketing of Present market applicable only after the higher education, which Your product demand situation analysis of the was hitherto a monopoly Your contemporary market of government or aided branding demand of education; agencies. Indian youth Your key capa r courses offered by the are getting trained for You tunities b ilitie r s oppo institution, and the the profitable ventures courses offered by the of BPOs and the parallel competing institutions. boom in the software Competitor’s Present market demand industry has become the offer in education is for flagships of Indian brand various professional in the world market. courses like B.Tech, MBA, MCA, MBBS Definitely there are etc. They fall into this category and demand many flipsides in the current brand construct keeps changing from time to time. Based on the that some of these education brands follow. present market demand, an analysis can be made Alumni associations are made only for reunions on what the competition offers. The opportunity or for assured admissions of the alumni and it of edu branding lies in these three factors such as institute may well benefit from a celebrity alumni present market demand, courses offered by your like Arun Nehru or Anand Mahindra. Most of institution and courses offered by the competitor. these brands are adopting the age old custom of awarding degrees and diplomas and the post The basic theory of a brand is that it demarcates purchase scenario is bleak. These brands must your product, service or idea from similar go for introspection and strive for establishing a competing products in the market. Besides credibility branding for them. boosting the sales, branding promotes communication. Print, audio-visual, social Branding of education in India should be clearly networking portals etc. are the main tools of on the lines of career prospects that may be branding. available for the candidates in the changing economic scenario in India in particular and the Branding got recognition as a practical science world at large. Research must be undertaken to only in modern era, but even earlier, people used fulfill the futuristic needs of the country and make signature as an identification mark for the product her youth employable. w
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Ideas on Branding
EDU BRANDING
The Secret of successful Branding The Secret of successful Branding The Secret of successful Branding
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e introduce two major educational Loyola Chennai Campus institutions with established credentials in edu sector with the core concept of branding. SCMS Cochin and Loyola Chennai share their different concepts, effort and ideas behind the establishment of brand. Asian Educator had exclusive interviews with GPC Nayar, Founder and Chairman of SCMS group and Dr C Joe Arun, SJ, Secretary, Loyola College. They share the concept of Edu branding and its contribution to their success as a brand. School of Communication and Management Studies (SCMS) was established in the year 1976 as the first professional educational institution in the self-financing sector of Kerala. SCMS –Cochin is ranked as one among the top 25 B. schools in the country. AICTE grant for excellence, ISO certification for Quality Management Teaching System, National awards for innovative training system in the curriculum, international award for excellence in performance etc. are the result of over 20 years of hard work and systematic branding techniques.
Rev Dr C Joe Arun
Q. SCMS/Loyola is now a national brand in education, could you please explain the efforts you have put in to transform the institution into its present level? ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
SCMS Cochin Campus Loyola College of Chennai was established in the year 1925. Loyola has entirely different perception about education. For them, education is not about the quantity but lies in the quality of knowledge which helps form the character of students. Loyola categorises its students as Competent, Committed, Creative and Compassionate men and women
who are role models for others to follow. This has made Loyola reach the pinnacle among the league of colleges in India. Loyola has a different outlook on branding education which has made brand Loyola exceptionally different in its format and appearance.
We focus on the character formation of our students’ more than imparting knowledge. We are not interested in profit-making from the service of education. We, Jesuits, consider it as our vocation to educate the youth to become competent, committed, creative, and compassionate men and women. The unique characteristic of Loyola lies in the way our students learn and the way our lecturers teach. One area is our Foundation Studies that every student at Loyola should go through to complete his/her degree. In this, we help out students to learn on Personality Development, Social Analysis, World Religions, and Environment Studies. This makes us stand above the rest. However, we make every effort to face the competition in the world of higher education. We promote research and our lecturers and scholars attract funds from many agencies such as the UGC and such other bodies. Our students and faculty enhance the brand, Loyola, by their achievement. This is furthered by our Alumni. In every realm of life in India you will find a Loyolite shining in his/her area.
