Escape the dinosaur syndrome-
change with the times!
Let me share a startling fact
with you. The top 10 US exchange companies that were roaring and unputdownable
in 1900s are no longer around, except one. Even the ones that were in top form
just a few decades back are mere skeletons of their old form. You will
certainly be amazed that of the top 10 US companies of 2013, based on market
capitalization, none of the giants of yonder years exist, except General
Electric. No, this is not a blog canvassing the GE Company. I am trying to draw
a parallel between the failure of top companies and top schools. Most top
schools in Ahmedabad in 1980 are no longer top schools. While one would want a
proven schooling system for their child, but last 50 years’ experience shows
that people have to put in new schools! The reasons for failure are quite
similar and there is plenty to learn from those who managed to sustain their
lofty heights.
GROWTH VALUES AT GE
Source: Harvard Business Review
Reasons why top schools fail to sustain themselves?
1.
Not
adaptable enough: Let’s leave the US companies aside and strike closer to
home, in our own city, Ahmedabad. A few decades back, the top schools of
Ahmedabad were CN, Diwan
Ballubhai , Udgam, A G High School,St. Xaviers, Mount Carmel, GLS and Shreyas to
name a few. Today when we talk about top schools, how many of these erstwhile
good schools feature on the list? The main reason why these schools could not
sustain over the years is that they did not adapt themselves to the changing
needs of their market segment. Happily one name remains evergreen. Can you
guess which one? The only reason is ‘adaptability’.
2.
Burgeoning classrooms: Earlier most schools had one
section with limited students with a teacher student ratio of 1:25. With the
ever increasing demand of Indian population, schools started growing but the
teacher student ratio suffered as the infrastructure did not adjust to the
additional needs.
3.
Medium of education: Gujarati to English is a leap
indeed but this leap has been necessitated by hard core globalization. So
change we must keeping with the times. But many of the old giants did not feel
this necessity or were very rigid about changing and the school standards
suffer as a result.
4.
Board of education: If a board like CBSE is regarded
to be the best in terms of the changing times, then what better than to switch
over and reap the benefits. After all a school which has the interest of the
students at heart should make changes wherever possible. But again many of the
older schools feel happy with their lot and are averse to change.
5.
Location of school: Most old schools have grown and so
has the city around them. The result is restricted spaces or the need to move
to a bigger campus.
6.
Facilities
of school: With the growing needs and changing times, it is no longer ok to
confine to the old method of ‘chalk and talk’. Resorting to the blackboard as
the only teaching aid and restricting learning to the prescribed book no longer
suits the wide scale globalisation which necessitates that a teacher brings the
world to the classroom. Along with academics extra-curricular activities play a
major role too but are sidelined in many schools.
7.
Technology
in education: Today technology plays a very important role in education and
not only as a part of Computer Studies. But how many teachers have been
retrained and how many schools actually spend on technology in the real sense?
The changing scenario and accompanying
hitches
There has been
rampant change in all fields and the world is no longer what it used to be a
few decades back. Companies have either adapted by making major changes or
faded out. Moving ahead with the times is the mantra but is easier said than
done at times. Some of the obstacles that schools face in the pursuit to change
are-
·
The outcome of schooling from a parent’s
perspective has changed. Parents are overambitious with child being the centre
of all planning and the outcome being more important than the process. In a bid
to satisfy their own ambitions and outweigh their associates, parents are no
longer satisfied with what the best Indian colleges have to offer in terms of
higher education. They now yearn for international education and the number of
students who flock westwards and sometimes further east, stands testimony to
this.
·
Schools are forced to raise the fees and this
may be higher in proportion to the facilities offered or additional facilities
are included to justify the whopping fees that the schools charge. The main
reason for this is the increasing income of parents. Schools are of the view
that if the fees do not match the income of parents then parents have a
preconceived notion about the standard of the school. Higher fees indicate
better standards for most schools, whether true or not.
·
Almost everything has transformed drastically
except Government regulations. The cap on fees and other factors that the
Government has made mandatory for schools makes it difficult for schools to
adapt even if they want to. Newer schools are better off in this aspect than
the existing ones.
So what is to be done to remain at the
top?
The necessary
edge that schools have over companies is they are like old wine. They get better
as they mature due to proven practices, intellectual research and the absence
of experimentation. Parents still prefer the teachers who have become stalwarts
with their experience and tenure. But it is also a fact that it is difficult to
retain the old and adapt to the new at the same time.
So what is
actually required is making change in doses or increments. Measure by measure
is the method to be used to avoid becoming a dinosaur in the field. Extinction
is imminent if a school stays rigid and unbending.
The Udgam Example
Udgam School for
Children has been around for the last 48 years! There are no two views about
the good name of Udgam and this has been so for the past four decades. This is
one name that has remained on the Top 10 list while others have either fizzled
out or closed down or are mere remnants of what they used to be. So, what makes
Udgam tick and stand the test of time? The answer is one word- ADAPT!
Over the period
of almost half a century, Udgam School has grown from a handful of students in
one small building to almost 3000 students in two branches in sprawling
premises. When the need arose and students increased, Udgam grew and changed location to
accommodate the increasing amenities. Udgam was performing outstandingly as a
Gujarat Board affiliated school but changed over to CBSE as a means to dissolve
boundaries in education. Udgam School is the only reasonably good school in
Ahmedabad which has changed its board and its location its lifetime. This makes
the school the most Adaptable school also. The good name in academics has
remained unchanged and year after year Udgam toppers have done brilliantly, if
you see the recent results of CBSE of 10th and 12th.
Udgam
implemented technology like no other. The environment friendly initiatives are
ahead of the times. One finds a seamless
confluence of tradition and change, academics and activities, values amidst
street smartness, experienced stalwarts and innovative freshers in a school
that is of the children, for the children and by the children.
Truly justifying
its name!
