Dr. K.B. Kushal is the regional director (west) of the Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) College Committee which manages over 700 educational institutions countrywide. These include private and grants-in-aid schools, colleges, and professional education and research institutes. A postgrad in sociology and philosophy with a doctorate in English literature from Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev University, Kushal signed up with the DAV group in 1972 as a principal and was appointed regional director in 1997.
Newspeg. The Dayanand Institute of Management Education & Research, Navi Mumbai (estb.2002), of which Kushal is the promoter-director, is organising an international conference on ‘Teacher Education: Emerging Challenges and Responses’ scheduled for December 10-11 in Mumbai.
History. Since he took charge as director (west) of the DAV College Committee in 1997, Kushal has substantially expanded the DAV schools network in Maharashtra and Gujarat, promoting 15 CBSE-affiliated schools, of which two are international schools. In February 2002, Kushal established the Dayanand Institute of Education, Management and Research (DIEMR) in Navi Mumbai to help schools strengthen their research capabilities and facilitate greater interaction between students and teachers.
Currently DIEMR runs four annual programmes: a DAV Talent Hunt Comp-etition (science, maths and English) which draws participation of over 12,000 students (class III-X); the Khoj Science Festival in which DAV schools showcase projects on scientific themes; Annual Heritage Programme, a DAV inter-school event in which students present a chosen facet of Indian culture; and an Annual National Conference, at which different themes relating to education are discussed by headmasters.
Direct speech. “The intention is to promote academic excellence keeping the Indian ethos in mind, not just in DAV schools but in others as well,” says Dr. Kushal.
Future plans. A higher education management institute in Pune, a DAV university in Jalandhar, and an IBO-Geneva affiliated international school in Navi Mumbai. “Besides, we intend to enhance the capabilities of the research institute and improve teacher competency,” adds Kushal.
Manas Srivastava (Mumbai)