Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Ameya

Which organization does not have problems? Everyone does. The challenge is to rise above them and find solutions. Education like any other faction has its ups and downs. This is a story of such ups and such downs: a story that has at some point of time touched each of our lives. The reason I tell this story is that it is a tale that needs telling and has been for too long let to languish in the fertile minds and busy folders of educationists. It is a story of education in all its forms: micro, macro, meaningful and most of all, essential. For anyone who thinks education is necessary, this story will ring true. For the ignorant, this story hopes to show the way. Spread this story, follow it, live through it and see how for each problem there is an innovative solution.

Workscool, a management consultancy for educational initiatives brings you this story. Due to the closed nature of the education fraternity, many a knowledge management opportunity is lost. Workscool has worked with some institutes and faced problems similar to the ones in this story. Travel into the world of Workscool with this story ? a fictitious story, with real problems and?.real solutions!

Episode One: Ameya Upadhyay

"The Bookhelp trust was setup in 1984 because our Chairman wanted to change the face of education in the country. And now after two decades, we have three schools, two colleges and a shelter for poor children. With your help and association, we have crossed the 10000 student mark last week. We would like to now honour the senior faculty?"

Ameya Upadhyay stretched with boredom apparent in his 25 year old eyes. He had heard Mrs. Anagha Koli speak before and thought she was inspiring. But today was different. Trust her to make even a landmark event into another mundane 'annual day' type function where there was lighting of the lamp, an uninterested chief-guest, their never-ending speeches and then awards for almost the whole institute. The tirade would inevitably end in a hall full of stuffed drowsy old men and women who would barely be able to keep awake for the classes in their schedule. He thanked his stars that this was not a corporate office. A big corporate lunch party in a five star with booze flowing freely would not quite bode well for this audience. For a moment, he let himself imagine these teachers in executive outfits rolling out of a five star lobby and into their classrooms fully loaded. The smile on his face got wiped out as soon as he saw Koli walking straight towards him. It had been 6 months and she still gave him the shivers. All said and done, she was a veteran educationist, all of 50, and he, an out of place post-graduate in management. She was the principal and she thought he was highly unnecessary. She had made this quite apparent many times.

"Good afternoon Madam", said Ameya, with ease

"Good afternoon, Ameya. Did you capture the minutes of the proceedings. We have to include it in our magazine."

"Yes Madam, you ? already told me that. I was just wondering if we could have a different kind of celebration: one that is not official. Afterall, even students are a part of this achievement."

"You have something in mind, Ameya?" Koli asked, looking away.

"Yes, ma'am", Ameya says, his hopes rising. He had never got such encouragement before.

"Give me a write-up of it then" said Koli and walked off with her majestic gait.

"I knew that was too easy" thought Ameya. He was very sure that had he not been handpicked by Mr. Raghuvanshi to help manage his institutes, she would have banned him from the premises.

"Hi! Ameya?right?", said a well-dressed middle aged man who had just moved closer to him.

"Yes?"

"Hi, I am Rajesh Raghuvanshi. My father told me you would be here."

"Oh, Mr. Raghuvanshi. What a pleasure. I felt you looked familiar. You look like a younger version of Sir himself." Ameya checked himself. "Pardon me. I guess I just jumped at the sight of a friendly face", he said with a tiny smile.

"Let us go to upstairs Ameya. I would like to talk to you."

There was no hint of a smile or any kindness in Rajesh's face, but Ameya knew that Rajesh was handling half of the senior Raghuvanshi's affairs and he was a thorough businessman?something that Ameya had wanted to become one day.

Soon they reached the management office. This office had been used only once before in the past six months when Mr. Raghuvanshi had personally come to show Ameya around. Ameya missed him. He missed his old job. He missed his parents. He missed is home. He just felt out of place.

"Sit down please", said Rajesh taking the bigger chair.

"So, how is it going?"

"Everything is fine", Ameya lied. "How is Onetree doing?"

"Good?good, you know Onetree! Always our flagship"

"I used to work there. Actually I was a management trainee at Onetree when Raghuvanshi Sir asked me if I would be interested in the institute"

"Oh, for how long did you work there?"

"About 11 months. I was due for appraisal the week before I met him personally. I was a good performer and was sure I will get a good permanent position. But then he got me here and showed me around?told me the story and I felt that this is where I wanted to be."

"Ok. So do you like this place better?"

"I took placement in Onetree because I wanted to be in the education industry and that's the closest we got during placements. Everyone in campus knew that Onetree is one of the biggest publishers of textbooks and I knew that marketing in the education industry would pick up soon?But I guess this profile is also good?"

