KOCHI: Kerala may have few business leaders who dominate the national scene. But the scenario is likely to change in the future with many state schools tapping the children'sentrepreneurship skills and encouraging them to be job-givers, instead of job-seekers.
These schools are picking up children with potential and grooming them to become successful entrepreneurs. The students are being trained to take up business activities like running the school cafeteria, making innovative products like herbal soaps and selling various products made by them in popular malls. Besides, the schools also arrange interactive sessions between the students and entrepreneurs.
"Instead of 'education for jobs', we are now focusing on 'education for generating jobs'. Instead of going after well-paying jobs, we want our students to create jobs by setting up their own enterprises," said P V Abdul Wahab, the founder of Peevees Public School, Nilambur. The school has also started a student entrepreneurs' club. The club's objective is to conduct continuous entrepreneurship programmes for learning, experiencing and training for students of classes between VIII and XII.
Authorities at the Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Thrissur, are in the process of helping their students create a quality ayurveda product that can be marketed. "We have a good herbal garden and want our students to produce a herbal soap," said Jayalakshmi K, a teacher.
This is being done to unlock the students' potential, make them aware of the business opportunities by infusing creativity and encourage them to conceive, plan and run ventures on their own.
"Our children are being trained from class VIII and they are encouraged to deal with people and develop business skills. They make items like imitation ornaments and bakery items, sometimes with help from parents, and sell them at prominent city malls. Children of our school have performed exceptionally well in this area and have made profits too," saidPriyaPramod, enrichment programmeco-ordinator, Global Public School, Kochi.
Welcoming such initiatives, the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ksaid that they are keenly looking to work with schools to develop future entrepreneurs. "Entrepreneurship skills should be inculcated at a young age and schools can go a long way towards this. In Kerala, majority of people want to take up government jobs and very few are eager to set up their own business," said KCCI chairman K N Marzook. KCCI is at present training young graduates to become entrepreneurs.
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