 | Business
Baron Vol. VIII, No.3 - 2003 | The education
boom has spawned a burgeoning
industry in business schools and
niche technology institutes - a
boom epitomized by the Balaji Institute of Modern Management (BIMM) and
its affiliates, Balaji Institute of International Business (BIIB) and
Balaji Institute of Telecom and Management
(BITM). Special Correspondent Rajesh
Kulkarni traveled to Pune to meet
the group’s Executive Director,
Prof. (Col) A. Balasubramanian,
regarded as one of the founding
fathers of management education
in Western India and, as president
of Sri Balaji Society, a leading
philanthropist.
|
| | Prof.
(Col) A. Balasubramanian
PRESIDENT,
SRI BALAJI SOCIETY |
|
| |
IN
THE FERTILE FIELD OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN
PUNE, PROFESSOR (COL.) A. Balasubramanian, or
Prof. Bala as he is popularly known,
needs no introduction. An eclectic man, Prof.
Bala is known for many unique and bold initiatives
in management education in the country. All
the institutes which he has started in Pune
are acclaimed to be successful. For example,
the Distance Learning Department which he stared
under symbiosis institute of Management Studies
(SIMS) is now an independent institute and also
the richest one in the Country. He is clearly
a daring, unconventional and creative educationist.
Prof. Bala was the first to conceive the idea
of launching a management institutes exclusively
for armed forces personnel and their dependents
to solve to some extent the educational problems
faced by them which was not accepted even by
the army in those days but the risk was taken
by Dr. S.B.Mujumdar of Symbiosis. A revolutionary
idea at that time, it culminated in the birth
of the now well – known SIMS with Prof.
Bala as its Director, despite severe opposition
from various quarters. An army veteran-turned-education
crusader, Prof. Bala shot to national fame again
in 1997, when he became the first subedar in
the army to be directly promoted to the honorary
rank of a full colonel: a honour bestowed upon
him by the then president of India, K.R. Narayanan,
in recognition of his invaluable contribution
in the field of education. |
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Today,
even at 57, Prof. Bala continues to
further the cause of providing quality education
to the deserving with the same zeal and enthusiasm
of his younger days. In his new role as president
of Sri Balaji Society, a charitable trust instituted
by him, Prof. Bala runs a slew of premier educational
institutes. These include the Balaji Institute of Telecom and Management (BITM), Balaji Institute of International Business (BIIB), Balaji Law
College (BLC), Balaji College of Arts and Commerce
and of course the flagship Balaji Institute of Modern Management (BIMM), an institute of
quality management education that is today rated
as one f the top 30 B – schools in the
country. All this has been achieved in the extraordinarily
short span of five years, virtually single handedly,
setting a historical precedent of sorts. |
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The
climb to success has been long and
hazardous for this army man for whom life has
been a series of unending battles. Born on June
25, 1946, in the village of Kandithempettai
in the Thanjavur disricts of Tamil Nadu, Prof.
Bala’s early days have an interesting
tale to tell. Now, speaking nostalgically in
his rather modest office room at the BIMM campus,
Prof. Bala reminiscences: “My father was
an active member of Netaji’s Indian National
Army (INA) and lived in Singapore till the time
he was expelled to India for joining the communist
movement. As a young boy I was a model student
and completed my Standard VIII at a school in
my neighbouring village. I even became the student
chief minister of my elementary high school.” |
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But
the young Bala’s dreams of securing
a good education was soon to be shattered when
his father refused to let him continue his education.
“His pretext for refusing me was that
the school was too far away and in the next
town. Moreover, financing higher education was
a major problem. Instead he wanted me to focus
on cultivating our land,” recalls Prof.
Bala. Left was no recourse, Bala chose to run
away from his home and admitted himself into
an orphanage. “I stayed there for three
years and continued my studies till I completed
my 10th standard.” |
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Bala’s
academic pursuits, however, received
a serious setback when he failed to clear his
SSLC exams. Simultaneously, at that time the
Indian army was on a massive recruitment drive
after the 19621 was against China. A casual
visit to one such recruitment camp ended with
Bala being recruited as a clerk (general duties)
and dispatched to Nashik for emergency training. |
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After
completion of training, Prof. Bala
was part of the action in the 1965 and 1971
wars and also participated in the Indian Army’s
controversial operations in Sri Lanka at the
height of the LTTE insurgency problem. “I
had just gone to see what an army jawan looks
like. I was spotted by the recruitment officer
and literally brainwashed into joining. Since
I had nothing better to do, I finally relented,”
reveals Prof. Bala of his induction into the
armed forces. |
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It
was again, while performing his military
duties, this time as an orderly to a superior
officer that Bala decided to take a fresh perspective
of his life. He explains: “The only difference
between him and me was that he was a matric
pass while I a matric fail. This forced me to
think about the past. The only solution for
me was to improve my education. I subsequently
passed my SSLC and went on to secure a masters
degree in arts (M.A).” |
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After
gaining his degree, Bala was transferred
to the Southern Command Headquarters in Pune.
