It is one of the enduring ironies of Indian industry and business that the most myopic and ignorant managers mysteriously rise to the top of education-related companies. More so than in other corporates, the top brass of education products and service companies tend to be quite ignorant of business law, norms and mores.
A case in point is Sumit Mehta, recently appointed chief executive of the Mumbai-based Zee Interactive Learning Services Ltd which manages the KidZee chain of 550 pre-primary schools countrywide, operated on the franchise model. In May 2007, KidZee’s previous chief executive, Arun Khetan, signed an annual contract with EducationWorld under which this publication would feature the advertising messages of Kidzee every month for a period of one year. However in March this year Khetan quit Kidzee and signed up with the Delhi-based Educomp Solutions Ltd to start up its pre-primary schools division christened Roots to Wings.
Immediately after assuming office, Mehta rescinded KidZee’s advertising contract with EducationWorld, although it still had three months to run. According to Mehta who has been appointed to the apex position of a learning and education company dispensing values education to young minds, the contract between KidZee and this publication was a personal agreement between Khetan and EW, and he unilaterally terminated ZILS’ contract with this publication.
But then why single out KidZee for blame? Three years ago Alok Sharma, chief executive of Apple India Inc, a subsidiary of the eponymous computer manufacturing multinational, used the same argument to breach a similar contract with EW, when the marketing manager of the company suddenly resigned.
Makes one wonder about the human resource selection and promotion processes of India Inc.