SMV School: A Relook at Recruitment and Retention Strategies

Discussion Questions

Mansukhbhai Dhanani, the administrative-cum-academic director of S.M. Vaghasia English Medium School (in short, SMV), was inquisitively looking at the exam results of SMV. The school was located in the Amreli district of Gujarat in India. Dhanani was preparing for a meeting with the Chairman and other SMV directors. The meeting was convened to focus on the affairs of SMV. Few SMV students had managed to secure top spots in the district academic merit list, and all students of SMV were successful in their annual exams. Despite many teachers leaving SMV (Exhibit 1) midway through the academic session, it managed to impart quality education to its students. Still, Dhanani was perturbed about the high teacher turnover rate, which he felt impeded improving the educational performance of SMV’s students. In the interest of students, Dhanani wanted to reduce the turnover rate of teachers at SMV. The agenda of the meeting was to review the human resource management system and policies of SMV to attract and retain the best talent as teachers in the school and to make it an employee-friendly and much sought-after working place.

Background and History

SMV was one of the many schools and colleges operating under SMT. Shantaben Haribhai Gajera Saikshanik Sankul (‘Saikshanik Sankul’ in Gujarati means ‘educational campus’, henceforth referred to as ‘Sankul’). Sankul was founded by Vasantbhai Gajera, chairman of the multinational diamond company group, ‘Laxmi Diamond’ (Exhibit 2) and the chairman of Sankul. Gajera, since childhood, was interested in academics but, due to the poor financial status of his family, could not complete his formal education. Later, Gajera established himself as a successful business tycoon and dreamt of imparting education to poor children in Gujarat. Subsequently, Gajera, with help from his friends and relatives, established Shree Amreli Jilla Leuva Patel Charitable Trust (henceforth, Leuva Trust, named after Gajera’s community ‘Leuva Patel’) in 1993 for the welfare of the economically and socially backward sections of the population. Over the years, Leuva Trust established many schools, colleges, hospitals and an orphanage in Gujarat. SMV was one such school under Leuva Trust.

In 1997, the government of Gujarat allocated land to Leuva Trust to build educational institutes. The foundation of the Sankul was laid on December 25, 1997, with a donation of ₹12.5 million ¹ from Gajera to the Leuva Trust: another generous donor was SMT, Shantaben Madhabhai Vaghasia, after whom SMV was named, who contributed ₹4.1 million. ² Others present on that day also donated generously. Many volunteers on that occasion contributed financially and through service to the cause of the Sankul. Among those volunteers, Dhanani took charge as academic-cum-administrative director of Sankul. Initially, all rules and regulations of Sankul were framed by Gajera as per the rules and regulations of his diamond company.

In 1999, the first school in Sankul with a pre-primary section started with 61 students. Gradually, more infrastructure was built, and many schools and colleges became operational. SMV was established in 2003. Over the years, Sankul offered 20 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Expanding its educational activities rapidly, Sankul had 8,364 students registered under its different programmes in 2017 in its four schools and 11 colleges.

Responsibility for running SMV was on three directors (Exhibit 3). Academic-cum-administrative director handled all administration-related activities and recruited staff for teaching and non-teaching purposes. The infrastructure director took care of hostels, classrooms, and staff quarters and managed inventory. The hostel director was entrusted with recruiting hostel staff and allocating hostels to students. He also looked after the primary health centre, bookstall, banking facilities and hostel facilities for students, all located inside the campus.

Campus and Infrastructure

Sankul was well known for the security of its students. Parents trusted Sankul’s rules and regulations framed for the safety of their children. Sankul was divided into four parts: hostels and staff quarters, dining and dispensary sections, academic and administrative buildings, and sports ground and garden. Each classroom of SMV could accommodate 60 students. There was a two-way audio-video system in every classroom and staff room so students and teachers could be monitored, and appropriate instructions could be passed on to them instantaneously. SMV had close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in every classroom, staff room, corridor and main campus gate; full-time employees kept watch on every corner of the school daily. Nursery and kindergarten sections were housed in a specially designed building to facilitate children’s unique learning experience. These buildings had modern facilities required for imparting education. There was a conference hall, multimedia room, music room and sports room. SMV had well-equipped science laboratories, computer lab and departmental as well as central libraries. It also had facilities like e-learning, e-library and language lab (Exhibit 4). Two huge auditoriums and one open-air theatre were also used for cultural events.