“At that time Operation Blue Star was
in progress. For security reasons, Southern
Command generally functioned up to 2 p.m. while
management institutes worked only in the evening
hours, as they do even today. I had all the
time in the world at my disposal. So I went
to IMDR to do my PGDM. I passed out with flying
colours. Subsequently I joined the Symbiosis
Institute of Business Management (SIBM) where
I got my masters degree in personnel management,
securing a first class with distinction.” |
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It
was while completing his course at
SIBM that Bala came in contact with Professor
M.S. Pillai, a man he describes as, “a
veritable genius who reminded me a lot of my
village teacher. A simple person totally dedicated
to his students with lots of innovative ideas.”
It was a bond that later evolved into a strong
friendship. |
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After
opting for voluntary retirement from
the army in 1991, Bala was introduced to the
founder director of Symbiosis Society, Dr. S.
B. Muzumdar. “I was introduced to him
by Dr. George Judah, the then director of SIBM.
George was the pillar of SIBM. His contribution
to SIBM in its foremost years will be remembered
by history. Though he was brutal with me, I
will always remember him for it was he who gave
a turning point in my life by asking me to join
SIBM. Based on his recommendations and my credentials,
I was appointed as the Head of Department of
HR in SIBM. Not only did Dr. Mujumdar give me
a job, he also solved my housing problem by
making me the rector of the Symbiosis hostel,”
reveals Prof. Bala, acknowledging the efforts
of two of his closest friends and fellow teachers.
“The entire credit for what I am today
in management education shall go to greatest
educationist of Maharashtra, Dr. S.B. Mujumdar.
I had the privilege of honouring him later with
an award of “Educationist of the Decade”
at the hands of Balasaheb Thackeray. The Chappalwala
Bala became Safariwala Bala because of his bold
and courageous support to all my initiatives
I will never forget him. He is a role model
to every one of us… a genuine gentleman.” |
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By
this time, however, the idea for a
management institute exclusively for defence
personnel and their families had already begun
to take root: an indigenous idea, which received
the full support of Dr. Muzumdar, but faced
serious opposition from the army brass who scorned
at the idea. Says Prof. Bala, “Some sneered
at the idea that a retired subedar was being
given too much importance, but my guru stuck
by me. Thus the Symbiosis Institute of Management
Studies (SIMS) was born and I was appointed
as its director.” |
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The
rest is history. SIMS went on to become
a huge success and is today rated as one of
the leading institutes for management education
in the country, especially for serving officers
of the armed forces and their dependents. It
is a success story that is today readily acknowledged
as having been largely scripted buy the efforts
put in by its founder-director Prof. (Col.)
A. Balasubramanian. |
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It
was while SIMS was going from strength
to strength that Prof. Bala was confronted with
perhaps the darkest chapter of his illustrious
life --- a phase that cost him his job as director
of SIMS. Understandably reticent to divulge
details of what exactly transpired, Prof. Bala
reveals: “What happened was unfortunate
and I thought it best to resign rather than
jeopardize the future of my students, who are
like my children. Yes, I could have fought and
cleared my name of the false allegations, but
I chose to quit and move on.” |
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Devastated
at the sudden turn of events, Prof.
Bala was on the verge of retiring but for his
friends from the industry who advised him to
start something of his own. Recalls Prof. Bala:
“Unable to reach a decision on my own
I went to Tirupati and put five sealed chits
in front of the Lord. Four of them had a ‘no’
while one contained a ‘yes’. I told
the Lord that he would have to help me choose
a path. I then picked up one of the chits. It
was the one with a ‘yes’ written
on it.” |
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IT
WAS A DECISION THAT WAS TO CHANGE the
course of his life forever. On the return to
Pune, an emboldened Prof. Bala released an advertisement
in the papers. “It was a simple advertisement
that invited applications fro Prof. Bala’s
distance learning programme of management.”
