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Started with just one school 32 years back, the Ryan International Group of Institutions today boasts of 115 educational institutions, teaching over 200,000 students across the country and abroad. Grace Pinto, Managing Director, Ryan International Group of Institutions, speaks to Bipin Chandran about her entrepreneurial journey so far and the way forward.

Entrepreneur (E): The education business arena is becoming more and more crowded with big corporations entering the space. How would you compare yourself to them?
Grace Pinto (GP): The moment you see education as a business the whole purpose of it gets dissolved. We have been in this area long enough and have developed a space for ourselves. Our teaching and training methods are world class. And we run schools for social cause as well.

E: 115 schools in about 30 years. What is the way forward?
GP: We see this as the time to consolidate. We have realized that we have grown really fast. We are going a little slow in opening more schools, although work on certain locations is still on. Growing too fast and spreading too wide can result in a dip in quality. We don’t want that to happen. If your credibility comes under a bit of doubt once, it is very difficult to build it back.

E: There have been years when you opened more than 10 schools in a year. How was that managed?
GP: We needed to grow and there was a need for us to reach out to people who were looking for quality education. For example, in ’86 we opened 10 schools. Since the first schools we opened in Malad (West), on an average we opened about five schools a year. It was the passion we all share here that helped us to push ourselves. You need to be committed to your ideals.

E: How was it that you, who come from a conservative family, became an entrepreneur?
GP: I grew up in a very protected environment. I was the only sister of six brothers. I never thought that I would become an entrepreneur. My parents wanted me to become a doctor. But I was not so sure. After marriage, I came to Mumbai from Mangalore. It was Dr. Pinto’s vision to start a school which was the driving force. I had to sell the gold I got from my parents to fund the starting of the school. It was a tough decision initially, but I am happy that we started this institution. The students of Ryan International Group of Institutions represent a cross section of Indian society.

E: Entrepreneurs and investors complain about the Indian education system and method of training that takes place in Indian schools. What are your comments on this?
GP: We need to change the structure of syllabus in schools if we have to produce smart ready-to-work graduates. We need smart youngsters to guide our country. And this training and teaching should happen in all schools, not just in a handful of them. Besides, the way teachers are trained should change. We are following methods developed 50-75 years back.

E: Despite efforts from government and the private sector, we have many students who are not able to attend schools. What is the way out?
GP: If a student is hungry, no one can teach him. The first effort is to take that hunger out of him. Government has started mid-day meal schemes which  has to be more inclusive. The private sector should take steps to spread education and get more students to schools.

©Entrepreneur March 2010

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education, Grace Pinto, Ryan International, school