Hostel

Hostels had all the facilities for students, creating a conducive environment to make them enthusiastic about their studies. Students were expected to concentrate on their studies as their full-time job and hostel administration of SMV took care of their health and security. Each hostel had around 60 rooms, including a storeroom and a housemaster’s room. Each room had study tables, a wardrobe, a comfortable bed and paraphernalia to help students keep their belongings organized.

SMV School

People trusted SMV for the quality of education it imparted to its students. Therefore, even without any advertisements, SMV attracted many students for admission. The school started from kindergarten (KG) – 1 till class 4 in 2003–2004 with 42 boys and 29 girls. School fee was minimal compared to fees of other English medium schools in the city (Exhibit 5).

In 2006, Dhanani took many necessary steps to improve SMV as a school. To have only qualified and English medium educated teachers, those without B.Ed. or PTC (Primary Teachers’ Certificate) and did not study English was asked to resign. The medium of instruction was changed from Gujarati to English; all teachers had to teach in English, which was difficult for those accustomed to teaching in Gujarati. A consequence of these steps was an increased turnover of teachers. Therefore, Dhanani had to revise pay packages for teachers (Exhibit 6). Further, in 2012, Dhanani decided to grade teachers based on their ability to teach and speak in English.

Dhanani explained,

I arranged one-on-one meetings with each teacher in my office. Every teacher was asked to teach the subject they taught in class in front of me for about fifteen minutes. After the demo class, I decided that teachers who could teach fluently in English would have no change in their teaching subject or salary. Lower primary teachers were promoted to upper primary or higher secondary sections. But those who could not explain the topic in English were transferred to teach a lower primary section or other Gujarati medium schools.

Management of SMV

Dhanani issued the information or office orders in the form of circulars to the principal, teachers, clerks, office superintendent and support staff of SMV. Dhanani believed in the transparency of information. Communication with employees and students of SMV was through circulars posted in staffrooms, classrooms, and notice boards and uploaded on the school website.

Dhanani said,

I believe in complete transparency in the working of the school. I want everyone to be aware of what is happening within the school. We also upload all the information on the website so anyone can read it. Mostly, the circulars are about test dates, exam syllabus, teachers’ workload, salary, exam results analysis, and instructions or rules to be followed by employees or students.

On receiving information regarding the implementation of any procedure, the principal of SMV ensured the implementation of the orders effectively with the help of the vice principal and teachers. If any requests or suggestions from teachers or any major issue were to be discussed, then meetings between Dhanani and groups of teachers were organized. However, such meetings were rare. The principal verbally and informally appraised Dhanani regularly of the happenings in SMV.

Principal

The principal was chosen from among the senior teachers of SMV, as no special recruitment was conducted for this position. The main responsibility of the principal was to supervise that teachers followed the rules and regulations of SMV and maintain various registers as mandated by the school management, all classes were conducted according to the timetable, reschedule the timetable when required, solve issues relating to students’ indiscipline, maintain good relations with parents and understand parents’ expectations from the school.

Teachers

Most teachers were alumni of SMV, and 80% were in the age group of 24–38 years. SMV made sure that only competent teachers were recruited. All the teachers at the school were qualified and trained. As most teachers were alumni and knew about the school atmosphere and work environment, no formal induction programme was conducted for the newly joined teachers. Formal recruitment letters were also not issued during the recruitment of any teacher. Most teachers were females and accommodated in the campus staff quarters. They were provided with all necessary teaching aids, books, and technology to deliver knowledge to the students. The main task of every teacher was to prepare students for the final exams. Every teacher focused solely on the content of their subject. Teachers taught only subjects in which they had majored. Besides teaching subjects in the classroom, teachers also had to teach after-school classes for weak students. After-school classes were free of cost. Additionally, checking answer sheets and maintaining student records and periodically delivering seminars on any topic from their respective domains were mandatory for every teacher.

Homework Tests, Repeated Exams, and End-Term Exams

Dhanani believed that students should be evaluated daily so that they score well in their finals. Therefore, he introduced a daily test system in 2005 at SMV. The daily test was also known as homework because SMV had a policy of not giving students homework. Therefore, students’ homework for each day was to prepare for the next day’s test. The test was compulsory for all students and was scheduled during the first session of each day. Teachers wrote questions for the test on the blackboard. The daily test was 20 marks, followed by the format of final exams. Teachers had to complete an evaluation of the test papers before the next scheduled test on that subject. Every teacher had to update students’ marks in the ‘Test Register’ given to them at the beginning of the academic year. The teachers had to submit the question paper to the vice-principal one day before the test. Every teacher had to be an invigilator of a class. However, this period was not counted towards their workload (Exhibit 7). Students were given mark cards at the beginning of the year to keep a record of marks obtained in the tests. Parents were informed through postcards if their child failed to score 50% marks in the tests.

