Manish Sisodia: ‘Trying to build confidence in students to compete in job market’

NEW DELHI: If it all goes to plan, Delhi Government’s education model will enable young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and even receive private investments while still in school. Under its new initiative, Business Blasters, students of Classes 11 and 12 will receive a seed funding of Rs 2,000 to support their innovative business ideas. The government is planning to hold a business summit for the most promising ideas where they can pitch before private investors and expand their business. Delhi’s deputy chief minister from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Manish Sisodia, in an exclusive interview with Careers360 spoke about the scheme’s objectives and future plans, the challenge of Delhi school closure, and the very public dispute with the current government of Punjab over education.

Q: You talk about the difference between entrepreneurship skills and mindset. What is the difference between the two and what do you aim to achieve through the Business Blasters programme?

A: Currently our education system gives a student only a job-seeker’s mindset. The problem with this is that not everyone ends up getting a job. When a student does not find employment, they end up working in areas where they have insufficient knowledge. School education becomes useless for them. I believe that students should be given the opportunity to build a mindset to be job creators. The majority of the school curriculum is preparing children to look for jobs instead of creating job opportunities. Business Blasters will work towards that end. I want to instill confidence in children so that they are not only capable of finding employment but also become job creators if need be. They should have the liberty to choose a path that brings out their potential.

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Today if you want to acquire skills, there are plenty of options to do so. Building an entrepreneurial mindset is a different task altogether. Through the entrepreneurship mindset curriculum that is taught daily to students of Class 9 to 11, we are trying to build this mindset that will help our students. Almost half of the country's population that is self-employed does not earn even minimum wages. Most of these people were taught to be job seekers and if they were given the opportunity to develop the entrepreneurship mindset in schools, they could have done well in life. Through this project, we are trying to bring a paradigm shift.

Q You conducted a pilot study before launching business blasters on a big scale. What kind of changes or improvements have you implemented in this programme?

A: Yes, we conducted a pilot study in Khichripur School where seed money of Rs 1,000 was given to every student to come up with innovative ideas. Honestly, I was expecting students to come up with conventional ideas but I was surprised to see the enthusiasm of students. So many students came up with brilliant and innovative ideas that solve real-life problems.

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A group of students made cheap Bluetooth speakers that can be used during online classes. Another group of girls, who are excellent painters, made paintings that gained popularity and sold immediately. With rising demand, these girls have now employed women in their locality, trained them to make the paintings. Since the response we received was phenomenal, we decided to increase the seed money to Rs 2,000. The students, earlier, were supported regardless of what their idea was because we wanted them to break free from all kinds of inhibitions. Now, we have added another component by asking students to present their ideas in a classroom first. Other students and teachers grill the group to make them think more creatively and improve it. If the group succeeds in this, these students will receive the seed money. The rest are dropped.

Q This programme encourages students to take risks and dream big. How do you plan to boost the morale of those who do not make it?

A: I think, through this programme students will be encouraged to learn from their failures and mistakes as well. That’s the ambience we are creating. Ten students getting together and investing Rs 10,000 and not being able to generate any profit is one scenario. In another, students are able to generate a profit of Rs 30,000 but are not able to sustain it for long. Failures can be of different types. The bottom line is that students should be given the opportunity to learn from this failure. Students can start a venture in Class 11 and if they fail they can try again next year, in Class 12. If a student is more academically-inclined, we still want to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset because these children will be competing in a cutthroat job market. Employers will also choose the person who has that mindset. I want them to be prepared to stand out from the crowd.

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Q How much time will students devote to these startup ideas? How will the students balance the academic curriculum with this programme?

A: Students have told me that the more time they spend on their start-up ideas and projects, the more they have been able to do well in their studies. The students have been able to identify their strengths and weaknesses and they are working towards improving these qualities. By focusing on their projects, they are learning to focus on their academic curriculum as well. When I asked students how they balance their studies with their projects, they told me that subjects that they took two months to learn now take just two weeks. Their focus and grasping power has significantly improved because their approach towards school education has changed. Earlier students spent time on social media but now they are now involved in critical thinking.

Q Schools have remained shut for the longest time before briefly reopening and shutting again due to pollution. Did this school closure impact the participation?

A: Yes, it has been the case in Delhi but it has not affected the participation of students. In fact, the students have found more time to devote to their projects. Usually, Delhi Government school students are from the same locality as other students. They have been able to get together and work on their ideas despite the school lockdown.

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Q. Has this lockdown caused dropouts in Delhi Government schools? What is the government planning to help retain students in schools?

A: We will be able to assess the situation when the schools in Delhi reopen. We are yet to identify how many students were able to attend online classes and how many students were not. Almost 5 to 7 percent of students are not in touch with us at all. We do not have any information about these 7 percent of students. We had asked our teachers to locate these students. Some of them have migrated out of Delhi. When schools reopen, we will assess the situation.

Q What kind of role teachers are playing in this programme?

A: Teachers will be enablers for the students. They will provide guidance to the students during the course of their projects. We have provided training to the principals of Delhi Government Schools in IIMs [Indian Institutes of Management]. The principals have been trained to build leadership skills and bring an entrepreneurial mindset in their own work. Earlier teachers were given training in Finland, Harvard University, Cambridge University etc.

Q What are your future plans for this programme?

A: We are planning to conduct a business summit for the students participating in this programme. All the promising ideas will compete in the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum Carnival. We will ask private players to come and invest in these projects. Students have been able to create small profits with a small amount of seed money. They will make a business plan for the upcoming six months to one year. They will pitch these ideas to the investors so that they can sustain their business.

Apart from that, we have created 400 seats in Delhi Government higher education institutions like Delhi Technological University, IP University, Netaji Subhas University of Technology etc for these students. The students will be given admission to these institutes without an entrance exam. In future, we are planning to introduce this programme in private schools as well.

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Q You are currently involved in a public dispute with the Punjab education minister and their education system. Punjab topped the Performance Grading Index. Do you trust these numbers?

A: No, I do not trust these numbers. I believe in ground reality. At the ground level, if your students do not get the facilities and are unable to study due to the abysmal condition of schools then what is the point? These surveys and indexes do not matter. You can publish all kinds of records. I am confident that people of Punjab will recognise our work in Delhi and will vote for change in their own state.