Understanding educational distinctions in better and poor performing systems

The blog post is a reflection of my experiences and the feelings as a researcher at a Doctoral level course at the Newcastle University.  As someone who hails from a developing nation like India and who has been in the industry for more than a decade, the blog seems to be an ideal platform to convey the thoughts pertaining to difference in the education obtained, way back home and the current education that I am undergoing at the University of Newcastle.

The purpose of the blog hence is to point out the distinctions that exist at taught level courses at all levels including undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Some would like to argue that the distinction would remain due to the scale, the availability of resources or prevailing systems in the developing nations; however I would beg to differ that the current level education system in India performs below par and essentially produces graduates who lack required skills and competencies to be absorbed by the work force.

Friends and acquaintances, who are aware of my ability to “call spade a spade” do laud my writing skills; however some of them find me a strong critic who likes to point out the gaps with everything prevalent in the Indian education system. However they fail to realize that the purpose of pointing out deficiencies is to think objectively to visualise the deficiencies that prevail in the Indian education structure and enable India to learn from the best practices prevalent across the globe.

A parliamentary panel in India recently questioned the quality of PhD’s produced in the country http://goo.gl/hoQKpc reflecting the fact that there needs to be a complete overhaul of system and more graduates need to be absorbed by the system. At this juncture it would be important to highlight what I visualize distinctly in the UK and in the Indian education system and why the former is quite a few notches away from the later.

Teaching for the future – One of the stark contrasts that I visualize due to my constant involvement in training programmes as well skill enhancement sessions, is the approach itself, as to how the skills are imparted. The curriculum and the training modules, here in the UK, are designed to prepare candidates for the future. The insights obtained are valuable and would be particularly useful in the course of seeking employment in the future. The curriculum and training although grueling, impart relevant skills required for the industry and essential to build a cutting edge for oneself in the global multinationals, which constantly seek diverse skill sets in the students graduating from the Universities.

On the other hand In India, corporations as well as recruiters do harp on the quality of graduates churned out by the system http://goo.gl/UCMaf1. The agony of the employers is evident as a lot students who graduate from various engineering as well as business schools lack basic skills and competencies including critical thinking, analysis, and comprehension, vital for work force. My own experience seconds the argument, as I had the fortune of managing one of the world’s leading assessment programmes PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) in India and no wonder India’s was stacked at the bottom league http://goo.gl/rsjCz, confirming the fact that India’s potential workforce is underprepared to take the challenges of the future. The curriculum prevalent in most of the colleges is outdated and disconnected from the real world and thus fails to prepare graduates for the times to come.

The teacher makes the difference - One of the stark contrasts that I observed was evident in the teaching profession itself. At the Newcastle University my supervisor is my friend, guide and philosopher. He is aware of my strengths and weakness and mentors me towards my objectives by encouraging me to carry out tasks based on my strengths, guides and suggests effective measures to work on my weakness, which could potentially prove useful to me in the future.

For instance, I come with industry experience and thus bring the strength of networking with me. My supervisor guides me effectively to strengthen the industrial ties and mentors me to leverage relations for smooth execution of my research project, by encouraging me to raise funds through the Corporate Social Responsibility projects of corporations and donor agencies willing to work in developing nations of the world.

I just step back and recollect my experience with Indian teachers, although I had a few good teachers during my under-graduation as well as the post-graduation stints; there were many with whom I could never connect. The reason I presume is that, teachers in India do not empathize with the student community and the student’s illustrious work is never revered. Professors and lecturers demand respect by spreading fear, confusion and fabricating a false pretense of ‘pseudo intellectualism’ importance amongst the student community. Students address teachers as ‘Sir/Madam’ the concept of calling tutors (teachers/professors) by their first names is almost non-existent. Nepotism is rampant and students those who dare to question teachers are reprimanded by low grades and humiliations during classroom interactions.

 

Learnings from Intercultural diversity – My current batch at the University of Newcastle has students representing different nationalities. The multicultural dimension at the university provides an ideal platform to exchange ideas and thoughts with people who hail from distinct communities and cultures. The ability of world class universities to draw high caliber talent pool and enabling free facilitation of ideas is definitely a benediction in disguise, which fosters tolerance and patience towards other communities and cultures.