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EDU BRANDING
Ideas on Branding
Dr GPC Nayar We are managing this institution around certain quality aspects. We ensure a very innovative teaching and aiding system and facilities for innovation in the curriculum. We are providing all requirements of a world class campus, have an excellent faculty and the system to monitor and ensure our students are future executives possessing the ability to undertake any task and challenge in business environment. Q. Have you employed any scientific method of branding? No. The brand Loyola has been built over the years. It is not just cosmetic modification. The dedication and commitment of Jesuits, our faculty and non-teaching faculty have contributed gradually to the brand we have now. Mainly, the success and achievement our alumni show in their lives brought the texture and colour to the brand. - Rev Dr C Joe Arun No. We have not employed any. Performance is the key and we advertise the institution and tell others how we are the best, so that the student community, parents and others accept us and we have achieved this after twenty years effort. We have ISO certification for Quality Management Teaching System and ours is the only institution with such a certification. We have received many awards for our excellence in performance. The AICTE gave us a grant for the best track record in performance. - Dr GPC Nayar Q. How is branding important in edu sector according to you? Brand is an identity of service, or a business, or a product. Brand image and brand experience are crucial to brand development. People engaged in branding in the education sector seek to develop the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with the service has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. This is only needed for those who come into education sector newly. But for people like us, Jesuits, we do not need to create a brand. What we really need is to maintain our brand image. The art of creating we have done. And maintaining a brand, the brand management, we need to keep on doing on a daily basis. We need to orient the whole organization towards its brand. - Rev Dr C Joe Arun
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Branding is very important and only through branding technique we can create an image of the institution in the mind of potential customers. A brand name is important for easy remembrance and that made us shorten our name from School of Communication and Management Studies to just SCMS, Kochi. - Dr GPC Nayar Q. How do you brand and differentiate your institution and courses? We consider education a service and a vocation to prepare men and women for the society. Secondly, introducing innovative ways of teaching, learning, and evaluation. Thirdly, put democratic system in place at every level in the ways we govern and oragnise daily activities. - Rev Dr C Joe Arun By our performance, quality and by the way we do things here, we are totally different. Apart from regular curriculum, which can be read from the prescribed books we give emphasis on developing the personality skills. For example, skills in communication, and interpersonal skills are very important for a manager. Our younger generation lacks self-confidence as they are much pampered in the present nuclear family system. They are incapable of taking decisions and we train them to overcome this lacuna. Apart from this they are trained to develop analytical ability, public speaking skills etc. we are developing such talents to build a successful career in business. After completing two or three Years’ programme at SCMS the students will be capable of associating with any multinational business firm. We provide our students world class facilities like air conditioned class rooms, modernized teaching aids, and all infrastructure facilities, hostels. Thus we are one amongst the top in the academic world. - Dr GPC Nayar Q. Do you think our edu entrepreneurs are really aware about the potential of advertising? If you intend to sell education, you need advertising. If it is your service and commitment, you do not need to empty your purse on shows. - Rev Dr C Joe Arun Advertising is a very important aspect, which tells the public what we are and how best we are in comparison with others; all these can be conveyed to the world only through advertisement. In the case of SCMS majority of the students admitted find their way here through the good word they get from our past students and we consider that as a better advertisement. - Dr GPC Nayar w
ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Expert Opinion
EDU BRANDING
visual media
Trust
print media
social
BL
Brand
media
Brand is a Representation of Trust
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George John, branding expert and the former CMD of TBWA is sharing his concept of edu branding in an exclusive interview.
earning potential rides on it. Branding is not new here. IIT is a brand, as is Allahabad University. The private sector’s entry will crunch the time available to build these brands. Today, you’ll have to establish credibility fast.
John began his career as a teacher in Bombay. In 1969 joined Lintas, an ad agency as media planning assistant. After 5 years he moved to client servicing. In 1981, he joined ULKA ad agency. In 1988 he started his own agency Anthem. Later, in 1998 it merged with TBWA. He is a legend in the field of advertising and is considered the ‘Branding Guru’.
Q. Many courses with a generic name were available in the market, how can institution position its course with a difference? By making the product good. There are many MBA courses, but IIM Ahmedabad still remains the most valuable. There still are many soaps in the market but only one Camay.
Q. Could you please elaborate on the basic concept of branding? Branding is a pictorial, symbolic representation of trust. Its presence indicates wider popularity among consumers. Q. How is branding and positioning important in sales and marketing? Without it you wouldn’t be able to choose. The ability to exercise choice is now a fundamental democratic right. Q. Do you think branding has a vital role to play in the service industry too? Yes, the service industry too, at the end of the day, it is selling a product. Q. Education sector in India is developing fast, more players…more voices…more competitions, naturally marketing campaigns. How branding of institutions/ courses is crucial in this scenario? It is of utmost importance because 35 years of ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Branding is not new here. IIT is a brand, as is Allahabad University. The private sector’s entry will crunch the time available to build these brands. Today, you’ll have to establish credibility fast.
