My first love

Once upon a time there was a kid who, like most of us, feared examinations. So he prayed to god to give him a magic pen that could help him answer all the questions correctly in any exam.

One day in his dream a fairy came to him. She promised to grant him one wish. Promptly he asked the fairy for a magic pen. The fairy took him to a big palace and told him that there is a magic pen in a chamber deep inside that palace.

“I cannot take you all the way in. You have to pass through seven gates and each one is guarded by a scary ogre.” The fairy told him

He walked to the first gate and as predicted the ogre was there.

“If you want to pass through this gate, you need to answer three questions” The ogre told him in a booming voice.

The ogre asked him the questions and he had no idea about any of them. (The ogre did not allow life lines or dial a friend option).

“If you want to try again, look behind you, there is an almirah full of books, read them and you will get all the answers” the ogre told him

He sat there for days and read all the books and when the ogre asked him questions he was ready with all the answers. This was repeated at all the seven gates and finally after many many days he reached the inner room.

He was excited. He looked around for the treasure ‘the magic pen’. The room looked empty. He was sad and felt cheated. He wanted to hit the fairy who took him for a ride. He started crying. Suddenly the old fairy was with him.

“Why did you let me down?” he screamed

“I have not let you down my boy. You don’t need a magic pen any more. You can take any pen to write the exams. The magic is in your head” The fairy replied softly. She had a little twinkle in her eyes

This story that I read as a little boy left an indelible image in my mind. I believe it is this story that set me up with my first love “BOOKS”. All through the years my love for books has only grown and each one of them has added one more ‘magic’ into my mind.

When I observed the rapid growth of internet and the power of Google, initially I felt that it was time to say good bye to my first love. If I have any questions, the answers are a ‘Google search’ away.

Then I realised that Google has not yet reached the level where it can ask the right questions for me, though it can help me to find the right answer. Not only that, it makes this answer available to anybody, from anywhere in the world at really no cost. The information and knowledge is no more restricted to the privileged few who can afford. But now I need to be even more knowledgeable to know what questions to ask and I need new ideas to make a difference. The ‘written word’ is still one of the few triggers that can help me in this.

Technology has now added more options, I can read e-books and articles from the net, from the kindle, I can review from the net what I want to read, I can get summaries of big fat books that would distil the wisdom for me, my friends and the virtual communities could share their opinion with me on what I intend to read and the audio books help me to fall asleep imbibing the ‘spoken word’ without disturbing my kid or my wife with the reading light.

With all these I have only got closer to my first love these days and not drift away...

“The books that help you the most are those which make you think the most.” Theodore Parker

Note. There are still millions around the world who do not have access to this magic of written words or the access to the net. This is one area in which a small contribution can serve many generations. I have been very impressed by work done by ‘Room to Read’ and I believe this truly is one of the most admirable charities in today’s world.

Of being “True and Fair”

When an audit firm undertakes audit of financial performance of a company, the seasoned partner attempts to make a judgement on how well the financial statement represents the financial health of the company and the financial integrity of the management. Some years ago he made this judgement not based on compliance to a set of rules and standards but also on a variety of factors which, based on his experience, helped him to make a true and fair judgement.

There have been many instances of compromises to the spirit of the audit and many unscrupulous managers and auditors connived to hide information and to defraud the shareholders and or the government. This kind of degeneration forced the profession to come up with more and more standards and rules. The pendulum swung the other way with auditors focussing primarily on compliance to rules. The management learned the trick of demonstrating technical compliance and auditors were happy to play along.

The perils attached to this are now getting evident and there is a serious discussion among the accounting professionals that there is a need to find a balance. A sensible balance of using both rules and principles to judge whether the statements are indeed ‘true and fair’ with focus shifting more to principles.

Similar swings have also been witnessed in a variety of areas which require checks and balances. We moved to rule based regulation and we are now swinging back to principle based regulation. As the UK Financial Services Authority has portrayed “Principle based regulation – focussing on the outcomes that matters”.

Even the perception regarding the role of company board is undergoing a change. Its primary role is not only to protect the interests of the absent shareholders, but also to act as a guide and a sounding board for setting the strategic direction of the company.

Such shifts in disciplining methods are not just in the governance models of corporate and regulators. We see it in educational institutions and even family lives. In earlier era the parenting role included strict discipline of rules, timetables and targets; there was friendship and authority. The schools also followed almost regimental structures. Then there has been shift where the role of the teacher and even that of the parents have become primarily advisory in nature. This shift is quite predominant in western cultures. The safeguards that were built to restrict parental abuse and cruel treatment by teachers are now being misused. We see similar ideas being propounded in India too.

