The industry and its education system are not working as a team. A slowing economy is as good a time as any for both to make amends and come back on the same page writes Sudhir Andrews.
Having lead the Oberoi Hotel School, the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration and the IHM Pusa under the National Council, I have learnt the elements that make a successful hotel school and the limitations that exist today in some. I also offer what needs to be done in future.
The first requirement for a successful hotel school is to build live operational exposure into the curriculum. Chain sponsored hotel schools understand this and have included it in their courses. Students work under practicing professionals and also meet live customers.
Unfortunately, the chain of IHMs under the National Council and many other private institutions do not have this facility that puts them at a disadvantage. Their campus facilities provide simulated conditions only which can never replace real experience.
A mere five month internship is clearly not enough as hotels and the students view this as temporary and therefore lack the commitment.
The second requirement is quality faculty. Chains transfer their existing professionals to their sponsored schools to bring in quality education. IHM faculty on the other hand is numbed by secure government jobs, low salaries and limited advancement.
They are therefore not motivated to upgrade themselves. Though the government creates wonderful initiatives with world class institutions for upgradation, some faculty have lost the capability to translate this new learning to the classroom. Ironically, some believe that they are the best! They are loath to go back into industry fearing to learn from their ex-students.
The next requirement is the use of appropriate teaching methodology. Indian hotel schools use pedagogy where the onus lies on the lecturers to pass on information.
Students are passive recipients of knowledge skewed towards cramming and forgetting after the examinations. Pedagogy is a child learning approach unsuitable for professional education.
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Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa on the other hand uses andragogy, the adult learning approach where faculty are viewed as learning facilitators rather than lecturers. In this system, students discover knowledge and present it in class.
The next important factor is the syllabus. In my opinion most existing syllabuses are outdated because colleges feel upgrading them is too tedious.
To manage this disconnect, some private institutions import the syllabus of their foreign franchise. Unfortunately, to stay legitimate in India, they have to also adopt the syllabus prescribed by AICTE or an Indian university.
Unfortunately, both parties are themselves outdated in their syllabus, teaching methodology and examination system, leaving the hapless student confused. The government is presently addressing this issue to foster excellence in this system.
What is the way forward? First, the industry, government and hotel schools must collaborate to create excellent hotel education. The time for each to live in ivory towers is over.
Second, hotel schools must concentrate on quality rather than quantity by introducing live exposure into their curricula. Third, the training methodology in hotel schools must change to andragogy to ensure the retention of learning. Fourth, the government must develop a new model to recognise colleges of excellence without interference. Fifth, they must demand demonstrated up-gradation of faculty in government sponsored colleges.
And finally, the industry must take a more active role by seconding professionals to hotel schools to teach. In fact they should promote a chair to allow a hotel school to import good teaching talent from the world. After all the industry is the main beneficiary of such an initiative.
Who is Sudhir Andrews
Sudhir Andrews is the dean of Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa with 30 years experience in human resources, education, consultancy, training and media. He can be contacted at sudhir.andrews@lavasa.com
