Quality of Education
Globally, the Quality of Life in a nation has a strong correlation with the Quality of Education.
Quality of Education is the Cause. Quality of Life is the Effect.
So how does one improve the Quality of Education? If one were to study the managerial practices of the top universities in the world, one is likely to discover some common characteristics:
As understood, even the most private of the private universities, MIT, generates only 25% of its revenue budget through net fee (fee received minus scholarships disbursed). 50% comes from the government. And the balance 25% from earnings out of investments of endowments.
In recent years, India has commenced the journey for improving the Quality of Education. This is a reality.
Independently, big corporates have established new educational institutions, or supported existing established ones. The Tata Group. The Aditya Birla Group. The Mahindra Group. The Bajaj Group. And more.
Further, the government has created a framework for corporates to facilitate philanthropic support to education. Big corporates are mandated to contribute 2% towards CSR. In the national interest, much of this should be channelized to education. For Quality of Education.
Banasthali Vidyapith
A 121 years old university, Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur, has created history by being featured in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020. It is therefore one of the best 3-4% universities in the world!
Further, Banasthali Vidyapith has been ranked the second best Women’s University in the world. That is a sterling achievement.
As we are aware, Banasthali Vidyapith aims to blend spiritual values and scientific thought of the East and the West. The hallmarks of life at Banasthali are: Emphasis on Indian culture and thought; simple living; and khadi attire.
I have visited the Banasthali campus. I was amazed to see the rainbow of activities: spinning khadi yarn; fashion design for khadi materials; classical dance; classical music; horse riding; flying; AI research; etc etc etc. The simple-excellence demonstrated will be difficult to match.
Banasthali Vidyapith was founded by Pt. Hiralal Shastri and is currently shepherded by his descendent, Prof. Aditya Shastri, Vice Chancellor. Prof. Aditya Shastri is a Ph.D. from MIT, USA.
Who is the customer for Banasthali Vidyapith? Prof. Aditya Shastri has a precise answer: Society. In other words, focus on Quality of Life.
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