On August 8 the Dubai-based Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) announced the launch of its biggest project in India to date — the Guruvar Awards for teachers. “These awards have been instituted for the teaching profession with the twin aims of not just rewarding excellent teachers who have made an indelible difference, but also those who have raised public perception of teaching as a profession of choice. We intend giving away over Rs.2 crore as total prize money spread over three categories of awards,” says Sunny Varkey, chairman of GEMS (estb.1980) which bills itself the world’s largest provider of private K-12 education. According to Varkey, GEMS’ 6,100 employees in 124 countries manage a growing network of schools (50-plus including seven in India) with an aggregate enrollment of 85,000 students (gross revenue: $370 million or Rs.1,702 crore). On the GEMS expansion agenda are 30 K-12 schools in India by 2015.
“India has entered a new era of economic growth and with it a need for world-class education has arisen. Until recently the Indian K-12 sector wasn’t ready for internationally benchmarked education. Therefore hitherto our focus was on expanding operations overseas. But now the thought of offering my home country international school education has become overwhelming,” says Varkey, whose teacher parents K.S. and Mariamma Varkey migrated to the Middle East and established My Own English School in Dubai in 1968. From that beginning the Varkey Group of schools in the Middle East (Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain) have grown to 11. In the early 1980s after Sunny Varkey took charge as chairman, he promoted GEMS as the international arm of the Varkey Group.
“Over the past 20 years of operations abroad, I believe GEMS has acquired the expertise to design and develop world class K-12 schools. The expansion of the GEMS network for which we have budgeted Rs.250 crore is an indicator of our commitment to provide quality education to all sections of India’s populace. We believe that quality education builds solid foundations for the future, to help children become responsible, committed and productive citizens. That’s the holistic education GEMS schools will provide,” he promises.
Varkey’s track record in international education and in India suggests his promise should be taken seriously. GEMS has already lent support to Pratham’s landmark initiative for providing basic education to 100 million children in India through its Read India programme, and over 2,600 children from disadvantaged families in India have been awarded GEMS scholarships.
After several tall promises and false starts, GEMS seems to be poised to take off in India. Better late than never.
Autar Nehru (Delhi)