On the other hand when I look back at the Indian Universities, I am appalled by the fact that admission in Universities at all levels are undertaken on the basis of caste, class and their religious ethnicity and the meritocracy factor is overlooked while admitting students http://goo.gl/t6SBJ5.

Finally as a word of conclusion I want to mention that there should be a complete overhaul of the Indian education system. With the new government in place and an energetic cabinet in place I wish that the system gears for the challenges of the future by revamping curriculum, hiring high quality teaching staff and promoting meritocracy in the system rather than allowing nepotism and pseudo intellectuals flourish in the system.  

An open letter to Shobha Narayan

An open letter to Shobha Narayan and why I think she is not correct

This is an open letter to Shobha Narayan who wrote an article, criticising the Patrick Pichette’s decision to quit Google as a CFO. I think Shobha Narayan misses out on some crucial messages, reflected in the communication brought out by Pichette, and hence I want to respond to her myopic view. I hope it is construed in a positive fashion. This letter is a rebuttal, and the thoughts presented by me here, reflect why I though the otherwise, to what Shobha had to say.

It’s a sheer pity that a writer of such a stature has come out with such a feeble analogy and has equated the letter to a sheer drama, which I feel is written straight from the heart. A human being having the guts to accept, that he has not spent enough time with his wife and turns out to self-realisation, when on a vacation, comes back introspects it and takes a call which certainly is not easy to make. Not every one can do it, as it takes a lot of courage to do it

The fact that human realization can come at any point of time, at any stage of life, at any juncture, at any breath we take is a fact, and not a mirage of our thoughts.  For some it might come at a very early age, for others it could be at a very late stage of their life. The point that Shoba tries to reflect on the candid admission by Pichette is that, it is pretext for spousal priorities, whereas I see it as a realization, a step towards Nirvana, an audacious move towards the point self-actualization as propounded by Frederick Maslow. I agree it’s a sermon, but not a covert one, but the one which has the temerity to convey a hard hitting to message to all those executives, who ignore their moment of self-actualization and burn themselves in seeking the ambitious corporate targets and grandeur goals. Pichette certainly is quite bold and has rendered himself a well-deserved break, which shall spare him sometime to ruminate on the larger contribution that he wants to make towards in the times to come.

Why can’t the media just talk about normal people is it always essential to talk about those leaders those have made sacrifices, compromises, forgone stock options? I am quite doubtful about Shoba’s understanding about the concept of vacationing, unlike the in the east where many executives still don’t understand this phenomena. Executives in the west take a vacation and well-intended breaks and it’s during these breaks they don’t respond to calls and emails and set out auto responses. It is during such breaks they come up with world changing ideas, probably Shobha should read, ‘Leaving Microsoft to change the world’. In this book, John Woods the CEO of Room to read, who previously held a privileged position at Microsoft, left Microsoft at the peak of his career so that he could start ‘Room to Read’ and change the world, who knows Pichette might do something like that, and I am sure given the rich gratifying experience possessed by him a lot of non-profits and foundation would try and poach him out soon.

Shoba’s argument on balance seems to me like a sermon, where she constructs a cocktail of habits, attitude, passion and purpose. It seems to me that she herself is equivocal about the notion of balance, and I presume that in a jet set age where information travels faster than anything else, the prerogative is not to disconnect, a sense of urgency is demanded in corporates and immediate action is required at upper echelon levels. I am sure Pichette, would have gone shopping with his wife to the Tesco’s, the Sainsbury’s, the Carrefour’s of the world and would have assisted his wife to pick up the most luxurious brands. Yes Ms Narayan, he must have done all that and here in the west they do much more and do it sincerely.  Unlike in the east, where there is a pseudo support by husbands who would publically post affectionate pictures of shopping with their wives on a social networking site and the same husbands would abuse and hurt their wives on weekdays. We have ample proof on the lifestyle that is changing in the metros. So I believe Shobha should cease to give sermons on balance and understand that Pichette’s decision to quit is genuine and not fake.

