The Edupreneurs of Hyderabad

February 8, 2007 at 5:45 am (Uncategorized)

Anwar started one school in a Hyderabad slum a few years ago. Today he runs four schools, is constructing a junior college for girls and wants a loan to start yet another college. Anwar is an edupreneur – a unique breed of innovative, enterprising entrepreneurs committed to delivering education in spite of insurmountable odds.  

At the entrance of Anwar’s school is a huge banner with pictures of students who received merit ranks – a brilliant strategy that recognizes the success of his students and advertises the school to parents who are choosing between the 15 other neighborhood private schools. Anwar stands below the banner each morning for two hours talking to parents who are concerned about their children’s progress. He addresses queries ranging from school fees to complaints about the neighborhood bully. Anwar is extremely responsive to parent’s needs – the students’ report cards have graphs depicting their performance, pictorial depictions that help illiterate parents monitor the progress of their children. To address any concerns of teacher absenteeism, Anwar is now installing cameras in all the classrooms.  

Anwar’s students have done him proud. All the classes that we visited were packed with well-dressed, disciplined, eager students who wanted to become engineers, teachers, doctors and academics. These are children of mechanics, day laborers, farmers and truck drivers. They pay Rs. 70 – Rs 200 to attend Anwar’s school because it offers a good quality education and gives them an opportunity to fulfill their dreams. 90% of the girls in Class X said that they loved Math and wanted to become engineers – it is likely that their parents will force them to discontinue their education because of the absence of a nearby college, but Anwar has a solution – he is building a college that caters exclusively to the hundreds of girls in the neighborhood!  

In a country where public education system has failed, Anwar’s four schools stand testament to the private entrepreneur’s determination to provide a decent education to the average Indian child and earn a sizeable profit doing so.