Kishor Gautam
Vice President Candidate
Kishor Gautam, the Founder Director of KMC Network and Principal of Himalaya College of Engineering, is a renowned educational entrepreneur as well as successful teacher of Mathematics. Having started his academic career from 2048 BS, he has spent more than 30 years in this field. At present, KMC network is running classes from Play Group to Master’s Level along with Engineering courses.
Having involved in PABSON as a district executive committee member of Kathmandu district, he has been working scrupulously for the betterment of PABSON. Mr. Gautam worked for two terms as Secretary at the Central PABSON and one term as Deputy General Secretary.
His candidacy is for the post of Vice President at the 15th National Convention. He is in favor of a unanimous selection of the leaders by evaluating their leadership skills and capability.
College Readers has caught up with him for his short interview. Excerpts:
Could you share with us your journey to PABSON administration?
I formally started my journey in PABSON from 2063BS. I am always with the organization in convenient and standoffish circumstances, supporting for both ups and downs of the organization. During my one and a half decades of journey with PABSON, I have held several positions, such as member of the central committee, secretariat member, and now working as Deputy General Secretary. So, I have had a privilege of working in the central committee since the tenure of Dr. Baburam Pokharel until the chairmanship of Tika Ram Puri.
How do you analyze the present situation of private and boarding schools of Nepal?
Private educational institutions have been delivering globally saleable quality education. They have been producing qualified human resources needed for the development of the country. In fact, the products of private education institutions are globally competitive. Private educations have improved the education standard and internationalized the quality of education in Nepal. The investors possess high devotion, sacrifice and long-term vision for their schools who have been delivering quality education. Due to these reasons, there is attraction and trust of parents, guardians and society towards private schools in Nepal. So, I think the government-funded schools and the government itself should learn from us how to maintain academic excellence.
You have had a long involvement in private institutions and PABSON, how do you analyze the role of private schools that will bring about convincing reformations in education sector in Nepal?
Needless to say, private schools have made invaluable contributions to the academic sector in Nepal. Private school owners have set an example that devotion, sacrifice and strong determination and tireless efforts can bring academic breakthroughs. In this regard, their contributions to the holistic development of students, transformation of society and escalation of academic status of the nation are worthy of veneration. Moreover, they are creating a large number of job opportunities for students to dimmish the brain-drain intensity.
Private schools are blamed for promoting rote-learning, but it is futile. Undoubtedly, private schools are imparting quality and hands-on education. During the pandemic, private schools introduced online education which was an alternative to physical education that made a lasting impact on students, parents and stakeholders. This method was later adopted by governmental schools as well. So, the PABSON is a trend setter.
Based on your experience, could you please tell us what are the experiential challenges of PABSON and private schools?
The Covid-19 pandemic created insurmountable challenge for smooth running of private schools and paying salaries to teachers. On the other hand, the Government ignore such a predicament as if private institutions had nothing to do with academic considerations. However, the PABSON, being the guardian of all private schools of Nepal, took an audacious step to normalize the situation by imparting education via virtual platforms. During this time, we had a challenge for making all the private schools sustain and secure the future of the employees working there.
How confident are you to talk about the strengths of PABSON?
PABSON is the guardian organization of all private schools across the country which has been working for the stability of private schools and negotiating with the government to solve its discriminatory and suppressive policy on private institutions. In other words, PABSON always strives for ensuring academic excellence by all private schools. Similarly, no sooner had the pandemic outbroken than the PABSON initiated distance learning education via television and radio including aforementioned virtual way.
You’ve filed your candidacy for the post of Vice President in the 15th National Convention. In your view, what quality should a leader possess?
I am in favor of forming a committee in consensus. A leader should be able to negotiate with the government for the assurance of the private schools’ existence. In my view, the leader should be visionary and should possess the problem-solving capacity.
What are the things that should be immediately initiated by the leader the moment s/he is elected in the 15th national Convention?
Following things should be immediately solved by the newly elected leader.
- Solution to the problem owing to 45% scholarship policy
- Advocating for developing time-demanded curriculum.
- Ensuring equal status, facility and stability of teachers working in private schools as they are always insecure in comparison to teachers working in government schools
- Assurance of equal status and facility to students of both private and government schools
What suggestions would you like to convey to the participants of the 15th National Congress?
At present, private schools and PABSON are looming over a transitional phase due to the pandemic and natural calamities. So, I would like to request the convention attendees to choose a team of visionary leaders that can rekindle the hope of private investors. The land and the building registered in your school’s name are your properties and you should not stagger because of unnecessary rumors. Finally, I would like to express my best wishes to all for being visionary and supportive.