The advertisement attracted approximately 300
applicants from the armed forces. |
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Encouraged
by this overwhelming show of support,
Prof. Bala launched a family trust --- Sri Balaji
Society --- and opened his first management
institute --- Balaji Institute of Modern Management
(BIMM). This was followed in quick succession
by Balaji Institute of International Business
(BIIB), Balaji Law College (BLC) and the Balaji
College of Arts, Commerce and Science (BCACS). Many more
colleges are on the cards. |
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“A
good personality accounts for 50 per
cent of an individual’s success with conceptual
knowledge contributing the other half,”
avers Prof. Bala, veering the conversation to
his pet project, BIMM, of which he is also the
executive director. “In my institute all
students undergo at least 100 workshops which
are designed not only to gain expertise in the
concerned discipline but also to shape their
personality. To launch them on a journey of
self-discovery, to identify their strengths
and weaknesses and to make personality alternations
wherever necessary to get them into the corporate
mould.” |
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He
continues: “Besides this, we
also host a slew of co-curricular activities.
The college is practically run by the students
themselves. We have a powerful student council,
which functions as a cabinet with an annual
budget of about Rs. 50 lakh. It is they who
govern the institute and thereby gain valuable
experience in the day-today running of an organisation.”
This is religiously followed by all the Balaji
group institutions. |
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A
good 80 per cent of students admitted
to the BIMM are from outside Pune. In the absence
of any existing hostel facilities these students
are housed in about 70 rental flats hired for
this purpose near the campus at a nominal extra
charge. Food is provided by the institute mass,
which runs on a no-profit-no-loss basis. |
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Prof.
Bala ads: “Selections are held
in 14 centres by our experts committee which
consists of senior managers. We follow the usual
format of interviews and group discussions,
except for a little psychological testing which
we have introduced. We bring out two merit lists---one
for boys and one for girls; 40 per cent of our
students are girls, and the rest are boys from
all parts of India.” |
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While
admitting that almost every reputed
management institute in the country boasts a
comprehensive syllabus, an all-India selection,
group discussions and interviews, Prof. Bala
stresses that BIMM has all this and a lot more
to offer. Says he: “What makes our Institutes
unique is the way we conduct the course and
focus on each individual. From the first day
onwards, every student of mine is treated as
a corporate citizen requiring having unique
features and behavioural patterns. They are
trained and groomed to become successful corporate
managers. They are taught about the immense
value of time, etiquette and group dynamics.
For example we don’t believe in any holidays.
Our institutes function for 365 days in a year
from 7 in the morning till 9 p.m.” |
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BIMM’s
extensive faculty includes a host of
senior managers from Pune, Mumbai, Chennai,
Delhi and even Bangalore who regularly visit
the institute, not only to educate students
with workshops and management games but also
to equip them with practical hands-on experience
about industry. The impressive roster includes
professionals like Dr. B.R. Dey, former director,
TMTC, Dr. S.M. Phadke, management consultant,
Dr. S.W. Deshpande, former HOD, department of
psychology, University of Pune, Dr. V.V. Ramasastry,
Dr. Dilip Sarwate, Dr. S.A. Siddanti, Prof.
L.C. Jhamp, D.R. Kurane, Jamshed Khurshigara,
Col. Gidwani, Ganesh Sherman, Sumitra Das (flies
from Chennai twice a week) and Mondip Kumar
Tamuly, corporate advisor and senior consultant
to US firms. |
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Explains
Prof. Bala: “We invest heavily
in getting the best possible faculty in terms
of experienced professors and senior corporate
executives. Running an institute that functions
for a minimum of 10 hours every day and is open
for 365 days in a year involves heavy costs.
BIMM is the best paymaster with the best managers
from Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad coming
to teach our students. They are all top-class
managers who take time out to visit us to interact
with our students extensively. We only have
senior managers teaching practical management.
That’s why I say that we are better than
XLRI and all the IIMs. They don’t have
the pleasure of being taught by practicing managers.