A repeated exam was a continuous exam for five rounds of each subject or course. This exam format was introduced in the year 2005. The principal of SMV explained,

The entire syllabus of any subject is divided into five parts, each of 20% weightage. From each part, the subject teacher prepares a question paper of 100 or 50 marks per the format for the final exam. For example, I teach two subjects, so for both subjects, I will prepare 10 question papers of 100 marks each, five for each subject. We complete checking the answer sheets before that subject’s next exam. After completing five exam rounds for each subject, we start alternate-day exams. These exams cover the entire syllabus. As the name suggests, students have to write these exams every alternate day. On completion of the alternate day exams, full-course exams start. Just two or three days before their final exams, we complete conducting these exams. So before appearing in the final exams, our students would have already taken exams of every subject at least seven times.

A repeated exam in charge conducted and supervised these exams. The principal of SMV managed end-term exams. Teachers were responsible for meticulously entering each student’s marks in each test in the marks card and the school registers. As a result, a significant portion of their time was spent preparing question papers for the tests, checking answer sheets and maintaining records.

Activities at SMV

Over the years, SMV had maintained a success rate of more than the state result (Exhibit 8) and produced rank holders at the district level. The continuous assessment method with daily tests, repeated tests, and end-term exams ensured that students were thoroughly prepared and wrote their final exam without any stress or anxiety. Dhanani believed that the major reason was teacher turnover whenever the school performed relatively poorly (see Exhibit 8). He thought that a change of teacher midway into the academic year was detrimental to student learning and resulted in poor performance. He was strongly convinced that such incidences could be reduced if the same teacher taught students the entire year, which could be controlled through better administration and work environment.

SMV believed in the holistic development of students. Throughout the year, SMV organized multiple sports and cultural events. Teachers had to mentor students in sports and cultural activities. Teachers also had to compare, judge and arrange everything to perfection per the guidelines. Students were also coached and encouraged to participate in such activities at zonal, district and state levels. The result of undertaking such extracurricular activities was that students won prizes and brought laurels to their schools. High-performing students in academics and extracurricular activities were encouraged and recognized by giving them silver medals.

Celebrations were held at SMV on special occasions such as Independence Day, Republic Day, Martyr’s Day and Teacher’s Day. Teachers had to organize and arrange all activities on these days. Also, each year, students were taken for picnics and excursions around Amreli guided by teachers. SMV paid for the expenses incurred by students on these trips. Teachers bore their own expenses.

Discipline was a core aspect of SMV. Everyone at SMV had to follow the rules and regulations (Exhibit 9) strictly. Every employee had to wear a uniform as per the prescribed dress code. Violating any law of SMV attracted heavy penalties for teachers, staff and students alike. Teachers and staff were punished by deducting the penalty from their salary or were marked absent despite working the whole day.

Recruitment Process

Advertisements for vacancies in teaching positions were placed in local newspapers. Alums of the school were preferred for recruitment, provided they were equally good in English-speaking and teaching skills compared to non-alumni candidates. According to Dhanani, the alums adapted to the working style of the school very easily. There was no provision for referral recruitment. The entire recruitment and selection process was transparent: if the applicant’s profile matched the qualification criteria, the applicant was called for an interview and asked to take a demo class in front of the students. Dhanani alone took the interview. After the demo class, students gave their written feedback to the recruitment coordinator based on the candidate’s English-speaking skills and teaching style. If the candidate got good student reviews, then the candidate was appointed. However, as per the school’s existing policy, offer letters or appointment letters were not provided to the recruited teachers of SMV.

Performance Appraisal and Feedback

The performance of teachers was evaluated every quarter of the academic year. The main component of the evaluation was students’ feedback on the teaching style and effectiveness of teaching. Students were asked to grade their teacher with distinction; first, second, or third grade. Apart from this, the principal evaluated teachers on discipline, timely evaluation of test and exam answer copies and the number of leaves taken in a quarter.

Teachers who scored multiple third grades (as reviewed by students based on the teaching style) were summoned by Dhanani to justify their poor performance. Such teachers were allowed to improve their performance by decreasing their workload and designating them as part-time teachers with half the salary. The salary of every employee was linked to their performance grading. With performance-related pay, SMV ensured that every teacher put in their best effort at the school to ensure the success of its students.