The society in now paying the price and there is a great deal of concern on the falling standards of education and falling standards of discipline and value system. I found the thought expressed by Michael R LeGualt in his book ‘Think” relevant in this context. “It seems clear that in setting out to be mainly the child’s friend or self esteem coach a parent is surrendering his or her most important role in shaping child’s values and character-that of mentor, guide and authority”

Such pendulum swings remind us of the need for strengthening the values right from the childhood and the need for a balanced approach instead of carrying any solution or idea to its ridiculous extent. This will be possible only if we have regulators and legislatures who have the vision to build clean institutions and the courage to stand up for what they believe is right. This is often available only in ‘limited edition’. When we see such leadership, it is our role to support them.

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.” ~J.C. Watts

You don’t get rich if the government prints more money

This is the season when the board examination results (for class 10 and 12) are declared. Many schools with 100% pass rate, thousands of students with more than 90% marks and there is excitement all around. It feels nice to join the celebrations. I also read that a child who got 98% in class 10 could not get admission for the course she wanted in the college she preferred.

But then I can’t help having some contrarian thoughts. Normally, when an examination paper is set there is a sort of algorithm that is used. 50 to 60% questions check the basic level of learning of the topics, 20 to 25% check a little deeper understanding and the remaining evaluate the ability to apply the learning in practical applications and/or the ability to interpret.

When students prepare for the exams, those who just want to pass can afford cursory studies and those who want to do well will have to work harder. The results will more or less be able to differentiate quality and hard work.

Then everybody will not get good marks. But does it really matter? What matters for the admission to next level are, either marks in the board exams or scores in the qualifying entrance examination. If it is the former, then it is not the absolute marks but the relative marks that will determine. If lots of people get 99% cut off marks for admission to the next level may be 97% and if only few get 99% then the cut off could be 80% and so on.

If the admission is on the basis of entrance examination, what is critical is the depth of understanding. Here preparation for a difficult board examination may really help in the preparation for the entrance examination.

Today in India we are seeing competition among the various academic boards (CBSE, ICSE, State Boards and so on) in giving more marks to more students more than strengthening the learning process; sort of academic inflation.

If I use an example from economics, the country cannot make every citizen richer by printing money and distributing. It has to strengthen health, education and infrastructure, it has to provide guaranteed titles to property, it has to ensure rule of law, and it has to empower people to build on this.

If there are lots of aspirants who don’t get admission on account of poor marks, the solution cannot be found by giving everybody more marks. The solution is to have more colleges. Dilution of standards and liberal valuation just provides temporary elation and is almost like a peg of good whisky!

True education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
- Albert Einstein

One good reason to blog

When I took to writing a blog, two of my friends had strong reservations. One is a senior banker who believes that he is more an economist (he apparently reads quite a number of books on economics and spends a lot of time in the hallowed company of economists) and other an economist by training, thoughts and deeds. They came to a conclusion that I should avoid attempting this venture. The reason, my academic credentials on economics are not good enough to write on topics like public policy or management of financial services which have relation with economics. I completely agree with them about my academic credentials in economics.

This conflict of academic elitism and managerial pragmatism is a reality of life. Many academics tend to take the path of extreme specialisation that they are incapable to grapple with multi-disciplinary challenges of real world. They hide themselves in specialised jargon and restrictive logic of “ceteris paribus” that while much of what they say are sensible, it fails to make sense to those who are expected to act on it. In fact many of these academic high priests behave as if it is below their dignity to articulate their theories in a manner the common man (even an educated manager) can understand. Some of them seem to think that the world is made up of only rational economic agents analysing myriad decision variables in real-time leading to best possible outcome. Such elitism is still tolerable in music, literature, drama etc But in applied sciences like economics, management etc., unless it connects with the practitioners it will fail to have real value except to satisfy a few ego trips

If they don’t find a way to reach across to the guy who is expected to practice the theories they propound, how can they expect those thoughts to be more widely accepted? If they don’t find a way to fathom the life and challenges of the practitioners, how can they evolve solutions that are acceptable? If they don’t understand the inner fears, insecurities and private agendas and work around them, how can they implement policies that are game changers?

On the other hand the managers and administrators hide their laziness to be up-to-date and unwillingness to think-through, under their complaints on impracticability of the academic thoughts. They are happy with the networking dinners, what the various vendors and interest groups are keen to convince them or their boss’s whims. The more ‘professional manager’ or the more senior in the bureaucratic ladder they are, the more intransigent and intellectually sterile they make themselves. Quick results at whatever cost instead of institution building become the norm than an exception.

