Education consultant - Study mates

A provincial government in a Western country wants to admit more students from India but is hamstrung by the sheer diversity among local education boards and applicants. For example, many schools are not familiar with what foreign institutions look for in a recommendation letter. (“They would simply hand over a sort of character certificate,” says an education consultant.)

Another country wants to participate in the revival of an ancient university in India, or set up a network of professional colleges. It wants to outsource the multifarious tasks involving the writing of its mission statement and complying with bylaws for the construction of campuses and installing microscopes in laboratories.

How do these entities achieve these varied goals? They rope in education consultants, who don’t just advise them on the right thing to do, but start with the conceptualisation and take the project right up to the implementation stage.

Maria Mathai, former head of the erstwhile Canadian Education Centre, India, is one such professional. Currently running her own firm – MM Advisory Services – in Delhi, this postgraduate in botany and a qualified educator (BEd) advises the Canadian government and institutions on how to further their goals in India.

“It is such a dynamic market. The Class 10 exams becoming optional, the new semester system (being implemented) at the Delhi University and the Foreign Universities Bill are just three of the important developments in India,” says Mathai.

The change in the public examination system and the variation in marking at different levels (Class 11 vs Class 12) and the board examinations mean “everybody (Canadian institutions) has to figure out how to grant admissions. This is especially important for scholarships,” adds Mathai. It’s her task to decipher such developments for her clients.

“My role is to advise institutions on how to improve their relations with India and streamline their admission process.”

There are any number of governments, organisations, trade bodies and companies wanting a share in India’s education sector pie, which is going through momentous changes. Education consultants are guides, catalysts and enablers in many endeavours here. Their services can range from simple insights delivered through PowerPoint-based presentations, taking principals of Indian institutions on familiarisation tours of overseas universities, to installing all machinery and manpower to help institutions hit the ground running.

Noida-based Educational Consultants India Limited (EdCIL), a mini-ratna public sector enterprise, offers numerous services to clients at home and abroad. It reported a rise in turnover of 22 per cent in 2009-2010 and earned the Ministry of Human Resource Development a dividend of R150 lakh.

“Our turnover is up from R23 crore in 2004-05 to R68 crore in 2009-10. We are targeting R85 crore this year and R100 crore in 2011-12,” says Anju Banerjee, CMD, EdCIL.

Banerjee, a master’s in international relations and an MPhil, says India’s educational sector holds forth many opportunities. “Changes taking place in primary (Right to Education) and (universalisation of) secondary education offer lots of consulting opportunities,” adds Banerjee.

With the government’s plan to raise the gross enrolment ratio to 30 per cent by 2020, “the sector is poised to offer qualitative and quantitative consultancy options in the next decade”, says Banerjee.

How do I get there?

Education consultants can be from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. A degree in economics, education, or other social sciences helps. A higher qualification – a doctorate – is preferred. Many universities in India and the West offer master’s in education, international education or subjects thereabouts. Usually, you require relevant experience to become a consultant.