Remuneration and Perquisites

Compared to other English medium schools in Amreli, SMV provided its employees with the highest salary to attract component teachers. Teachers were paid based on their performance and the feedback SMV received from its students. Apart from their salary, teachers were paid extra for taking classes in tuition sessions after school arranged by SMV. The school management revised the salary every six months. Employees were not provided with provident funds, pensions, medical insurance, bonus, gratuity, house rent allowance, or any other allowance. Initially, the remuneration of all teachers was the same. However, it took much work to hire teachers for specific subjects such as Mathematics and Science and teachers who were throughout educated in English medium. To recruit and retain such teachers, they were offered more salaries than teachers of other subjects and teachers educated through Gujarati medium. As per the school’s transparency norms, salary information was posted on notice boards for all to see.

Casual Leave, Leave without Pay and Maternity Leave

Other than 15 days of casual leave, no additional medical or earned leave was allowed. Teachers were not required to come to the school during vacation, which lasted about 72 to 76 days yearly. During any programme or event at SMV, teachers needed to be present. In case of absence, teachers were considered on leave without pay. The school provided maternity leave of one year to any teacher who had worked for at least one year in SMV. While on maternity leave, teachers were not remunerated, but a one-time payment of ₹15,000 was given before maternity leave. The teacher on leave could resume working after one year but as a fresh recruit. If there was no vacancy at SMV, they were asked to work in another department or as a part-time teacher.

Resignation and Dismissal

Teachers willing to resign were required to tender their resignation to Dhanani with a notice period of one month. As a practice, school management would request exiting teachers to continue till the next vacation so that a substitute teacher could be recruited. Before leaving, the teacher had to hand over registers and other school documents to the principal. After receiving the resignation letter, an experience certificate was issued on payment of ₹25 per year of employment. Issue of relieving letter and monthly pay slips was also chargeable.

Teachers who could not get good feedback grades from students or were found violating the rules and regulations of SMV were promptly dismissed by Dhanani. No notice period or salary of notice period was given before such dismissal. The decision of Dhanani was final in all cases. The decision to dismiss was often intimated over a phone call, and the relevant circular was posted on SMV’s notice boards and website.

Annual Meeting with Chairman

SMV chairman Gajera arranged a formal meeting with all teachers and the principal once every year. In his speech, he always appreciated teachers’ hard work and effort to achieve a 100% completion record of SMV. He also thanked teachers for being a part of SMV and enquired about any problems or issues employees faced in the school that he could address. Gajera was content that all employees were happy with the school’s affairs as none complained or even suggested any changes to the school regarding any of its aspects.

The Task at Hand for Dhanani

Dhanani was satisfied that his friend Gajera’s dream of providing educational services to the community had been fulfilled through SMV. In particular, students of SMV were able to secure positions in the district-level merit list for a few years in a row. However, having achieved that, Dhanani was far from being complacent. He felt that the performance of SMV students had become stagnant, and there was no further improvement or growth. His next target was to see students on the state-level merit list; therefore, he wanted SMV to be an excellent educational institution for the students. As the main driver of student performance, he focussed on teachers, mainly due to the high teacher turnover that he regarded as a significant issue with SMV. Dhanani wanted SMV to be the best school with a conducive work environment for its employees.

The seasoned and successful diamond merchant, Gajera, once told Dhanani that the secret to achieving organizational success was to keep employees happy and committed. Alarmed by the high turnover rate of teachers at SMV, Dhanani thought over which different policies would make SMV an employee-friendly school with an excellent work environment. He remembered that teachers and staff refrained from speaking out at the annual meetings with Gajera. However, through the grapevine, he learned that employees were unhappy over SMV transparency rules. He had also overheard employees debating that rules regarding discipline were against privacy norms. He was surprised because, as per Gajera, these were the norms in the diamond industry, where no one complained.

Dhanani was concerned about the problems at SMV and wanted to know what made teachers unhappy. In a private conversation, the principal informed him,

Most of the teachers who quit were unhappy about the work environment and unsatisfied with employee welfare schemes. Even existing teachers have serious issues with the strict rules and regulations of Sankul, which also apply to teachers. There are many reasons why the teachers are unhappy. For example, teachers did not appreciate that they could not change pedagogy or use innovative teaching methods for better learning outcomes. Teachers also felt that limited interaction between them and students was hampering student learning, but sadly they could not do anything about it. There is a consensus amongst teachers that there is rigidity in every aspect of the school, which they feel is the source of many problems.

Dhanani wanted to make SMV employee-friendly, conducive and productive, which would help better recruit and retain the best teachers, subsequently taking students’ performances to new heights. While the desired outcome of the decision was clear to him, he was unsure of the path that would lead to the desired destination. Dhanani was in deep thought regarding the issue at hand, focusing on the management aspects of SMV.