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My highschool has a grading system that was suppose to help students, and lessen the effects of getting some low grades on your final grade during the year. This was abused by a group in my batch, and it got really extreme during our last year. Not to mention they shared it to the lower batches, and after we graduated, the whole grading system was changed.The basic idea is, in one year, you have 4 quarters, and the succeeding quarter’s final grade is 30% previous quarter, 70% current average = quarter grade.Also, 75 is the lowest passing grade one can get. 74.99 below is failing. But the lowest mark that is placed in the final report card is 70. So 71 is 71, 70 is 70, but 67 is still 70.Can you think of an abuse of this system?This is what some of the delinquents did to cheat the system.70 is the lowest mark, so those who get 67 can still make up for it. What if you get 1, 6, 11, 40 as a final grade? Ridiculous right? No one is THAT BAD. Hence it wasn’t considered in the system.Then these guys started to not even bother answering. Our tests are often 100 items, 1 point each, or some have 10 items for 2 points each. When they receive the paper, they go to multiple choice, go a b c d a b c d a b, go to true and false, go T F T F T F T F then sleep during the whole exam period. Final grade? 6. 3. One manage to get 0. The teacher just make a huge X mark on the blank pages.At the end of their quarter, all their grades in all their subjects have a big red 70.for the next 2 quarters, we have 30% of 70 + 70% of 70 which is still 70For 4th quarter, they TRY to do good. Aiming for something 78+30% of 70 (3rd quarter) and 70% of 78 (4th quarter) = 75not a high grade, but you didn’t fail, so you do not need to repeat the year.4th quarter is also the months with a lot of school presentation and sports events, that can give + points or exemption from a few exams.Some of them join the “singing contest” and they can sing quite good. They may not win but joining gives you an instant 100 in 1 test.Edit for Daniele IavaroneSCHOOL SYSTEM• At what age do you start going to school? Until what age?3yo at Kinder 1 (at a different school), 5yo at Preschool one (my school until Highschool. I will be talking about this school in my answers), graduated Highschool 4th year at 17yo• Can you leave before? Is it common?Not very common. In my batch, no one left during preschool, I think 4 during elementary and 7 during high school. We are around 300 in a batch. Students may transfer OUT to other schools. Since the school opened, no transferees are accepted.• Are schools divided by age? (elementary, middle, etc...) How?Preschool 1 – 3, Elementary 1 – 6, High School 1 – 4. Everyone is about the same age. Applicants from Preschool 1 have around the same age bracket (5-6). The only times we have an older kid in the batch is a repeat student from the higher batch.• Can students jump forward, if they are talented? Can they do it if they lost a schoolyear?No, you stay in your year level. If you are talented, then you are the top student of the batch (honor student, etc). I do not know the process if one missed a whole year. I don't recall any experience in my time at school. I think the person had to transfer.• Is education free or you have to pay some fees?We have a yearly tuition fee. We have no financial or academic scholarships for students, although excellence in school may give you scholarships for college. But all students in school paid the tuition full.• Do you have to pay for the books?Almost all books are bought. There is a book adoption program especially for books that are reused but sometimes, the reading material requires the updated editions• What is free in your school? What isn’t?We have a library. There are empty floors in one building, the multi-purpose building. Student can practice and have study groups there. Free use of the basketball court (playground for the younger students). The registrar office has a free landline phone you can use to make calls.You need to pay in the canteen and for the school bus service. Emergency meds and stuff in the clinic are charged to you at the end of the quarter.• What happens if someone can’t afford it?If you can't pay the tuition, you can't get into the school. Students who can afford the tuition find most of the other stuff affordable. Some don't get the school bus service since they have their own car/driver, for example. The ones who avail of them are often those less rich among the student community.• Are schools opened both for boys and girls?We are a co-ed school from Preschool to Highschool• Is there a “student card” that gives students privileges? (discounts on publictransport, for example)We have a student ID. But most of the students actually don't use public transport or commute. We can use the ID for other promos, such as student rates in theme parks etc.• Who pays for the bus/train fare? What happens if the student can’t afford it?In the start of the year there is a registration for the school bus service. Usually those who DON'T have a driver to fetch them, or live too far to make fetching a hassle, avail of the school bus service.• Is there a school library? Can you borrow books from there? Is it free?Yes. We have a library card as well. You can borrow for free, but as usual, there are fines for returning late or damage.SCHOOL DAY• How long does a school day last?Class start 7:20 and end at 4:10. We are comparatively longer to most other schools here because we learn 3 major languages, compared to others who learn only 2.