Building an education brand is no child’s play. There lies a thin line between business for money and business for wealth, where the later connotes the wealth of the nation.
The 2017 edition of BW Education’s ‘Top Education Brands In India’ initiative comes as keeping with the company’s commitment to recognize the best practices and facilitate the endeavour of India’s ethical education entities working each day towards building this wealth.
The award ceremony is culmination of a comprehensive assessment and performance review of various key stake holders by an eminent jury, comprising of personalities known for their exemplary contribution to the sector. The final award ceremony would be held on 3rd November at Le-meridian, New Delhi.
The jury comprised of Dr SS Mantha, Former Chairman, AICTE; Dr Shyama Chona, Padma Bhushan Awardee, Former Principal, DPS, RK Puram; Lata Vaidyanatan, Director, Teri Prakriti School & Former Principal, Modern School, Barakhamba and Billa Bhandari, COO, Geneva Graduate School of Governance.
The initiative comes at the time when the country is seeing a surge in franchise based schools and group led education institutions. The jury discussed one of the most imperative issue that follows the same- Ethics. This became the utmost important parameter in finalizing the winners in each category.
“There are brands which are not in for money. But over a period of time, they do become money minded and negate from the path of quality education. A good brand can be great by no franchise as well. Therefore, judging a brand by its multiple number and presence across the country doesn’t necessary marks its brilliance,” said Dr Chona.
She added that education business should be judged by their outcome and profit; not in terms of money but creating minds and wealth creation of the country.
Focussing on the core value of education of creating responsible citizens, Dr Vaidyanatan, pitched for parents, faculty, status of the facilitator and management as few important criteria to judge. On a similar note, Dr Mantha spoke about the role of media as a third party auditor.
“When someone puts money in an education entity, there needs to be a third part audit where media could play a huge role. This way everyone would then aspire to reach a certain level of benchmark,” said Dr Mantha.
Dr Bhandari pressed on the idea of accreditation and standards which would create future and not burden. He also mentioned the criteria of inclusivity that must come into consideration.
“Inclusivity should not be restricted to empowering special children, but also bring in affordability and make education available to everyone,” said Dr Bhandari, who also spoke about factors like hygiene that are never taken into consideration while judging schools and institutions.
The daylong ceremony would comprise of conference, witnessing experts deliberating on the issue surrounding the education sector. The awards would follow later in the evening, spanning across various education categories including best Pre- school franchise brands, K-12 franchise brands, K-12 school of the year and other high education group awards.
Source:-businessworld.