Our educational institutions, even the elite ones, fail to bridge this chasm to any meaningful extent. Our schools focus primarily on the ability to memorise and regurgitate answers to a bank of potential questions that may come for the exams. The colleges follow the same route too and the kids forget everything the moment the exams are over because the focus is more on marks than on what is learned. We can’t blame them as none of the teachings are contextual and most fail to demonstrate any relevance. Then the schools and colleges become just tools to attain a degree which itself is nothing but a pre-requisite to open many doors.

My blog is my attempt to address this conflict within me; the conflict between practical compulsions and theoretical possibilities. The blog for me is not a log of my private life laid bare to the public voyeurism as a means of keeping in touch. It is a tool that forces me to work on a thought and think-through its nuances for a few hours; crossing the ‘t’s and dotting the ‘i’s, which helps to bring some more clarity in my mind. It also throws open, to peer scrutiny, criticism and appreciation, my interpretations and how I use this learning (or the lack of it) and interpretations in tackling day-to-day challenges.

When I get your comments or thoughts or experiences on related issues, (I get many private mails in response to my postings and it appears that many are not comfortable to take a public position, may be eventually they will) it could offer another avenue,for both of us, to benefit from the “wisdom of the crowds” at very little cost. Some academicians willing to skim through these ramblings may also get some ideas on how to “win and influence” the guys in the trenches.

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ALVIN TOFFLER

A Moral Dilemma

One of my friends recently forwarded to me an interesting mail, which in a striking fashion highlighted the conflicts we face when we make decisions that involve other people. I have made it the anchor of this post.

The story is as follows. A group of children was playing near a two line railway tracks; one still in use while the other not used. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make...

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. To save most of the children at the expense of only one child is the rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child who chose to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us every day. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society where the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away when they heard the train's siren. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

We face such situations very often in our life. The options may not be as striking as in the above story; but could be as conflicting.

Last week my wife was walking out of her office and at the junction there was an assembly of people waiting to listen to a political leader. There were many chairs kept at the side of the road. The speaker of the day welcomed all those who were walking along and requested them to take the chairs, place them on the road and sit down comfortably. He pointed out that even if it blocked the road, it was OK or rather better as it demonstrated his party’s strength.

Such behaviour with little regard to the society at large has become an acceptable practice today. These are social dilemmas that have no technical solution other than the value system that generally drives a significant majority. Building mechanisms that enables social audits and transparency in public administration would go a long way in supporting this.

However to build and sustain such a society we need to build healthy values right from childhood. Our education system will have to incorporate such value education a more important component of the syllabus. In addition to making this a part of the syllabus we also will have to develop imaginative ways of inculcating this in the young minds. But then that is the challenge our education system faces in all streams of education and which needs our top attention

Adding Value to Demographic Dividend

Many counties saw rapid rise in their fortunes on account out discovery of valuable natural resources under its landmass. The most dramatic of them was the discovery of oil. 

In today’s world of knowledge and service economy there is a similar raw material. Human Capital! Like all the treasure underground is valuable only when it is extracted and then refined even the human capital also become valuable when it is educated, equipped, enlightened and provided employment opportunities. In the jargon of oil industry, the basic education can be equated to extraction and higher education to refining. One big difference between these two assets is that the human capital is perishable unlike the natural resources underground and if we don’t use this resource in time it is wasted.

By coincidence of a number of historical facts, in this aging world we in India has a predominantly large share of youngsters in abundance about 550 million belong to age 25 or less. This is what Nandan Nilekani has referred to as the demographic dividend in his book ‘Imagining India’

Therefore the pressing need of our country is a world class education system. But the standard of our educational institutions is patchy. Of course we have IITs, IIMs, AIMS, IISs, IBS and many more that turn out brilliant scholars and are world brands. But look a bit deeper. How many such institutes we have for a billion population? How good are these institutions in attracting the best talents to teach and bring out research papers, patents or PhDs? More importantly how many good institutions were set up after the few during the Nehru regime? How have we nurtured the ones we have over the years to greater heights?

We all can agree that the outstanding quality of the graduates is more on account of the brand name, limitation of seats and the rigorous screening program which ensures that the these institutes together select only few thousands of students from top of a stock of few lac aspirants. Most of the brighter among them who want to pursue higher education migrate to foreign universities limiting the quality of research in all these institutions.

Going back into the history, in the first millennium, India had some of the greatest universities in the world. Nalanda was the most renowned among them which at its peak had about 10,000 students from various parts the world and 2000 scholars as teachers and researchers. This centre of learning had schools for Buddhist religion, Hindu Philosophy, religious studies, medicine, science, mathematics, politics and even handicrafts. The admission to this educational campus was strictly on merit. Strangers were not admitted to this campus unless they could satisfy the interview by erudite gatekeepers! 