• Can students sleep at school? If yes, do they have to pay for it?You can take a nap in your desk at recess and lunch after eating. In Preschool there is a mandatory Nap Time class and you need to cross your arms and lie down. The teacher will scold you if you are awake and playing around.• Do you have breaks in between the school day? How many and how long?2 20 minute recess, morning and afternoon, and lunch break. For gradeschool it is 1 hour long. For highschool it is only 40 mins. The reason is that the lunch area can only hold limited students, so the first 20 mins, HS still have class while the GS go eat. Everyone ends lunch time the same time. Preschool only have half day so morning class go home before lunch and afternoon come after eating• How does a school day start/end in your country?Morning = Flag ceremony (during monday), morning prayer then class inspection (teacher will check uniform, haircut, fingernails, etc)Afternoon = summarizing homework, evening prayer• How many days per week do you attend school?5 days, Monday – Wed then Friday Saturday. Our area has a church, who's special day is Thusrday, and a lot of people come, so there are crowds and traffic. Hence we don't follow the M-F schedule. Imagine the culture shock when we go to college.• Do you have holidays? When?Public Holidays in Philippines in 2016Holidays in our country. There are special occassions as well that give us no classes, like the Director (Dean) birthday, or the feast of our Saint. We are also next door to Malacanang, which is our “White House”, (We are so close we can actually throw rocks from some windows and be able to hit the wall of the building.) so when there are big presidential events or rallies, we have no school.• What do you usually do at school?During breaktime I usually get some food in the canteen and hang out with friends in our classroom's corrider. Sometimes I get some homework done at school.• Can you eat at school?Eating is forbidden in the classroom. You can eat in the canteen or the lunch area.• Is there a canteen where you can buy/get food? Is it free?Yes we do. It is not free, though everything is quite affordable to the general school population.• If you can eat at school, what kind of food can students find?Junkfoods, juices, sandwiches, local delicacy treats, candies.• Do schools organize school trips? Who has to pay for it?Every year there is a batch field trip. It changes every year, and each year level has their own. There is often jealousy when the Grade 6s get to go to a local theme park (for Physics learning trip) when we just went to the old dilapidated Observatory back then. There is a fieldtrip fee that is collected from each student a few weeks before.• Where do students usually travel to? Where do they stay? (hotel, host families etc)Usually some place with educational experience, like zoos or the local volcanology facility, etc. The trip is a one day thing, so we go their via the school buses, and get back before the day ends.• Do schools organize school exchanges? If yes, also with foreign schools?We do not have this program.• What school facilities do you usually have? (science lab, gym, swimming pool,soccer field etc...)We have a lab with we use during chemistry and biology classes. There are 2 gyms, both with a full basketball court and one that can be a volleyball court. There are 3 badminton courts. For the swimming varsity, they hold practices in a nearby sports club. We do not play soccer. (just our school). The auditorium is where we have our school programs.SUBJECTS, GRADES, TESTS & EXAMS• Are schools in your country divided on subjects? (language school, technicalschool, music school etc)There are some specialized schools but most are like mine, who teach general education, from language, to science to music.• What subjects do students study at school?Some year levels have more classes as you go higher. I don't remember well that much anymore but these are mostly the 4th year classes.English Reading, English Literature, Filipino (local language), History, Science, Religion, Home Economics, PE, Chinese History, Chinese Literature,• Can you choose what subjects to study and what to avoid?Nope. There is a fixed curriculum for each year level.• How many teachers do you have for each subject?For each batch, 2 teachers teaches a subject. There are 6 sections and they handle 3 each. Some teachers teach all 6 sections of a year. Some teach 3 for 2 different year levels. The 3 PE teachers handle all PE classes.• Do you change class when you have to study another subject? (English room,Math room etc)We have 1 room the whole year. Teachers are the ones who come and go. Most of the time, the current teacher is reminded to wrap up when we see the next teacher waiting outside the room.• Do schools in your country give students mark/grades? If yes, how do they work?Passing is 75-100. Failing is below 75. (I have explained this most in my Quora answer Rachel Subijano's answer to How does your school system work and how do students feel about it?)• What happens when you get a bad mark/grade?Fail the subject in the 4th quarter and you will have to take the class in summer (basically the whole year cramped again into 2 months)Fail a lot at the end of the year and you repeat the year. My batch lost 2 students to repeat, and received 1 from the higher batch. Being a repeater is one of the most shameful moments in school. You are generally looked down upon by most especially in your first year. Often, the repeater gets to become friendly with his new batch in the next years.