I depend heavily on industry professionals who
bring with them contemporary practices and inject
corporate culture into my students. |
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The
institute’s curriculum also includes
a host of exercises designed to improve every
student’s personality to the accepted
level as Prof. Bala explains. Says he: “We
teach them to respect their teachers and elders
and also include a slew of co - curricular activities
as well. We charge a fee of about Rs. 1 lakh
per year per student, who is why we are in a
position to spend so heavily on them. My students
go on picnics to places like Goa, Mumbai and
elsewhere; cultural activities and monthly parties
where the students dance enthusiastically are
mandatory in all our institutes. So it’s
not that our thrust is only on teaching, we
also create opportunities for the students to
come together, to understand each other and
share their joys and sorrows and to ensure holistic
development of each individual.” |
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PROF.
BALA IS QUICK TO STRESS ON THE fact
that his institute follows an open door policy
wherein students are encouraged to voice their
opinions freely at monthly sessions organized
expressly for the purpose. Says he: “In
fact, we carefully note their suggestions made
at these sessions and attend to their grievances.
Once in three months we also host the ‘Worst
Critic Award’ on our campus. Any student,
who can criticize the institute in the best
possible manner, gets an award of Rs. 10,000.
We function as a family and follow a democratic
system. This is how there is a one-to-one. Every
faculty has been given a mobile and is accessible
to students anytime. I have also appointed a
full-time doctor to attend to my students’
medical hospitals, which any of our students
can approach and get treated at without any
immediate payment.” |
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Continuous
Prof. Bala: “Our college follows
a different set of rules and regulations in
the larger interests of the students. We are
very strict about attendance and ensure that
parents are given monthly reports. All our exams
are held between 9 and 12 at night. We don’t
want to waste time in the name of examinations.
Our teaching methods go beyond classrooms with
numerous workshops conducted by industry stalwarts.
We assist in the corporate grooming of our students
by teaching them to make presentations, how
to talk and listen properly and even discuss
appropriate attire for corporate life. This
is how we are different from the other management
institutes.” |
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The
institute, which has been in existence
for about five years now, how witnessed the
graduation of three batches so far, with the
fourth due to pass our in the near future. Adds
Prof. Bala, “All the three batches that
have passed out have been placed very well with
leading companies. We have succeeded in attracting
about 180 companies to our campus for recruitment.
Every year we are trying to market ourselves
better and attract more companies.” |
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Continuous
Prof. Bala: “I am grateful to
industry and proud that my BIMM students have
received excellent placements. Many of them
have also got international placements. Many
of them have also got international postings
and my alumni are everywhere. For this I am
grateful to my friends in industry and corporate
stalwarts who repeatedly take time out from
their hectic schedules to come and lecture my
students.” |
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On
asked how his institute competes on
various parameters with the formidable IIMs,
the forntrunners of quality management education
in India, he says after a momentary pause: “I
probably lack the infrastructure that IIMs have.
IIMs are the pampered children of the government
and products of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. They
have the advantage of starting much earlier
and hence have built a strong brand in the last
35 years of their existence. Economically they
are very sound. They got everything on a platter:
100 acres of land, crores of rupees in aid,
funding for their entire infrastructure. Today
hardly any institute in the state gets any monetary
grant from the government.” |
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Having
said that, Prof. Bala confidently rates
BIMM higher than even IIM, Ahmedabad, a B-school
with the reputation of being one of the best
in Asia in terms of quality of education. Justifying
his claim, he says: “We have practicing
senior managers teaching at BIMM as opposed
to academicians at the IIMs. With all the advantages
that they enjoy like unlimited funding, a strong
brand and the best of students, the IIMs are
like a new Mercedes Benz conveniently driven
by a driver with 25 years experience on a concrete
road with no traffic. What is the big deal even
if you drive at 200 kmph? Instead you drive
in an old car on a crowded road fenced in by
heavy traffic at 50 kmph and still reach your
destination in good time without causing any
mishap. That is the real measure of success,
which we have achieved.” |
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Continues
Prof. Bala: “Though the IIMs
attract the cream of students at the end of
two years I will still say that my students
from BIMM are on part with them, if not above
them on the most levels. One look at their placement
brochures reveal that most students at IIMs
hail from the IITs and have work experience.
They are all proven people and leave nothing
much to prove. This is one reason why I would
never like to become a director at any IIM.
It offers absolutely little sense of achievement.
For me selecting ordinary people and making
them extraordinary is the real challenge. It
still gives me a thrill every time I do it.” |
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Venting
his undisguised anger on the prevailing
situation of the country’s education system,
Prof. Bala makes no bones about the fact that
the system is a sorry condition. Says he: “India’s
education system has gone to the dogs. A case
in point is the excessive number of holidays
that we follow. For example, an MBA programme
is supposed to be for two years. But the fact
is actual teaching seldom exceeds one year.