Q. Foreign universities and institutes are coming to Indian educational sector; they are introducing modern marketing techniques. How can our institutions cope up with this? What strategy do our institutions have to follow to tackle them? By understanding the local market dynamics better. Pricing usually plays a crucial role. Modern marketing techniques haven’t changed the fundamentals of marketing. Advertising will only kill a poor product faster. Q. Your comments on the role of positioning or branding in the future growth of Indian education? People will be informed of newer education products faster. Q. What is your advice to the edu entrepreneurs on branding? Concentrate on the product. Get a good faculty. Genuinely improve students’ lives. If they do better than they did when they entered the institution they will spread the good word. w
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DESTINATION PUNE
BIMM
Dr Seema Sing Balaji Institute of Modern Management, formerly known as BIMM, is a decade old management institute. BIMM, run by Sri Balaji Society is governed by President, Prof (Col.) A Balasubramanian. He is also the Executive Director of BIMM. Apart from the full time faculties, veterans from the industry are fully involved in the training/ grooming process of students. BIMM today stands
tall amongst the best B schools in the country. “A large number of companies from all over India are recruiting our students. Today BIIM is ranked as one of the best B-schools in the country. Army headquarters also allow their officers to pursue our two year full time PGDM (PM HRD) programme on study leave. All the PGDM programmes offered by the institute, and for that matter the entire society, are of equal status and at the time of placements also companies look at them with an open mind in terms of status. We have the best brains from all over India specialising in all fields of management and we are determined to do everything possible for the holistic development and success of our students” says the Director of BIIM Dr Seema Sing-Zokarkar.
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“So many of our dreams seem impossible
at first then they seem improbable and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable,”
is the philosophy of Prof (Col) A Balasubramanian, the founder of Balaji Institute of Modern Management(BIMM). Prof Balasubramanian’s vision and hard work are the backbone of this prestigious management institute. Balaji Institute of Modern Management is a B-School with a difference – a B-School approved by AICTE, Ministry of HRD, and Govt. of India that works 24 x 7 x 365 to procreate dynamic student managers who can easily adapt to the challenging Industrial environment. BIMM has produced highly successful • •
•
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managers, managing critical and important positions globally in important and prestigious companies. This has been achieved not only through a comprehensive course curriculum taught by eminent faculties but also through practical exposure to the industry. The campus spread over
14.5 acres is located in the proximity of an Industrial belt. BIMM has seen a meteoric rise in a short span of time and today is ranked among a select club of top Indian B-Schools. The following rankings are a true reflection of BIMM’s premier position amongst top B-Schools in India. w
BIMM ranked 5th for ‘Marketing Management’ in India. (Business India, Oct 17, 2010). Ranked one amongst top 10 Private B-School in India. (Wall Street Journal (USA) - Oct, 2009). Ranked one amongst top 10 Private B-School in the country. (Open - C - Fore B-School Survey - Sept, 2009). J. J. Irani Award for Best B-School 2009 The ‘Best B-School Award in Marketing’ in Western Region from DNA, Impact – 2009. Ranked 13th (Business Barons Magazine B-School Survey – Oct, 2009). ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Symbiosis
SO UE IQ UN
DESTINATION PUNE
SIBM Needs No Introduction
For over three decades, SIBM has been the chosen management destination for students aspiring for excellence in the corporate world. from KG, Primary, Secondary education to Law, Human Resource Development, Foreign Trade, Management, Computers, Arts & Commerce, Mass Communication, Telecommunication, Information Technology etc. Symbiosis today is a premier educational institute of Pune and brand equity in providing quality management education.
Mentorship programme SIBM has developed a unique system wherein the institute alumni act as mentors to the future business leaders. Groups of students are attached to select Alumni and the alumnus acts as a mentor to his group. He/she offers assistance, support and guidance to them, facilitating the realisation of their career objectives. Orientation and Teaching Methodology SIBM’s curriculum lays emphasis on participatory learning - combining lectures, case studies, projects, games and outdoor sessions for overall development of students. All new students go through a weeklong orientation programme which includes indoor as well as outdoor sessions, to help them settle down, get to know each other and form strong working teams. Industry Interaction Throughout the year the students organise and participate in various face-to face interactions with leading industry professionals through seminars and lectures by guests that prove to be regular ‘reality checks’ for the students. Academic Tie-ups It has International tie-ups with State University of Michigan, Seidman College of Business Grand Valley State University and School of Travel Industry Management, University of Hawaii. ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune needs no introduction. For over three decades, SIBM has been the chosen management destination for students aspiring for excellence in the corporate world. Excellent course content, highly qualified faculty and contemporary facilities combined with a unique education model, balancing unwavering career focus with holistic self development, are reasons why there is a SIBM business leader in every corner of the globe.