• Do students have to repeat years of school if they fail?Only if you fail a lot. I am not sure exactly of the details. I don't usually interact with the “failing students”• Do you have tests in your school? If yes, how are they structured? (open answer/multiple choice etc)Short quizzes are usually 10/10. Depends on what the teacher wants to test. Last 10-15 mins. Big exams (mid quarter and final quarter exams) are usually 2-3 page exams with 100/100 item. The whole batch moves to the lunch area to take it there. Usually 1-1.5hours. We have almost all kinds of tests, multiple choice, matching type, true or false, fill in the blanks, etc. The exception is Math, where we usually get 10 or 20 big problems, worth 5-10 points each. There are the scary big Math exams with only 5 questions. Miss one totally and you risk failing if you don't perfect the other 4.• If you have tests, how frequently do you have them?Class quizzes are often announced and unannounced. Usually after a major topic in class, or if the teacher feels no one was listening.• Do you also have exams? When do you have to take them?Major (mid quarter) and Final Exams are usually announce beforehand, and we are given the topics that will be covered for review. They each happen once a quarter for each subject.• What are the most important exams in a student’s life?All! You are taught to balance everything. You may be the top Math achiever but if you fail History, you will get a low total grade in the end.• Is religion taught in your schools? How does it work?It is a minor subject for Grade school and Highschool. It is pretty much about trivia and stuff. The easiest of exams but you can still fail if you don't study. Religion pretty much helps pull up your total year grade.• Is “Food and Nutrition” taught in your schools?We have a year's science class devoted to biology. Home Economics teaches this as well, but is only taught in highschool• Is sex education taught in your schools? If yes, what do you learn?Pretty much basic stuff in science, when we tackle the human reproductive system.• Is “Art” taught in your schools?Homeroom is usually for art. Each class's adviser is also a teacher of a main subject. So Class A gets a few minutes less Math for the art project because adviser is a math teacher. Class B gets less history because adviser is the batch's history teacher.• Is “Music” taught in your schools?Art and musics alternate for homeroom. Same system applies for short music lessons. Students interested in instruments and singing can join the school organizations devoted to those.• Is Physical Education taught in your schools?For Grade school, PE is included with Art and Musics. A few minutes of basic exercise once a week. For highschool, students are required to come to school on Thursday for PE. Varsity players are exempted from PE and receive a perfect grade all the time, but require to attend practice (depending on the sport, Thursdays or Sundays) and must not have failing marks.• Do you learn languages at school? Which ones? How many languages can astudent speak when he’s 14?We learn 3, English, Filipino and Chinese. During Preschool, students learn English and Chinese only. We are introduced to Filipino at elementary (8yo)RELATIONSHIP STUDENTS & SCHOOL STAFF & TEACHER• Do you call your teachers with “Mr”,“Mrs” or can you use their real names? (John,Anna etc)Mr. Santos. Ms. Baet. Mrs. Santiago. Most of us don't even know our teachers first names, or forget. The only times we usually hear it, is day 1, when introductions are made, and Teacher recognition events.• Are teachers generally strict? Do you think they are open-minded?There are the nice lovable teachers you won't forget. There are the terror teachers you won't forget.• What about the school staff?We know some of the staff such as the clinic staff and the cafeteria staff. The janitors and security we usually call “ate” or “kuya”• Are there student councils or other form of student organization?The student council is from elected high school candidates. We experience how real elections go in our SC elections. There are even campaigning (for fun) where candidates come to class and promote him and his party and give their platforms. There are organizations like the Math, Science and Home Economics club, etc.• Can students decide something about the school system?The SC can voice the opinions of the students to the administration. Usually the requests are reasonable and get implemented.BEHAVIOR & PUNISHMENTS• What are some rules that every student have to follow?ID must be worn at all times. Proper and complete uniform at all times. These were in the handbook. Its been years I don't remember most. But pretty much the usually stuff against bringing liquor, porn, drugs, etc.• Do students in your country wear shoes when they are in school?We are required to wear black leather shoes all the time. In case you can not, a letter from parents is required (eg. You have a foot injury and need to wear slippers)• In your opinion, what are some rules that are common in your country but not inother places?There is no instances of cutting classes in our school. There is no way to leave the campus during class times. Everyone going out will be checked by the guard. Even if you sneak an outfit and change you will be inspected. If you are not in your seat in class time, your parents will be called and you will get a warning the next day.• Can students use smartphones/tablets in your schools?The must remain in the pocket or bag during class time. You may use them at breaktimes. For emergencies, a student may as permission to exit the room for the call.