CEO Insights India

It’s not an attribute of a self-reliant person to venture into an unchartered territory. Coming from a business background and qualification in marketing, Pritam Kumar Agarwal, Founder, Hello Kids Education Group, decided to make a mark in the education sector by establishing India’s first ‘No-Royalty’ based chain of pre-schools, Hello Kids. The pre-school was established with a vision to provide a better platform for the young tots to impart quality and economic education at par with the leading brands.Rejecting his prior idea of establishing a school in Orissa due to monetary reasons (higher investment) and lack of experience, Pritam travelled across the nation in order to understand the established preschool models that would guide him to map out the framework for his institution. From the foundations of one pre-school in Bangalore, Hello Kids is now one of the largest chains of pre-schools in India, bringing in a new wave in the pre-primary education sector and now venturing into K-12 segment schools, and currently running three schools.

The Hello Kids Mantra
Albert Einstein once said that ‘Play is the highest form of research’. Knowledge and recreation go hand-in-hand for toddlers and no one understands this better than Pritam. He explains that since the child here is not more than three years old, they under take the old school and rather effective approach of training the staffs to inculcate the attributes of patience and saying yes to the child’s activities that would bring familiarity to the relationship. They are also given direction to express their

affection and love to the child, imbibing a sense of belong ingness in him that would help him progress. Having this keen knowledge helped Pritam grow multi-folds but not before he was forced to tackle a disappointing scenario of fulfilled amenities but empty enrolment sheets implying a failing enterprise. The silver lining came out 60 days later when Hello Kids admitted its first student, indicating that all was not lost.


Unlike any other institution, Pritam has laid down a unique propaganda at Hello Kids that involves 100 hours of personal communication (in an academic year) and 10 minutes of daily reading with the child that would enable him/her to be a better listener, a better speaker,and a knowledgeable person,via one home work (verbal homework/observation and not reading or a writing).Under his guidance, the little ones are groomed to be the people of tomorrow as they are made to hone their observational skills in form of ‘homework’ that include their understanding of the world and people around them and narrating short verses of it the next day. He believes that they need to understand life’s experiences to see their true selves and encourages them by taking up the stage at Hello Kids and hopes that they don’t shy away from public platforms in future. While the soft approach for the child’s development is mandatory, Pritam understands the value of strong understanding for the need of

appropriate security measures and ensures there is no lapse when it comes to the children’s safety. He visits franchises and takes appropriate steps to ensure the same.

Being the Vice-President of one of the biggest Indian organisations, Early Childhood Association, Pritam seeks to abide by the rules and regulations laid down by the Women and Child Welfare Ministry, where Hello Kids provides its feedback, syllabus and measure that eventually makes them a part of laying down policies and frameworks needed in Indian pre-school education.This would inevitably enhance the extra layers of protection for the ones who are still learning the ropes of life. While security plays a major role, one cannot rule out that technology is also taking a strong stand in today’s education scenario. But rather than getting pulled into the current, Pritam chooses to swim against the tide. Being unfazed by this revolution, Pritam points out that even though technology is one of the most indispensable tools of today, one does not require anything more than patience and affection to mould a preschool child between 1.5years to 6 years. These are the major attributes that the founder feels suffice to enable the teachers to be the harbinger of growth and learning for the young child.

Behind the Professional Curtain
Delving into his personal life, Pritamremarks candidly about his weakness to being not able to give time to family and friends. His strength, on the other hand, lies with his people and co-workers across India with whom he tries to maintain a personal touch and gives them the liberty to reach out to him via any means, irrespective of time and place. His contact number is available to everyone. He believes being a leader is about what one observes in his fellow persons and invariably, how one sees thyself. Being a people’s person is one of Pritam’s attribute that was fuelled by his admiration for the former President, APJ Abdul Kalam. He is an ardent follower of this great personality and seeks inspiration from his service that was rendered to the nation.