It has been consistently ranked amongst the top B Schools in India. It ranked as the 4th best B-School in the country by 2008 as per the AC NIELSEN & ORGMARG study survey. With a brand new residential campus and world class infrastructure at the hill top in Lavale, Pune, SIBM provides a holistic environment for all around learning and development. Since 1971,the parent institution ‘Symbiosis’ has established 35 institutions imparting training in 114 different courses ranging
SIBM offers a two years MBA programme for residential students, Two and a half years Executive MBA programme, One year Post Graduate Diploma programme for working professionals and customised Executive Post Graduate Diploma programmes for the corporates. These programmes equip the students to handle the day-to-day business situations and perform outstandingly in the corporate world.
SIBM is a studentcentric institute. Students here are entrusted with resources and responsibilities early on. They are encouraged to take important administrative and policy decisions that sculpt their future and that of the Institute. This facilitates their all-round development, over and above academic performance. SIBM has developed unique learning initiatives which have come to be the hallmark of the institute. These initiatives are the outcome of three decades of experience in the field of management education. They have been developed with the help of the faculty, who are in touch with the industry’s current needs and the active participation of the students themselves. w
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DESTINATION PUNE
TASMAC In an era of unprecedented growth powered by knowledge,
Programmes at TASMAC have been developed in association with the University of Wales and conform to the high academic standards expected of a British University programme.
it is important to maintain a free flow of knowledge and information unhindered by boundaries. This has to begin with education; realising this, TASMAC has pioneered a new paradigm of education that doesn’t recognise boundaries and that enables the students to access the best of education from around the world. Today, as the integration of the Indian economy into the global economy matures, the need for managers with cross-cultural exposure and global perspective is being increasingly felt.
The academic staffs at TASMAC and the University are in regular contact to collaborate on issues relating to academic development. TASMAC has a large education network in India with campuses in Pune, Bangalore and Kolkata which offer the Post Graduate Diploma in Global Business Leadership progressing to an MBA from University of Wales, UK. At the time of its inception (1991), TASMAC recognised that the changing business environment presented its potential students with exciting challenges and opportunities that were not only local but also global in nature. British Management Education has had a long tradition of creating a holistic environment (curriculum, pedagogy etc) that supported ‘Globalisation’ – the merger of global best practices with local needs. Accordingly TASMAC pioneered British Management education in India through successful collaboration with a British University and is today perhaps the most successful Indian institution that works in partnership with a British University in offering British qualifications in India. TASMAC today has five divisions, campuses in three of the most important education cities of India, a campus in London, UK (TASMAC is the first ever higher education institution from India to have set up a campus in the United Kingdom) and over 220 counselling centres in various parts of the world. TASMAC’s state of the art campuses create hundreds of world class managers who are ready to make a meaningful difference to society as part of the global talent pool. This integration offers the most pragmatic mix of the most advanced business education possible. All of this has lead to a reputation that’s second to none. w
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“Leadership, creativity, the ability to communicate effectively and to be a part of a team are all regarded as important components of a successful commercial career. TASMAC encourages students to become autonomous learners since today, the onus for skills development is shifting from organisations to individuals. Students are made to learn to identify their Dr Giri Dua own strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to become more effective, at their studies and workplace”, said Dr Giri Dua, Chairman and Managing Director of TASMAC.
In its journey TASMAC has always raised the standard on quality delivery which has lead the B-School to being accredited and recognised by the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education.
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Business India ranked TASMAC as an A+ institution for seven consecutive years- 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. TASMAC was also rated 27th Best B-School in the country in 2010 by The Week. GHRDC/Competition Success Review Survey of India’s Best B-Schools in 2009 ranked TASMAC 31st in the country amongst B-Schools offering MBA Programmes Careers 360/CNN-IBN Survey of India’s Best 50 B-School ranked TASMAC as number 45 in the country in 2009.