• Is it possible to punish a student? If yes, for what reasons?This is all listed in the student handbook. I can't remember much already. There are disciplinary actions such as warnings, up to suspension and sometimes being expelled.• Is corporal punishment allowed in your school? If yes, when and how?Absolutely forbidden.• What kind of punishment can a student face and for what reasons?For minor classroom punishment, you are scolded in class. Sometimes you are asked to exit and continue the class looking through the window while in the corridor. Serious offenders get sent to the prefect of discipline.BULLYING• Is bullying a serious issue in your country?It is bad in other schools but my school is pretty strict in discipline and handling it, that everyone is naturally not a bully. The most “bully” we experience is teasing.• How do schools react about it?Can't give a good answer for this• How do schools prevent it?Can't give a good answer for this• Is there racism in your schools?We do not have much foreigners in school. Pretty much everyone is Filipino-Chinese. The staff and most teachers are usually Filipino while some teachers are Chinese.• Is there homophobia in your schools?It is weird because I don't even recall an instance of homosexuals in my years in school. If there are LGBT, there are all closet gays and lesbians and we graduated without even knowing.• Is there sex discrimination in your schools?None at all. Most of the time the boys are even more fearful and shy of us girls but we don't harass them or anything as well.DRESS CODE• Do students have to wear a school uniform?We have a standard uniform. Each sex has their own design for Preschool, Grade 1-3, Grade 3-6 and highschool• What clothes are allowed and what aren’t?Casual clothes are only allowed during Christmas Party or special events. Everyone in the classroom has to wear the uniform• What happens if a student doesn’t follow the dress code?You can't even go in campus. You will be forced to call and be fetch, and be absent for the day.HEALTH & HYGIENE• Do you have doctors/nurses at school? If yes, do you have to pay for it?We have a clinic. Checking and mild conditions are free. If you need meds, it is charged at the end of the year.• What happens when a student is ill? Does he/she have to prove it?Our doctor is very skilled. It is hard to fake it. If you are well, you are sent back to class. If rest is needed, there are beds to rest in. For urgent cases, your parents are called to take you home.• Does your school also provide vaccines?You need to have your vaccinations in your own doctor before school starts.• Is your school clean?Very clean. If you trip you usually just need to dust off some dirt. That's it. No muddy pits or smelly canals.• Who cleans your school? Do students clean school sometimes?For classrooms, each class is required to keep it clean during the day. We have 1 room the whole year, it is our 2nd home. There is a team of janitors who clean outside during class hours, and the rooms after class.• If a student writes on a desk/wall, does he have to clean it?We have one desk every year. It is painted every summer. Any marks on the desk is usually your responsibility. You do not have to paint it but it will be a minor offense.• Do students have to shower at school (after sport, for example)?There is a shower in the gym. Usually during Thursday PE or for the varsity after practice.• If yes, do students feel at ease with it? If not, why?I have never experienced using the showers in school.

Every year, thousands of parents prepare themselves for yet another examination of life. It is one of those exams where the results are not proportional to the efforts put in, but sheer luck. Schoolling Pvt. Ltd. conducted a survey of approximately 400 parents from Delhi to know more about the issues and challenges faced by them during the admission process. Here is what parents talk about the school admissions in Delhi:Sumit Khanna, Dwarka“Nursery admission is a hassle in Delhi. In a stipulated time, we need to fill forms for all the relevant schools. Get DDs from the bank, submit verification docs to the school & what not. None of the schools had uniform selection criteria. We had applied to 17 schools & did not get a response from either one of them. Myra, my girl’s playschool luckily had a Nursery class, so this year we have admitted her to the playschool only. We shall be trying again next year for KG admissions.”Somya Arora, Ashok Vihar“Smoking, Drinking & eating Non-Vegetarian food are no longer considered a taboo in the India society & in fact, they are very essential for socializing. Some of the Jain schools in Delhi like The Mahavir Senior Secondary School on G.T. Karnal Road select children basis their parents’ drinking & eating habits. Even after the government’s abolishment of such criteria, it’s surprising to see such schools still follow these rules. We stay within a radius of 4 Km from the school but missed out on the school due to the drinking & eating selection criterion.”Anant Bhattacharya, Rana Pratap BaghAnant Bhattacharya, a resident of Rana Pratap Bagh, said that he had a very unpleasant experience in the 2018-19 Delhi Nursery Admission session. His twin children (Two Boys) were not eligible for points under the Sibling or Twin categories (And obviously not for Girl Child points) because schools in this region did not allocate any point to these categories. And since schools give so much weight to the distance criterion, therefore they could not make it to the schools which allocated points to twins but were far from their place. He says “My boys were born seconds apart, but are now miles apart because of different schools”.Antika Srivastava, Mayur ViharLast year, Antika