Making education a career
Making education a career
Name
Pramod Maheshwari
Occupation
CMD, Career Point Infosystems
Father’s Name
Gulab Chand Maheshwari
Occupation
Commodity broker
The year was 1993. Kota was a far cry from the educational hub it has now transformed into when a fresh graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, returned to his hometown, clutching on to two tempting job offers and a desire to pursue higher studies.
“My American dream disappeared as soon as my mother told me that she won’t be alive by the time I return to Kota after 25 years (from the US)," says Pramod Maheshwari, chairman and managing director, Career Point Infosystems.
“Imagine the happiness that a 21-year-old boy would feel when students ask him for his blessings and their parents shower blessings on him," he says. “This respect from society spurred me on."
What began with ₹ 25,000 borrowed from his father has now ballooned into the first tutorial provider to be listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of ₹ 583 crore. The institute now imparts tutorial services to almost 16,000 students every year at the last count. Maheshwari prides himself on the individual attention that the institute tries to extend to each student, in addition to the scientific and result-oriented teaching methodology practised there. Career Point also provides scholarships to meritorious students whose financial limitations pose an obstacle in their educational dreams. Statistics tell the tale: 7,000 students placed in different IITs and over 3,000 at medical institutes, at a success percentage of 14% and 27%, respectively.
“I now wish to transform Career Point from a tutorial services provider to a learning services provider," Maheshwari informs. Apart from the test preparation that it has come to be identified with, Career Point has now begun making inroads into formal and vocational education. Two private universities, located in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, and a couple of technology campuses elsewhere are already in the works.
“Students remain my primary concern," Maheshwari concludes. “Through vocational courses, I wish to bring college dropouts and others into the mainstream."
Kota has come a long way from the dusty little town it used to be, filled with examples like Maheshwari, 41, whose success story has paralleled the burgeoning development of the tier II town.
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