Sunday Posts

I read with interest a press interview given by R S Pawar , the Chairman of NIIT , on the subject of NIIT University's launch of a MBA programme. Being an NIIT student first and then an employee for several years, I regard Mr Pawar as a thought leader and a pioneer in Private Education business in India. Despite many criticisms that NIIT faced for its uncontrolled growth and resultant inability to control the quality of services, Mr Pawar and his colleagues had a vision which transformed India in a way. I know the persistent criticism is that they just took the opportunity presented to them, but this comes from people who have not seen the hard work, the management sophistication, the long term strategic thinking, commitment to professional business practises that built NIIT . I have, first hand, and therefore, I hold NIIT in very high esteem. Therefore, what Mr Pawar says about the MBA programme is worth listening to. This is of course just a Press Release, orchestrated, n...

So, first step in the World College project, a middle-of-the-way, somewhat safe, step - the initiation of a Business School. No big deal, indeed. This is the most crowded field of education, particularly private education. In fact, a touch risky, given that there are league tables and campus recruitment salary benchmarks, the struggle for good professors and good students, both of which are in remarkably short supply. The business of business school, because of its dependence on performance parameters, is more about creating a club for already intelligent, already ambitious students. The success mantra is not to try anything exceptional, not to go out of the way. The business education is indeed out of sync, at least a bit. We have a major crisis in the world economy because of the way we educate. Because, as some commentators put it, the focus is so much on creating clever rogues than thinking professionals. The whole business around MBA, the ubiquitous three-letter symbol of manageme...

George Osborne did what he promised to do - took maximum advantage of recent poll victory, wimpishness of Liberal Democrats and the usual Conservative scare-mongering - and delivered a very harsh budget. It hit home, and thousands of teachers and other public service workers have been imposed a pay freeze. This government excels in PR, indeed that was this Prime Ministers chosen profession, and the practice of spin reigned supreme on the budget day. Britain is bankrupt, indeed, a second Greece in the making; though it is interesting to note that Britain can afford to maintain and upgrade Trident, at the cost of £50 billion, whereas Greece can't dream about such a waste. I am not affected. I have nothing to do with public sector. But it is a stunning display of conservative comeback, which is happening all over Europe in all its ugliness. There is a cosy coalition of newspapers and conservative dagger-wielders, with some clueless privileged bobbies like Nick Clegg literally being ...

I return to my 100-day project, yet again. This is all a game, so it is, but this keeps life interesting. So I go again. This 100-day project is different from the previous one. There is a certain sense of freedom in it. I am much less constrained from what I was a few months back. I am free to pursue opportunities as I see them. I can do things, not just talk about it, at work. Overall, I am starting this period with a sense of optimism and hope. Of course, we are living in a particularly bleak time otherwise. Tomorrow, George Osborne is scheduled to read out his emergency budget. This will mean, from the noises made by the Tories, a full-fledged return to monetarism, which will possibly mean a retrograde turn for Britain. Indeed, retro is chic, but no one seems to have much enthusiasm for any of that now. If anything, the pseudo - Tories like Nick Clegg will finally be outed, and Liberal Democrats as a party, as they vote for this budget, will be consigned to history. I do believe ...

Some time back, I wrote that the purpose of Education is to instill an intent to enquire, to provide an engaged mind, eternally curious, to seek to understand the world. Lots of things changed since then. Two major influences in my thinking came from my practical engagement in the business of education, and my studies in the University College which has provided me a systematic introduction to the ideas of education. Somewhat in the middle of this journey, I have come to realize that my initial view was hopelessly idealistic, out of touch with the practicalities of why and how education is delivered or pursued. However, one must also ask whether the current practice of education - which is more about providing answers, and more so, providing credentials required for a purposeful employment - is deviant from what education should do. One may or may not take an idealistic point of view; however, if we accept that our current social structure is less than optimal, and there is plenty of e...

The British Media spent most of the last month complaining out the 'anti-British' rhetoric in America. Led by President Obama, many senators and public intellectuals were overtly critical of BP's handling of the Oil spill in Mexican Gulf. The company looked clueless on how to contain the spill and several attempts failed and only a somewhat partial solution seems to have been achieved after two months of efforts. The extent of the disaster makes Exxon-Valdez looks tiny - one Exxon-Valdez a month, as one of the TV commentator puts it. The problem in the British media was none of this disaster, and the fact that this will severely affect the ecosystem and livelihood in an entire region, but that the American rhetoric on BP's responsibility threatens British jobs and Btritish dividends etc. True, BP is one of the premier companies in Britain. One pound in each seven pounds paid in dividend by British companies come from BP . They employ thousands of British workers, an...

I must admit that I am enjoying what I am doing now. The work isn't easy, and involves changes in my own habits and lifestyle. But I am always excited by possibilities, and there is plenty to be excited about in my scope of work that I have now. Effectively, I am trying to pursue my big dream - setting up a world college - in a series of baby steps. So, this is the 'building the cathedral' feeling, where the day's tiredness does not seem to matter because of the purposefulness of the endeavour. Suddenly, my life has taken a 360-degree turn, from being a drag to a race, and my sense of wastefulness and despair have disappeared. On that happy note, I have started writing this blog again. In fact, the last week's silence was the tipping point, the transition from resignedness to purposefulness. Someone pointed out that the silence in my blog points to my happiness, which probably is true in context, but not necessarily the way I want this to be. This blog is my place ...