Srivastava, a parent of twins: a boy & a girl faced a challenge where her girl child made it to one of the top schools in East Delhi by getting Girl Child points but the schools did not allocate any points to the boy child & hence the boy missed out on the admissions (even in the lucky draw). Antika had to make multiple visits to the school. Despite putting in so many efforts, she failed to get admission for her kids in the same school. She says “My babies are inseparable & I’ll try again next year for the KG admissions to get both my children in the same school”.Anjana Lalwani, Vasant Kunj“Our first major tasks as parents were to know which schools were good for our kid. Then we had to research how the whole process worked and what were the crucial dates & documents needed for admission. This is our first kid & we were really unsure whether our three-and-a-half-year-old son would make it to the schools of our choice or not. I had heard that people were applying for not just five or six schools but 25-30 of them. Some of them still did not manage to get a single seat. Parents with good political contacts made it easily to the top schools like DPS RK Puram. We stay close to Vasant Kunj & luckily we had a lot of good schools in Delhi in the vicinity. The distance parameter kind of worked for us. But there were areas like Delhi Cantonment where schools do not have a Nursery class. Parents living in such areas of Delhi must have had their own struggles. Lastly, I would like to add that the Schoolling team was a sheer blessing for us. From providing us the list of all the schools in our area with their ratings, fee & location to helping us in applying to more than 20 schools, all without visiting these schools for registrations was no less than a blessing for working parents like us. They kept us informed about each & every selection process & documents needed at the time of admissions. Complete package. Must say!!”Raman Singh, Punjabi Bagh“Getting a seat in the nursery class is tough but changing schools is even tougher. And this is the prime reason why every parent just wants the best school for their kid in Nursery itself. The seats are limited & the applicants are higher. My kids Aadhar was not ready and almost every school asked for the child’s Aadhar copy. It was a last minute rush for us. Luckily we got an enrollment copy of the Aadhar and later presented the originals at the time of admissions.”Ameeta Wattal, Principal of Springdales School, Pusa Road“The real challenge in Delhi Nursery Admissions is not because of a poor admission process but because of a low supply & high demand for an admission seat. There are only 1700 private schools in Delhi which make approximately 1.25 lakh seats. There are more than 10 lakh applications every year. The lack of good Government schools forces the parents to apply to Private schools. The government of Delhi should invest more in the education sector & try making the Government schools a better place to learn.”Gayatri & Sumit Tandon, Karol Bagh“We used to take leaves on alternate days; visit the schools at 9 in the morning, stand in queues, collect forms, come home, fill them up & then again visit the school to submit the form along with the supporting documents. None of the schools had a streamlined process except a few. We do not qualify for alumni or sibling criteria & are dependent only on the lucky draw. If his name does not come up in the lottery, a whole year would be wasted. He is too young to realize that right now. It becomes our responsibility to get the best for him. To make the matters worse, schools have a small window for form collection & submission; like 9AM-11 AM. In this span, we had to visit all the schools in our area. Tough! Really Tough! Glad it is over.”What’s Our Take On ThisIn the findings of the latest survey conducted by us, we found that the major concern of 6 parents out of 10 is that these days they cannot totally rely on the internet for collecting the information about documents, selection criteria and likewise other details. Due to these reasons, they need to make multiple rounds to the school and wait in the long queues, which only adds to the burden. Also many a time, it becomes cumbersome for them to take out some time from their busy schedule to complete the formalities. We understand that a lot of things fall on your plate all at once and this leads to missing the deadlines which further creates a lot of tension.How To Apply For Nursery/KG/1st class?We understand that your job as a parent is not simple. In a world that is moving its focus towards modernization, and comfort, there is definitely a dire need for the system to be simpler and comfortable too. When we talk about ‘the system’, it is needless to say that the admission process for nursery students in Delhi needs to be more mechanized and have more of a systematic approach.In order to simplify the process of admission and make it easy for parents, we came up with ‘SCHOOLLING‘ for a basket of services. This is handy, easy and helpful!We are a platform where you can apply to multiple schools, sitting at home. It is an initiative to make the nursery admissions process effective, faster, and more reliable for all the parents.3 Simple Steps:Search schools: We have close to 1000 schools listed on our portal. You can search for schools using filters like Area, Popularity, Rating, Fee Structure, and Gender to shortlist schools on the basis of your needs.Apply to Multiple schools: After filtering & sorting the schools, you can apply to multiple schools for your child by filling a single admission form and uploading the documents online.Track the application: Just like a food ordering app, you can keep a regular track of your applications and know when your form is delivered to school for further verification.You can stay updated on our blog (blog . schoolling .com) for all the latest information related to the nursery admissions.