"So what exactly do you do here?"

Ameya got mixed signals. If Rajesh knew his name, he would know why Sir had posted him here. If Rajesh really did know and was just re-interviewing him, then Ameya was typing a resignation letter mentally. That was Ameya for you: all youth, all hot blood, all ego, but no malice.

"I?uh, am posted here to implant management practices that I learnt in my BSchool that I would think would help run this place more efficiently."

"So what have you done till now?"

So, this WAS an interview after all.

"Well?I have studied the functioning and suggested some changes. But I doubt anything is going to be done."

"Ameya, things do not get done by themselves. One has to do them."

"Yes, but I have only responsibilities and no authority. I am still a management consultant here. I cannot even sign on my canteen vouchers." Rajesh had unknowingly broken a dam. Ameya realized that this was not the time to get offensive or defensive. He calmed down.

"Let me see what I can do. Meanwhile why don't you give me a proposal for making the institute better? Take your time. But it has to be worthy of the new position you will hold."

Ameya brightened up a little.

"Thank you." He left the cabin. He had, for the first time, work assigned to him. He felt good.

The next episode: Ameya's view of the problems in the institute

Organization Chart:

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Education is the only way out

What is the singlemost important thing in life? Each one of us has a different answer for this. Yet the averages come to this list: money, health, principles, happiness, quality of life, status, power, knowledge, (in no particular order), etc. For one who has none of these, it is a vicious cycle.

The term 'vicious cycle' was first introduced to me in school where we learnt about Indian farmers and their debt situation. It was said that the farmers who are already poor have to wait to sell their crops to get money for daily needs and end up taking loans at high interest rates/mortgaging their land, they are not able to repay it due to low produce/price and end up taking up more loan, even when they die, their children inherit the loan, thus forcing them to toil early on in life to pay off the debts and fall in the same vicious circle that is continuing for generations. I understood the concept perfectly. Back then everything was black and white. The circle was complete.

At an age that I hardly understood the meaning of love and sacrifice I wondered why my maid kept asking us for an advance to pay her daughter's tuition fee! I was appalled. I realized she made Rs. 200 a month per house and she probably cleaned 4 houses. Out of her Rs. 1000, she wanted to spend Rs. 100 on TUITIONS? How preposterous. Knowing girl child education was free I felt she was making a very extravagant attempt at educating a child who does not have access to any educated person or books or even the English language. That is where lay the answer.

She was making a huge deal to educate her girl child and that too without any shortcomings. So what if after 10 ten years she was married away to an engineer who worked in a manufacturing setup! Returning from the wedding I thought to myself, what a waste of education! But my maid did not. My illiterate, tribal, below the poverty line maid who did not have access to Nehru's writings. She knew, she somehow knew she was right. I now know why!

She broke the cycle. Not her daughter. She made a sacrifice. While it would have been easy to have her child accompany her and earn a little more, she let her child stay in school. Irrespective of the girl's absolute disgust towards studies, she forced her to learn from other sources. She broke the cycle by doing exactly what the government wanted her to do: give schooling to her child for free.

While we say free, we cannot negate the opportunity cost that it burdens some parents with. For many of them, the girl child becomes a helping hand, a baby sitter, a cook, a company for the old…anything but a child. One and sometimes a couple of generations have to give up the most important thing in life because they are fighting for a long term cause. A fight they do not even know they can win. A small distraction, an unwanted relationship, an accident, anything can mar the beautiful freedom they fight for. What is in it for them?

Educated till the 3rd grade, the girl child (now a married housewife) knows counting and calculation. She keeps tabs on incomes and expenses of the household and budgets her husband's hard earned money.

The girl, educated till the 5th grade knows the importance of washing hands with soap before a meal. She protects her family's health.

Educated till the 7th grade, she understands the meaning of right and wrong, morals and principles and passes them on to her children early on in life.

Educated till the 8th grade, she knows the meaning of contraceptives and ensures a happy married life with one or two children.

Educated till SSC, she works part time as a peon in a nearby school while her children study. She now can buy good quality goods for her family with the added exposure and financial freedom.

Educated beyond that, she could become anything…she could start a business, she could volunteer as a social worker, she could teach, she could work, she could just mind the house full-time. But she will still be the source of power that her entire family revolves around.

She will be different from her predecessors. Her knowledge will not be based on religious texts or folk lore alone. Her methods will not be dictated by traditions and blind faith. She will not kill her child by not reading the expiry date on the medicine. She will not take her husband's bashing when he comes home drunk. She will not put her health as the last priority no matter what everyone says. She will not blindly follow her father, husband and son. She will not re-enter the cycle.