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Rajiv Raghunath
For years, the quality movement in India remained within the confines of the corporate sector, maintaining little or no interface with the social sector. Management experts in the country believed that quality consciousness was the preserve of the corporate managers. They couldn't have been more wrong.
International experiences tell us that quality is not about business processes alone, it is an inalienable part of human resources development that goes much beyond the corporate sector. The strength of a quality movement lies in it becoming a way of life with people, both in the corporate and non-corporate sectors. And for this to happen, initiatives need to be taken in the social sector.
India Quality Foundation (IQF), a Delhi-based, non-profit, charitable trust set up by India Quality Ltd (IQL), has done pioneering work in building quality consciousness in the social sector. Arjun Badlani, director of IQF, believes that quality consciousness is second nature to a vibrant nation. ``We need to leverage ourinherent strengths to their fullest to forge a strong and vibrant nation. That will happen when the quality movement takes firm roots,'' he says.
IQF targeted three specific segments where it intended to undertake long-term development work. They are the student community, the bureaucracy and public leadership. ``The Foundation envisages to reach out to them and cause a planned and systematic introduction to quality management concepts and their application in the personal, social and professional sides of people in these segments,'' says the director.
IQF commenced a pilot project in the schools segment on September 5, 1996. The awareness phase was introduced in 20 schools in November 1996 and extended to 118 schools by May 1997. Over 23,000 students and 500 teachers from the schools participated in IQF activities. The initiative comprised four phases that included awareness, commitment, involvement and implementation programmes.
In the first phase of awareness, orientation programmes for students andteachers on the basic message of quality were conducted. ``These were reinforced through creative expression on the subject through co-curricular and extra-curricular activities such as debates, street plays, etc,'' reveals Badlani.
In the second phase of commitment, the school organised a Quality Centre. It comprised a core group of parents, teachers, students and the principal. Areas for improvement were identified. Improvements were brought about by teams using simple quality tools such as brainstorming, prioritising, cause-effect analysis, etc.
The third phase included active involvement of the whole school community. ``This phase is one that ushers in the change process. A great deal of education through experiential learning is also brought about in this phase. Problems are identified and solutions brought about through teamwork and fact-based decisions,'' notes the director.
The final phase is that of implementation of the quality culture by bringing about improvements systematically in theacademic, behavioural/personality, administrative and environmental aspects in school-based activities.``Everyone begins to experience improvement, confidence and self-esteem, and fault-finding and blaming ceases to exist,'' says he.
``It will take 3-4 years for the schools to systematically bring about these changes,'' remarks Badlani.
``Quality is a heavy topic and has to be transmitted in a simple language to the target audience,'' says the director.
For instance, some of the projects that were taken up in schools related to buses not departing on time, children in the canteen in class hours, packing bags correctly to school, a feeling of belonging to the school, cleanliness, building self-confidence, and so on.
``It is important to get the intelligence of the whole team aligned to a single goal. Teamwork becomes integral to such initiatives,'' says Badlani.The initiatives were taken in areas where it was possible to measure the change. ``That's one way of knowing where things go wrong,'' sayshe.``Continuous improvement and zero defect are the ultimate goals,'' he adds.The success of the quality initiatives in private schools has prompted IQF to take up similar projects in government-aided schools in Delhi. The schools targeted for this programme are the MCD schools at Kailash Colony, Dakshinpuri and Ayanagar, and the Jan Madhyam Technical Training Centre, a school for the handicapped.
While in the private schools, IQF conducted its programme using the audio-visual medium, among other tools, in the government-aided schools, the Foundation plans to hold puppet shows that are based on quality-related themes. When asked why IQF had adopted different treatments for private and government-run schools, Badlani admitted that paucity of funds, infrastructure constraints and cultural gaps were reasons why the foundation had to adopt a low-cost programme for the government-aided schools. Of course, with greater corporate support, these schools could be provided with hi-tech quality education.
``In PhaseII, we plan to upgrade the project with the government schools,'' he said.
The pilot projects will be followed by a `Training the Trainer' programme. ``Schools are invited to nominate teachers for deputation to work with the IQF team for a period of one year as facilitator trainees,'' informs Badlani. The Foundation is looking for corporate sponsors for the teachers' training programme. Says Badlani, ``Even if 1 per cent of the corporate organisations that we approach respond to our requirements, our objectives will be met.'' Apart from providing training material for the education system on the concepts and techniques of quality, IQF envisages ``providing a platform for the public in general to receive training on quality imperatives in the country, to carry out research on quality areas, and set up an award system to recognise major contributors to the field of quality,'' says Badlani.
To sustain and accelerate this movement, IQF seeks the involvement and active participation of corporate organisations,government and NGOs. ``Donations to IQF are qualified for tax benefits under Section 80G,'' states the Foundation report.
``The training that is given to the corporate bodies in terms of quality must filter to the non-corporate sectors,'' contends Badlani.IQF is guided by the principles expounded by world renowned quality guru Philip Crosby. Rajendra S Pawar, vice-chairman and MD of NIIT and chairman of IQL, is president of the Foundation.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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