The inspiring rags-to-riches story of E Sarath Babu, the IIMA, BITS Pilani alumnus millionaire who at one point of time had to snatch rice grains from an ant because he was so poor and hungry!Most parts of this answer have been taken from an interview given by E Sarath Babu to rediff.com (A crorepati who lives in a hut!) when he came into limelight for choosing entrepreneurship over safe, money milking jobs that he was offered at IIMA.When 27-year old Sarathbabu graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he created quite a stir by refusing a job that offered him a huge salary. He preferred to start his own enterprise -- Foodking Catering Service -- in Ahmedabad.He was inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, to educate him and his siblings. It was a dream come true, when Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy lit the traditional lamp and inaugurated Sarathbabu's enterprise.This is how Sarathbabu describes his rise from a Chennai slum to his journey to the nation's premier management institute to becoming a successful entrepreneur. This is his story, in his own words.Childhood in a slumI was born and brought up in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have two elder sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. It was really tough for her to bring up five kids on her meagre salary.As she had studied till the tenth standard, she got a job under the mid-day meal scheme of the Tamil Nadu government in a school at a salary of Rs 30 a month. She made just one rupee a day for six people.So, she sold idlis in the mornings. She would then work for the mid-day meal at the school during daytime. In the evenings, she taught at the adult education programme of the Indian government.She, thus, did three different jobs to bring us up and educate us. Although she didn't say explicitly that we should study well, we knew she was struggling hard to send us to school. I was determined that her hard work should not go in vain.I was a topper throughout my school days. In the mornings, we went out to sell idlis because people in slums did not come out of their homes to buy idlis. For kids living in a slum, idlis for breakfast is something very special.Admission to BITS, PilaniMy mother was not aware of institutions like the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, or the Indian Institutes of Technology. She only wanted to educate us so that we got a good job. I didn't know what I wanted to do at that time because in my friend-circle, nobody talked about higher education or preparing for the IIT-JEE.When you constantly worry about the next square meal, you do not dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer. The only thing that was on my mind was to get a good job because my mother was struggling a lot.I got very good marks in the 10th standard exam. It was the most critical moment of my life. Till the 10th, there was no special fee but for the 11th and the 12th, the fees were Rs 2,000-3,000.I did book-binding work during the summer vacation and accumulated money for my school fees. When I got plenty of work, I employed 20 other children and all of us did the work together. That was my first real job as an entrepreneur. Once I saw the opportunity, I continued with the work.Life at BITS, PilaniA classmate of mine told me about BITS, Pilani. He was confident that I would get admission, as I was the topper. He also told me that on completion (of studies at Pilani), I will definitely get a job.When I got the admission, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I was excited that for the first time I was going out of Chennai, but there was also a sense of uncertainty.The fees alone were around Rs 28,000, and I had to get around Rs 42,000. It was huge, huge money for us. And there was no one to help us. Just my mother and sisters. One of my sisters -- they were all married by then -- pawned her jewellery and that's how I paid for the first semester.My mother then found out about an Indian government scholarship scheme. She sent me the application forms, I applied for the scholarship, and I was successful. So, after the first semester, it was the scholarship that helped me through.It also helped me to pay my debt (to the sister who had pawned her jewellery). I then borrowed money from my other sister and repaid her when the next scholarship came.The scholarship, however, covered only the tuition fees. What about the hostel fees and food? Even small things like a washing soap or a toothbrush or a tube of toothpaste was a burden. So, I borrowed more at high rates of interest. The debt grew to a substantial amount by the time I reached the fourth year.First year at BITS, PilaniTo put it mildly, I was absolutely shocked. Till then, I had moved only with students from poor families. At Pilani, all the students were from the upper class or upper middle class families. Their lifestyle was totally different from mine. The topics they discussed were alien to me. They would talk about the good times they had in school.On the other hand, my school years were a big struggle. There was this communication problem also as I was not conversant in English then.I just kept quiet and observed them. I concentrated only on my studies because back home so many people had sacrificed for me. And, it