Daring to be different

Neha Kapoor

``This place was actually a garbage dump before the BMC allotted it to us for setting up our computer centre,'' says Piyush Datta, General Manger, Computer Education, Sterlite Foundation.

Take one look at the Sterlite Computer Centre, situated under the Marine Lines over-bridge, and it's hard to believe Datta. The Centre, complete with 11 PCs, printers, a lecture room and library, is anything but a dump today! It's the headquarters of the chain of 200 centres run by Sterlite Foundation for the underprivileged.

Started in 1992 as a non-profit organisation by the Sterlite Group, the Foundation offers courses ranging from a Diploma in Computer Application (DCA) to Certificates in Desk Top Publishing, Tally and e-Commerce. According to Datta, Sterlite has invested Rs 12 crore in the project, so far. ``Each centre needs an investment of around Rs 1 lakh of which we ensure that Rs 70,000 to 80,000 is used for purchasing PCs, printers and other equipment.''

The working: As for courseware, ``the courses we run are aimed at enabling our students to get an initial job. Some of them come from families where the situation is literally hand-to-mouth and they need a short course which prepares them for a job,'' says Datta. ``The courses ensure that most of the students get jobs at the operational level.''

So you have a Diploma in Computer Application (DCA) which runs for six months, certificate courses in Tally for a month, Desk Top Publishing, Oracle 8.0 Programming, Visual Basic Programming and `C' Programming, spread over three months each. ``We've also just started an e-Commerce course which is divided into two modules for three months each and includes topics such as HTML, JavaScript and Flash among others,'' says Suresh Rawal, Centre Head (Marine Lines).

According to Datta: ``The Foundation has a policy of not charging more than 10 per cent of the fee that other institutes would charge for any course. In fact, our fees have remained the same since 1992 and in some cases where we feel students will not be able to pay, we don't force them.''

Hence, most of the courses are offered at Rs 100 per month while the fees for advanced courses ranges between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500.

The R&D team: ``The syllabus for all the courses is specifically designed by our Research and Development Team after studying the market trends and needs of our students,'' says Datta. The team consists of three people from the industry who constantly review and upgrade the courseware. The team also designs books, available in the centres' libraries, that not only provide course material but also carry information on the kind of career opportunities available to students.

``We take care to see that students are not deprived of quality training just because they pay nominal fees,'' Datta says. Currently, the Marine Lines centre is in the process of upgrading its 11 PCs to Pentium III.

Faculty: The Foundation currently has a faculty strength of 450 people across the country. The faculty members also double up as administrative staff in most centres as it ``helps them to achieve an all-round growth.''

``We usually take on a person who has basic computer skills and knowledge about the software that is being taught in the classes,'' says Datta -- for instance, Vijay Bubna, faculty member at Marine Lines Centre, currently pursuing the GNIIT course at NIIT after having completed his hardware engineering or Ashok Dudani who's done his diploma in software from Aptech.

The Foundation also appoints a Regional Officer who monitors 8-9 centres. ``This person conducts regular audits (twice a month) of these centres, looking into administration and teaching facilities as well as student response,'' says Datta.

Placement: ``We have an in-house placement cell, located in Mumbai itself, which is responsible for both internal and external placements,'' Datta says. ``As far as internal placements are concerned, we absorb certain students, who we think are not ready for the corporate world and need to hone their communication skills. They work at the centres for 6 months as faculty and by virtue of teaching others they improve their own skills. Also, students are not employed for more than six months because then we'd limit their growth and destroy them.''

For external placements, the Foundation has corporates such as Jet Airways, State Bank of India and LIC on its list. ``Over the year at least 30-35 per cent of our students are placed through the placement cell,'' Datta says.

The future: Ask Datta about the Foundation's future plans and pat comes the reply: ``There are 580 districts in this country and I've given myself two years to be present in each of them!''

The Foundation is also talking to foreign universities for collaborations for scholarship programmes. ``We want to send our students on international scholarships so that they can be placed in international markets and here again we will ensure that they pay a very nominal charge.''

Pic.: Sterlite Foundation's Marine Lines Centre

Picture by Shashi Ashiwal