About four months are consumed by weekend holidays,
public holidays account for another two months
while another couple of months are sacrificed
in the guise of summer and winter vacations.
What is left effectively is just one year during
which a student can get away with just a 70
per cent attendance record as per the inexplicable
university rules.” |
He
adds: “Today the government has
no funds for education. At the same time they
want to tell the world that they are running
the education system when in fact they have
done precious little. If we still have some
kind of a system in pace the credit goes entirely
to private initiatives. If India is today considered
IT superpower it’s no thanks to the government,
which made absolutely no material contribution.
Education is now a part of the competitive market
where only the best will survive once market
forces seize control.” |
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Knowing
first hand how a crippling financial
disability can ruin a promising career, Prof.
Bala has taken the onus on himself to aid deserving,
but poor students in their bid for quality education
through his charitable trust. For starters,
BIMM has provided three children from SoS village
with a full scholarship, in addition to bearing
their boarding and lodging expenses. “Furthermore,
we also give them an allowance of Rs. 300 per
month,” he adds. |
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In
the last five years, Sri Balaji Trust
has donated a whopping Rs. 85 lakh for charitable
causes. The funds have been well spent on initiatives
such as adopting 200 children from an SoS village
at the cost of Rs. 3.8 lakh per year. |
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Elaborating
further about his trust’s many
philanthropic endeavours, Prof. Bala reveals:
“During the three years I spent in a overcrowded
orphanage, I used to frequent the premises of
the Jayalaxmivilas Higher Elementary school
at nights with just a small lamp for company.
I visited the school again just recently and
was shocked to find it in a dilapidated condition.
The roof had long since gone while the walls
were crumbling due to water seepage. I immediately
donated Rs. 3 lakh to get the roof replaced
and am committed to donate another couple of
lakhs to them.” |
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Continues
Prof. Bala: “Even the village
school where I studied in the fifties, one of
the best schools of the time, barely exists
today. Its students were forced to sit on the
rough floor since the school couldn’t
afford any furniture. I donated Rs. 2.5 lakh
for buying much-needed desks and blackboards
for the entire school. We have implemented many
such charitable gestures over the years. I am
not saying this to paint a very philanthropic
picture for myself but to encourage other institutions
to do the same and help the needy. |
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However
an act of charity, which gave him immense
pleasure on a more personal level happened when
Prof. Bala donated a sum of Rs. 5 lakh to SIMS,
an institute that he conceived and gave birth
to, though he later had to resign under difficult
circumstances. “I donated the amount to
their construction fund since I thought it was
my duty to come to the aid of an institution
that I had helped build,” he avers with
quiet satisfaction.” |
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Having
achieved most of what he had set out
to do, Prof. Bala’s latest endeavour involves
elevating all his institutes to the elite group
of top ten management institutes in the country.
As a step in this direction, his Balaji Trust
has already purchased 15 acres of land at Tatyawadi
on the Mumbai-Pune highway, which is slated
to house a state-of-the-art-integrated campus. |
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“It’s
going to be a Rs. 50-crore project
and should be ready in the next two years,”
beams Prof. Bala. “The campus will host
three of our institutions which are BIMM, BITM
and BIIB. Balaji Law College is going to be
housed on a different piece of land which we
have recently acquired. It is going to be a
totally residential campus with an abundance
of facilities such as a walking track, health
plaza, recreation clubs and even pubs minus
the liquor. We have allocated two acres of land
within the campus for an all-religion place
of worship which will house a Ganesh temple,
a church, a mosque, a Jain temple and a gurudwara.
All the temples are being constructed by our
trust at an estimated cost of about Rs. 1 crore. |
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Amazingly
enough, even before the campus is in
place. Prof. Bala has already set his sights
on his next list of priorities which includes
starting a medical college, an engineering college,
a nursing college, a college for architecture
and last but not the least a B.Ed. college.
“The first two, are our immediate priorities,”
he smiles. “We have submitted our plans
to the government and hopefully things should
start moving in the near future.” But
knowing Prof. Bala, this is surely going to
be just the tip of an iceberg of surprises from
a soldier who just refuses to lay down his arms
and walk away into the sunset. |
|
Prof.
(Col) A. Balasubramanian,
President, Sri Balaji Society |