took a really long time -- till the end of the first year -- to make friends.The successive yearsI became a little more confident and started opening up. I had worked really hard for the engineering exhibition during the first year. I did a lot of labour-intensive work like welding and cutting, though my subject was chemical engineering. My seniors appreciated me.In my second year also, I worked really hard for the engineering exhibition. This time, my juniors appreciated me, and they became my close friends, so close that they would be at my beck and call.In the third year, when there was an election for the post of the co-ordinator for the exhibition, my juniors wanted me to contest. Thanks to their efforts I was unanimously elected. That was my first experience of being in the limelight. It was also quite an experience to handle around 100 students.Seeing my work, slowly my batch mates also came to the fold. All of them said I lead the team very well.They also told me that I could be a good manager and asked me to do MBA. That was the first time I heard about something called MBA. I asked them about the best institution in India. They said, the Indian Institutes of Management. Then, I decided if I was going to study MBA, it should be at one of the IIMs, and nowhere else.Inspiration to be an entrepreneurIt was while preparing for the Common Admission Test that I read in the papers that 30 per cent of India's population does not get two meals a day. I know how it feels to be hungry. What should be done to help them, I wondered.I also read about Infosys and Narayana Murthy, Reliance and Ambani. Reliance employed 20,000-25,000 people at that time, and Infosys, around 15,000. When a single entrepreneur like Ambani employed 25,000 people, he was supporting the family, of four or five, of each employee. So he was taking care of 100,000 people indirectly. I felt I, too, should become an entrepreneur.But, my mother was waiting for her engineer son to get a job, pay all the debts, build a pucca house and take care of her. And here I was dreaming about starting my own enterprise. I decided to go for a campus interview, and got a job with Polaris. I also sat for CAT but I failed to clear it in my first attempt.I worked for 30 months at Polaris. By then, I could pay off all the debts but I hadn't built a proper house for my mother. But I decided to pursue my dream. When I took CAT for the third time, I cleared it and got calls from all the six IIMs. I got admission at IIM, Ahmedabad.Life at IIM, AhmedabadMy college helped me get a scholarship for the two years that I was at IIM. Unlike in BITS, I was more confident and life at IIM was fantastic. I took up a lot of responsibilities in the college. I was in the mess committee in the first year and in the second year; I was elected the mess secretary.Becoming an entrepreneurBy the end of the second year, there were many lucrative job offers coming our way, but in my mind I was determined to start something on my own. But back home, I didn't have a house. It was a difficult decision to say 'no' to offers that gave you Rs 800,000 a year. But I was clear in my mind even while I knew the hard realities back home.Yes, my mother had been an entrepreneur, and subconsciously, she must have inspired me. My inspirations were also (Dhirubhai) Ambani and Narayana Murthy. I knew I was not aiming at something unachievable. I got the courage from them to start my own enterprise.Nobody at my institute discouraged me. In fact, at least 30-40 students at the IIM wanted to be entrepreneurs. And we used to discuss about ideas all the time. My last option was to take up a job.Foodking Catering Services Pvt LtdMy mother is my first inspiration to start a food business. Remember I started my life selling idlis in my slum. Then of course, my experience as the mess secretary at IIM-A was the second inspiration. I must have handled at least a thousand complaints and a thousand suggestions at that time. Every time I solved a problem, they thanked me.I also felt there is a good opportunity in the food business. If you notice, a lot of people who work in the food business come from the weaker sections of the society.My friends helped me with registering the company with a capital of Rs 100,000. Because of the IIM brand and also because of the media attention, I could take a loan from the bank without any problem.I set up an office and employed three persons. The first order was from a software company in Ahmedabad. They wanted us to supply tea, coffee and snacks. We transported the items in an auto.When I got the order from IIM, Ahmedabad, I took a loan of Rs 11 lakhs (Rs 1.1 million) and started a kitchen. So, my initial capital was Rs 11.75 lakhs (Rs 1.17 million).Three months had passed, and now we had forty employees and four clients -- IIM Ahmedabad, Darpana Academy, Gujarat Energy Research Management Institute and System Plus.In the first month of our operation, we earned around Rs 35,000. Now, the turnover is around Rs 250,000. The Chennai operations would start in another three months' time.The entrepreneurial struggleMy first unit was at IIM, Ahmedabad. When we started our second unit in October 2006, I thought now I would start making money. But I made losses of around Rs 2000 a day. A first generation entrepreneur cannot afford such a loss. But I worked really hard, working till 3 a.m. in the morning. What reduced my losses were the birthday party offers.I started the third unit again in Ahmedabad but it also made losses. All my units were cafeteria and I understood then that the small cafeterias do not work; I needed huge volumes