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ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Dr M V Pylee
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A Pledge to Uphold Ethical Standards in Business
ecently I was in the US to participate in the passing-out ceremony, or Commencement as it is known there, of my grand-daughter who did her MBA in Missouri State University. Nearly 15, 000 people took part in that grand ceremony where they honoured nearly 4000 students who included graduates, post graduates, those who got special degrees, doctorates, Honorary Doctor of Letters, Honorary Doctor of Public Affairs, Citizen Scholar Award recipients, etc. Later, I had the opportunity to visit some of the leading Business Schools there and noted many changes that had taken place, one of the most remarkable developments being the MBA-Oath initiated by Harvard a year ago. The oath now seems to be getting more and more acceptance. Last year MBA students from Harvard decided to nail their colours to the mast and declared they would uphold ethical standards in business. This came as a direct result of the economic crisis, during which MBAs in general and some prominent schools in particular were accused of all the ills in the business world. But as the global economy began to recover with jobs for MBAs becoming more plentiful, a more measured view of Business education has returned. The popularity of Harvard MBA–Oath as a result appears to have waned somewhat. In 2009, 44 % of the class signed the oath, but in 2010 the figures fell to 33%. Nevertheless, oaths are gaining ground globally with students and managers alike taking the pledge. In the UK, the first MBA-Oath chapter was at Strathclide Business School in Glasgow and 30% of the students there signed the pledge. At Strathclide, however, 90% of the students are from outside the UK. A survey of more than 3000 signatories in the MBA-Oath website reveals that many from top business schools have signed the pledge. The texts of oaths are different in different schools. The oath at Thunderbird Business School, Arizona proclaims: I will strive to act with honesty and integrity …I will respect the rights and dignity of all people……..I will strive to create sustainable prosperity worldwide. In the Harvard oath, protection of the environment has special emphasis. Hardvard’s new Dean of the Business School, India-born Prof Nithin Nohria, ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
Guest Column
played a leading role in developing the Oath project. The protagonists of the Oath project assert that the time has come to treat management as a profession. The oath has real value within the business school community. “It changes the conversation. Otherwise you can go through an entire MBA programme without being told that corruption or bribing is not acceptable.” Managers who sign the oath will still be fallible. But it underlines a set of principles which have relevance in business. Executive MBA (EMBA) MIT’s Sloan School of Management is launching its first Executive MBA course. But the market is tough as companies have cut back funding for employees for such programmes. Weekend EMBA courses have become common in many schools. But corporate support has been declining. In 2009, only 32% of students were fully sponsored, 5% less than a year earlier. But that has not dampened the interest of candidates with more and more of them meeting the cost themselves. While the new programme is the first MBA degree offered by MIT, the Sloan School has been training executives in its Fellows programme, a full-time yearlong intensive degree course. But since three-quarters of the Fellows come from outside the US, MIT realised they were not serving leading American companies like Boeings and Cisscos which require a large number of candidates who have gone through the programme. MIT has now enhanced the number of candidates for each batch and is figuring out how to structure its curriculum for working executives. While most programmes follow a weekend model, MIT has four 8–day models and meet every weekend over the course of 20 months. While the degree is geared toward general management, the curriculum has also drawn on the faculty’s strengths in innovation and technology-based business. MIT’s Executive MBA is priced around $120,000. Competitive edge The University of Maryland Business School recently emphasized it would pay special attention to effective decision-making, ethical leadership and critical thinking to sharpen student’s competitive edge. Its unique global perspective can help students to compete more effectively both at home and abroad. Recognized worldwide for excellence in business education, the UMUC MBA is accredited as a premier international organization. Its Executive MBA programme is available for mid-career and senior-level decision makers. The degree can be earned online also in 24 months. The university offers scholarships, loans and an interest-free monthly payment plan also. w
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Sajeev Nair
MENTOR
Make Yourself
Employable Sajeev Nair is a successful entrepreneur, internationally renowned life-coach, author and philanthropist. We are all quite excited to see the growth of India in various sectors. Economists of the world have no second thought while stating that India is emerging as the super power in the world. As you all know a nation’s growth happens as a result of more business and economic activities in the country. Moreover it is quite exciting to see Indian companies acquiring some prestigious global brands. So the sleeping tiger has woken up. Growth of existing businesses, starting up of new businesses, more entrepreneurial opportunities, more employments etc are all direct outcome of this economic scenario. Hence India is getting out of the unemployment issue. But we are facing a new challenge called ‘un employability.’ I have been associated with the corporate world for almost 18 years, first as an employee, then as an employer and also as a Business Consultant with focus area as HR. In all these three roles, I realised that the two greatest concerns of today are finding good employees and training them. The difference between the skills needed for the job and those possessed by the applicants, sometimes called the skills-gap, is of real concern to Human Resource Managers and business owners looking to hire competent employees. While employers would prefer to hire people who are trained and ready to go to work, they are usually willing to provide specialised, job-specific training necessary for those lacking such skills. It is only one set of skills and to be effective in today’s highly competitive and dynamic world, just having technical skills will not suffice. Most discussions concerning today’s workforce eventually turn to employability skills. Finding workers who have employability or job readiness skills that help them fit into and remain in the work environment is a real problem. Employers ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011
need reliable, responsible employees who can solve problems and who have the social skills and attitudes to work together with other workers. Creativity, once a trait avoided by employers, is now prized among employers who are trying to create the empowered, high- performance workforce needed for competitiveness in today’s marketplace. Employees with these skills are in demand and are considered valuable human capital assets to companies.
