Ambanis Taking Big Strides Into Education

The Ambanis are leaping into the education arena -- and it's going to be a huge business. Just how much money they have earmarked for this is not clear and Reliance officials deny that the sum is Rs 200 crore.

But their latest venture is a school in Mumbai that will offer both the traditional and alternative (physical education, fine arts, the performing arts) systems of education.

The Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation is to build the school at Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla complex on a 2.5 acre site adjacent to the American School.

Currently under construction, the school will initially have children from kindergarten to Class XII.

The Foundation is seeking affiliation for the school with the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations, Cambridge University as well as the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

Said a senior Reliance official: "The Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation has identified two priority areas of work, namely, health and education. The school in the Bandra-Kurla complex is an effort at offering world-class education. Apart from having world-class facilities, we may also have world-class human resources."

He said that talks were on with Cambridge University, but added that it was too early to say whether the Foundation would induct teachers from Cambridge.

The Mumbai school may be the first of many such schools. The Foundation is focusing on the western belt right now, but may look at setting up schools in other parts of the country later.

What is more, the Foundation also plans on setting up a Dhirubhai Ambani University of Science and Technology (DAUST)at Jamnagar in Gujarat. This will offer courses in emerging knowledge areas such as bio-engineering and bio-technology, computer science and engineering, energy engineering, food science and engineering, infrastructure engineering, materials science and engineering and ocean engineering. Courses at DAUST will begin in the academic year that starts in June 2002.

The process for obtaining university status has already been initiated with the government of Gujarat. As part of DAUST, a Chemical and Marine Technology Institute will be set up too.

"Education has remained a thrust area for Reliance's social activities right from the beginning. Reliance has set up schools at Patalganga, Hazira and Jamnagar to cater to the local children, apart from those of Reliance employees," the official said.

An idea of just how big a push into education the Ambanis are planning can be gauged from the fact that Reliance is perhaps one of the biggest promoters (apart from other companies) of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, set up in association with the Wharton and Kellogg business schools of the US.

The Foundation has also sponsored the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DA-IICT) at Gandhinagar, near 'Infocity', Gujarat's fastest growing information technology park. The institute launched a four-year programme in information and communication technology this year -- for which it had some 18,000 applicants.

The institute will network with leading educational institutions worldwide, as well as with the industry, to ensure access to state-of-the-art learning techniques and resources, and strong career orientation programmes, a Foundation said.

The Reliance group has also endowed a chair for corporate governance at the National Law School in Bangalore. The Reliance chair will co-ordinate studies, academic courses, training, curriculum development, publications, information and documentation in corporate law and governance.