to work. My friends who were extremely supportive in the first year when things were difficult for me. I had taken loans from my IIM-A friends. They were earning very well.In December 2006, an IIM Ahmedabad alumni event took place in Mumbai and I decided to go there mainly to get a contract. I was hopeful of getting it. I also knew that if I got the huge contract, I would come out of all the losses I had been incurring.I booked my train ticket from Ahmedabad to Mumbai for Rs 300 and I had Rs 200 in my hand. As the meet went on till late at night, I could reach the station only at midnight. I missed the train. I decided to sit on the platform till the morning and travel by the next train in the morning. I didn't have the money to check into a hotel. I didn't want to disturb any of my friends so late at night.It was an unforgettable night as I was even shoved off by policemen from the platform. It was quite insulting and embarrassing. After two hours, people started moving in, I also went in.A man who sat next to me on the platform gave me a newspaper so that I could sleep. I spread the newspaper and slept on the platform! I slept well. I got my ticket refund in the morning and went back to Ahmedabad. And, luck did not favour me, I didn't get the contract.In March 2007, I got an offer to start a unit at BITS, Pilani (Sarathbabu was an alumnus of BITS, Pilani). That was the first medium break for me. For the first time, I started making profits there though the other units continued to make losses. The reason for our success at BITS, Pilani was the volume; there were more students and there was a need for a unit like ours while in Ahmedabad, they have at least a hundred options.If I made Rs 5000 a day at Ahmedabad in two shifts, here I made Rs 15,000 a day. BITS, Pilani unit gave me the confidence to move on. Unless you make money, you can't be confident in business.Decision to stay in the ventureWhen all my friends who worked for various MNCs made good money every month and I made losses with my venture. But I kept telling myself, I am moving in the right direction to reach my ambition and vision. My dream was to provide employment and I was doing just that. I continued to work till 3 a.m. but I never felt tired.Through BITS, Pilani, I got the BITS, Goa contract and that was the biggest break for me. It was not a cafeteria like the earlier ones but the dining hall that we got. We had to feed 1300 students. We started our operations in July 2007. At Rs 50, for 1300 students, our sales was Rs 65,000 per day. We soon started making a profit of Rs 10 to 15,000 a day. Around 60 to 70 people work there. I gave the charge of the Ahmedabad operations to one of my managers and moved to Goa.I was still in debt by Rs 15-20 lakhs but I knew BITS, Goa would keep my dream alive. Within six months of starting our operations in Goa, I repaid all my debt.I was called to give a speech at the SRM Deemed University. After the speech, I asked the Chancellor, can you give me an opportunity to serve in your campus? He said, "If not you, to whom will I give such an opportunity?" It's a food court but a big one, similar to the one at BITS, Pilani. There were around 17,000 students there.Now, I had the BITS, Hyderabad contract, ready to start in July 2008. Other than the six units, I have approached a few more universities and corporate houses too. In the first year, I had made a loss of Rs 25 lakh. Two years later, we have a turnover of Rs 32 lakh every month, which works out to 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) a year.I then hired about 200 people. Indirectly, we touched the lives of around 1000 people. By the year end, we had 500 people working for us. Only 10% of my workers were educated, the rest were uneducateed. I wanted to make a change in their lives. If they had any problem, I would take care of it. We supported the marriages and education of poor families. We are paying more to the employees as the company is doing well. Now that the foundation is strong, I plan to have ten units and a turnover of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) turnover by next year.The bamboo walls have been replaced with brick, and what was once a slum has improved over the years.But Sarath Babu, 31, still lives with his mother in the hut she raised him in, in the Indian city of Chennai.Despite his shiny shirt, Blackberry and beloved Chevrolet, he has few of the trappings of a graduate of one India's top management schools - despite the fact he now employs 250 people in his fast-growing catering empire.He has set himself the target of providing for half a million people, by creating 100,000 (known as one lakh) jobs."I give a job, and that person takes care of four to five people - so I take care of five lakh people directly," he says.He still regularly visits a slum similar to the one where he and his sister used to sell idlis - steamed rice cakes - made by his mother.But although he has been offered salaries of up to $33,000 (£21,050) a year - highly paid in Indian terms - he says he never saw turning down employment and starting the business as a risk."What is risk? It's risk to lifestyle. Having come from the slum, with absolutely nothing… there is absolutely no risk for me."Want to cry, listening to him narrating his story? Watch this video-References:Turning entrepreneur with Food King was tough: Sarath BabuThree words for entrepreneurs – E. Sarath Babu, Founder CEO, FoodKingA crorepati who lives in a hut!The inspiring rags-to-riches tale of SarathbabuSarathbabu ElumalaiFrom slum dweller to 'Foodking'From the slums of Chennai he made it to World Bank