Employers would prefer to hire people who are Employability skills are those basic skills trained and ready necessary for getting, keeping, and doing well on to go to work, a job. These are the skills, attitudes and knowledge they are usually that enable workers to get along with their fellow willing to provide workers and supervisors and to make sound, specialised, jobcritical decisions. Unlike occupational or technical specific training skills, employability skills are generic in nature necessary for rather than job specific and cut across all industry those lacking such types, business sizes, and job levels from the skills. It is only entry-level worker to the senior-most position. one set of skills and to be effective What specifically are those skills, attitudes and in today’s highly knowledge, i.e., employability skills, necessary competitive and for getting, keeping, and doing well on a job? dynamic world, Employability skills, while categorised in just having many different ways, are generally divided into technical skills three skill sets: (a) basic academic skills, (b) will not suffice. higher-order thinking or analytical skills and (c) interpersonal skills. The three skill sets are typically broken down into more detailed skill sets and one needs to work on all these skill sets to become employable. w This column is targeted towards providing some basic information for enhancing the employability skills. Your suggestions to make this column more effective and useful may be sent to sajeev@bramma.in.
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CAMPUS FASHION
T
Fashion a Passion in Campus
he best thing about campus life is it makes one feel young and trendy. It’s a world where the latest find their moorings. Fashion expresses the personality and style of a person. Teen buds of our campuses set the trend when they accept and propagate any new style. Asian Educator recently conducted a survey on changing trends in campuses in India. It revealed a colorful and stunning world of trendy dresses, accessories, bags, sandals, watches, hair styles etc. The young focuses on A-2-Z trendiness and are more colorful and vibrant than ever before. “Man, it is cool to be different.” Comfort is the new mantra. Jeans and cotton kurtis are the evergreen casual wear. Jeans varieties like skinny, pencil fit, narrow fit etc are fast moving with straight cut and bell bottoms having made an unceremonious exit. Trendy leggings and jeggings are the in-things with teenagers opting for body-hugging dresses to appear ‘hot’. Junky tops with capris are in vogue. ‘A’ line and umbrella cut miniskirts are also current attractions. It’s no, no to Salwars. Kurtis with geometric, floral, foil and impose prints, netted tops etc. are in demand. Cotton is the king material. Linen is skinfriendly, but expensive. Campuses also prefer environment-friendly fabrics. Height-conscious short girls prefer tops with vertical strips; lean ones go horizontal for a seemingly stouter look. Bright pastel colours are in with pink being the mostsought-after. Branded stuff has always been in demand though affordability is a major hindrance. Levis and Lee are leaders, as ever.
Shamin
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Accessories too make fashion statements: tattoos and piercings still capture the imagination. Non-permanent tattoos in the model of sun, snake, dragon and
Vipin also the figure of Ganapathy are the craze. Tattoos on hips, belly, back, neck and hands are trendy. Simple, elegant ear rings are the style; junky stuff without neck piece and its opposite are also liked. Loops are more suited to jeans. Plastic stuff is also in. Single broad multicolored wooden bangles are in fashion. Flat, matching sandals are trendy. Flat, pointed heals are found only at campus ramp shows and parties. Leather is mostly preferred, even in the case of belts and bags with black, white and brown being chosen colours. Broad and leather-strapped watches lead among chronometers. Straightened, coloured hair is much sought after. Girls prefer feather cut and layer cut; boys still go for Beckham-style central spike. w ASIAN EDUCATOR I May 2011