Thursday, November 3, 2022

 15. Shantha Group 

15.1 Mr Ananth R, who is an IISc Postgraduate, and an ex-Reliance Senior Official was introduced to me by Dr AP Achar in 2017 for my joining MSRF.  Our association continued after I quit MSRF in August 2018 as we had several common tastes like passion for quality education and progressive ideals.  He had a friend who was a young doctor, spoke Telugu and Kannada, a Congress MLA and was running an educational group called Shantha Educational Institutions in Peresandra near Chikkaballapur, on the highway between Bangalore and Andhra.  The group had a High School, a PUC College and a Degree College with huge infrastructure and was over ten years old which was named after his late mother and established by his father.  The founders desired to grow the group to a larger conglomerate in due course and stated that funds were not an issue.  

15.2 Mr. Ananth asked me to meet / discuss with our friend and visit the campus to understand the system. The students at these School / Colleges were all from the surrounding rural areas and generally come from poor economic background.  The group was operating its own School buses to pick up and drop all students and teachers from nearby villages.  The School / College fees were moderate so also the salaries of teachers.  Principals of these institutions were mediocre but humble for certain obvious reasons.  The school was to be accredited by AICSE Board.  I took up the responsibility of the Group as its Academic Advisor and Ananth Ravi as the Chief of Academic Council to support the Founders.



15.3 Lot of preparatory work was to be carried out in upkeep of premises, records, streamlining of systems and processes.  We (me and Ravi) both created a high-profile Academic Advisory Council.  We were functioning administratively from Bangalore City Office and visiting the campus at weekly intervals.  Good number of qualified / trained teachers were recruited.  All existing teachers were put through to Performance Appraisals.  HR Manager was appointed who was an MBA and had long years of corporate experience.  

15.3.1 A Newsletter and Website were launched to disseminate about the Group. Teachers and Students were deputed to attend several events in Bangalore. Smt Sarada Lakshmi, who was a Principal in a Bangalore-based ICSE accredited High School with vast experience and knowledge of High School administration was approached to guide us for Accreditation, which was achieved as planned.  Sports Day, Cultural Events, Annual Programs, National Events, etc were conducted on a high scale by inviting celebrities to address the children.  

15.4 The founders did not interfere in all above improvements or initiatives.  But there were some delays in taking decisions since the founders were located in Bangalore City.  Staff Quarters were not constructed, as promised.  Hostel rooms were not fully occupied where huge capital investment was locked in.  Admissions were always a challenge, in view of heavy competition from neighbouring Schools / Colleges. We organised an Admissions Habba on campus and campaigned in the coverage area by engaging an Ad Agency. Admissions Habba @SGI The political activities / affiliations of our MLA changed with his becoming Chairman of a Public Organisation for a short term followed by his joining State Cabinet as Minister. Couple of CA+CWA were handling Accounts Administration, Budgeting, etc.  Professional Management of the group took a back seat, and we were losing interest.  I quit the group in September 2019 for good. 





15.5 Subsequently, the group added para-medical and medical courses and institutions into its fold: About Us - Shantha Group of Institutions Chikkaballapur, Karnataka (shanthainstitutions.com)

15.6 I was invited to join as a Member of the Board of Studies of Siva Sivani Institute of Management, Hyderabad in the year 2019: Board Of Studies - SSIM

Continued ......... 16


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