Nalanda University reigned supreme for about seven centuries in spite of if being destroyed twice in between by invading marauders; once by Huns and once by Gaudas. Both times the prevailing kings restored the university to better heights. Nalanda was not an exception. We had many more institutions of higher learning like Kasi, Kanchi and Taxila.

Why then our country with such prestigious history in the field of education is in this state of mediocrity? The new education minister Kapil Sibal has succinctly observed in a recent interview. “At the moment, we have statutory constraints along with government control to set up institutions” (He is a polite gentleman in his expressions). The culprit appears to the government policies that restrict and often strangle balanced growth both in basic education and in higher education. 

The political interventions in this sector have been mostly whimsical. Instead of ensuring access by building capacity and quality focus often gets distorted to populism of quotas, permits and even intervention in course content (even to the extent of re writing history). Examples of such interventions are many. Sudden decision of reserving 90% admission in Maharashtra for SSC, poll promise to banish English education, harassment of the director of an IIT for having constructed a better hostel using money collected from Alumnus, intervention in selection of staff and heads of institutions are few examples that come to mind. Recently I got a chance to listen to the woes of the dean of a director about the restrictive intervention in his day to day administration of the institute. The worst of these interventions are in the area of quality of the education they provide in terms of dilution of selection process, course content and even the exams conducted. As Narayana Moorthi pointed out, in India we have a tendency to design our standards based on the worst performers and demotivate outstanding performers.

We see a ray of hope with the government decision to significantly increase the allocation for education and anointment as the Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal who has demonstrated capacity for performance in the previous ministries he headed. In a recent interview with Business Standard he has observed that we need to re-energize education system by attracting investments without diluting excellence and equity.

As a means for stimulating some discussion I have placed below a menu of policy considerations. Some of these are my thoughts and many are suggestions I have heard and read and impressed me. I leave these as a menu for discussion and don’t claim to have fully thought through the implications.

1. Move Away from License Raj: As we have moved away from the license raj in industrialization we need to move away from the same in education. (We have already witnessed how we were suffocated by bureaucratic and political controls in the field of industry and how relaxation of such controls has shown that we can perform to world standards. Less than 10 years ago India had only one company in Fortune 500 and by 2008 we had 10)

2. Creation of Capacity: Government should allow sufficient capacities to be built even by private capital from within or abroad so that there is no need to build elaborate rationing systems for admissions.

3. Let them run their business: We should allow educational institutions autonomy. To choose the course, facility, students, to fix the fee and fix remuneration for the teachers so that they can attract good quality teachers from within or abroad.

4. Proper Regulatory Infrastructure: The governmental intervention should be primarily restricted to policy making and policy administration and not micro management. The government can set up proper regulatory framework and infrastructure. These regulators can decide on the standards the various boards (whether state or central board) and universities to keep. It is important that these regulatory bodies are manned with experts in the fields of education and not with politicians/ bureaucrats or their cousins and they are given freedom to decide.

Let there be comprehensive exams at class 12 and graduation level like SAT, GRE or GMAT or GATE which will form say 50% of weight  for admission with the remaining left to the respective institutions so that they can choose to have the kind of profile of students. The regulating body can ensure that the institutions administer these transparently. This will ensure that the minimum standards are kept by the respective schools and colleges. The common man is intelligent enough to recognize the quality of the schools and colleges. A good example is the preference for even un-recognized English medium schools by the poorer segment of the society against the government run schools which are free. (A recent study has shown that although only 10 % of primary schools are in the private sector almost 30% of students study in these private schools)

5. Enable Competition. educational institutions (whether college of school) could be categorized on the basis of specified and transparent criteria on the basis of the quality of management and infrastructure and given freedom to run their institutions on the basis of these categories. Institutions of highest standards may even have the freedom to design their courses, conduct exam and award degree. 

The respective boards or universities should be made accountable for the minimum standards and infrastructure available at the schools and colleges attached to them.

We should encourage system of rating of schools and colleges on transparent parameters and international benchmarks and widely publish them to stimulate an incentive to perform.

6. Focussed help to the poor and needy: Government can arrange for directed scholarship and or loans to poorer section of society and not carpet boming of subsidies. This will be better than running sub-standard schools and colleges which bring out substandard graduates or managing quotas.

We all abhor child labor. Many families don’t send the kids to schools and instead send them for work or to beg in the streets. Can we think about school that teach, give the kids decent meals and give them opportunities for some work they can handle for couple of hours a day which will pay them an income, give them education and teach them a skill? May be during summer holidays the work hours can be more. Even kids from very developed countries do summer job and part time jobs.  I am sure this will help improve enrolment rate reduce drop.

If we don’t ensure more debate and more action in this critical sector we will end up squandering this economic dividend like some countries which squandered their riches from oil and other natural resources.