Shobha concludes by saying that Balancing involving choosing between conflicting priorities and I feel that’s essentially is not true. Balancing is the ability to be steady, it is the ability to take rational call amongst all odds, it’s the ability to posses the courage to do what one needs and I too some extent agree when Shobha says that it’s the ability to follow your passion. That’s true Ms Naryan, Mr Pichette has stepped down to do something good, to spend time with his family and there is nothing incorrect about it. Simply by displaying disclaimers, that you have a tendency to turn off email and mobile device and by using jargons such as ‘freedom’ and ‘self control’ will not suffice, you probably need to come out of your comfort zone and go on a Kilimanjaro trip to experience self realization. May be, who knows you might come up with something as inspirational as Mr Pichette.

From Ouch to Oops - A scintillating tale of sheer grit, determination and hope

For almost a year I had not penned a blog post and was struggling to find an exciting piece to write about. No wonder that the year had passed off in a jiffy, I met my caring wife and life partner Ishita, quit my corporate career to pursue my Phd and was being guided by one of the world's renowned authority on private education. Now I realize that how quickly time flies and its important to keep pursuing the good habits that once initiated, otherwise they may fade away with the passage of time. Nevertheless, I have realized to amend my folly and pen up the blog on my good friend and author Ram G's book, 'From Ouch to Oops'.

I knew RamG personally as I was also a part of the team at iDiscoveri, where RamG had taken up the responsibility of a COO. During my stint with idiscoveri, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet him and was touched by his warmth and powerful ability to spread positive radiance around him and I am sure that every word of his book comes from the lively attitude that he possess and shares with people around him.

Second It' is vital to draw lessons from the lives of people who have struggled and I felt relevant parallels when I read the book (not because I am am Tamil Brahmin Iyer, Ram would probably agree with me on this :-) ) but because struggles have been an integral part of my life. The   tenacity as well as the grit displayed by Ram during his struggle is commendable and the lessons learnt through his book are worth sharing.

One of the prime lessons that emanates from his book, is positive motivation and the gargantuan energy of self drivenness. The tone is extremely positive, he finds a shimmer of light in every grim situation. His ability to turnaround things when they were going awry in the professional sphere, his audacity to balance personal life, even when situations got worsened, enables readers to take a leaf out of his book and implement them, when confronted with such situations. (Off course not every one can emulate RamG and confront one's own future father-in-law; however if you are lucky you can dare to do that too ;-).     

Humor is an integral component of life is the second important message that RamG's book reflects. The melodramatic way in which he describes the incidents of his life essentially urges the readers to delve into their past and draw similar comparisons with their own lives. The subtle satire describing a Tamilian Brahmin wedding, or the perceptions which Tamilians as well as the Keralites possess about each other is worth a read. Similarly, there is a particular instance, where the author seriously describes about the treatment that he undergoes for his disorder, at a Chicago hospital; however even during those situations he combines humor by stating that the real pleasure was the view of the Playboy head-office located right opposite to his window in the hospital where he was admitted. His uncanny way of merging humor with serious incidents is quite unique and makes the book worth a read.

RamG's tale gives me an immaculate model that can be tried and tested in personal as well as personal lives and I would coin it the the 3P and the 3D model. The three P's stand for patience, perseverance and positive attitude extremely vital for maintaining strong ties in your personal relationships. The 3Ds stand for Dedication, Determination and Devotion, essential for succeeding in your professional lives. The model can be called a star framework as the vertices of the star would hold up each attribute. (Ram G you would need to give me the credit, if you are you using the model in your book next time :-))

Overall the book is quite an interesting narration of events and written in simple lucid english, keeping away the complicated vocabulary that usually IIT'ans choose to write their piece of literature. RamG  takes into account the average Indian reader and pens a sweet tale to touch human lives personally.

What are you waiting for then go ahead and grab your copy of 'From Ouch to Oops' today, It encouraged me to gift a copy to my father in law, who knows you may be lucky enough to considered as worthy son-in-law. Finally  in RamG's words, a very important lesson which I drew from the book, "Get married to a Gujju, who knows you would have the good fortune of being served with the wonderful delicacies for your lunch and dinner ;-).

To buy the book, you can click on the amazon link http://bit.ly/ZYih4l or for eBook  http://bit.ly/1zGgHjZ