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June, 2006 Dear Parents and Friends,
I
am very pleased to share my thought process behind starting this exciting, not-for-profit, international standard, English
medium school in our area. After studying for 4 years
in Australia, training and working for close to 20 years in universities and big corporations in the United States of America,
and traveling to conduct business in more than 20 other important nations across five continents, I have come to conclusion
that today we are no longer living as inhabitants of secluded countries, doing our own domestic things but rather we are all
interconnected and we are citizens of “One World”. It is now clear that today’s world has become one
vast place to live and work and is evolving into one global society. With the advent of new and breakthrough technologies,
the distances and other barriers are no longer interventions in bringing people together. In
this new global environment where we have to interact with people across the planet, it is quite evident that English has
emerged as the main medium of communication and a common language for all. It is my belief now that while it’s important
to learn and maintain our rich culture and local languages, it is of utmost importance to master fluency in English and become
information technology savvy in order to be successful amidst this fast-paced global economy. Of course, we need strong education
in various subject areas and fields but we must first gain fluency in written and spoken English to succeed in today’s
world. Simply having a strong education, without a good command of English language is not enough in this day and age and
it puts even an otherwise very bright person under tremendous limitations. Living in the USA, I have come across numerous
doctors, engineers, and scientists from non-English speaking countries that are facing hardship in the US due to
their inability to communicate well in English. On the other hand, some Indians and India, as a country, are playing a very
important role in this new global arena. Our strong cultural emphasis on education, strength in math and technical fields,
as well as our good overall command of the English language has given us a significant lead over many countries while competing
for jobs and businesses at the international level. However, I believe that children and students coming from relatively under-developed
areas and small towns of the country are not benefiting much from this new open global economy and India’s recent boom.
In my opinion, this is primarily occurring due to lack of proper education and training on two fronts: (i) a good command
over written and spoken English and (ii) proficiency in working with computers and related technologies. Coming
from one of somewhat under-developed areas of India, I have first hand experience and I know the importance of
access to good English medium schools. In order to make sure that the future generations from these under-developed areas
of the country are not left behind in the new global order, there is urgent need to establish schools that will bring international
standard education to these students and train them well in English along with the use of information technology. It is with this preface that I established a not-for-profit charitable trust named
“Global Ambitions Trust for Education” (GATE) that will open and operate schools, called Global Ambitions School,
in various relatively under-developed areas of India starting with one in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, in 2006. This is
the first such school in the area that will empower students with modern international standard education and English speaking
skills. This will ensure that students from these areas are able to successfully compete for admissions in the best universities
and institutions across the world. In addition,
I believe that in today’s environment of declining moral values and focus on self interest, the school must also put
an extra emphasis on teaching moral, ethical values and the importance of giving back to society. Creating
a new school, with such goals in mind, is an exciting and challenging experience and I invite all parents and well wishers to
become involved and make it a grand success. I am confident that by working together, we will be able to make a difference
and help elevate the education standard in under-developed areas of India. I look forward to working with all of you.
Shyam Bishen
Dr. S. S. Bishen, Ph.D. (Australia), MBA (USA) Ex-Chairman, Global Ambitions Trust for Education (GATE)
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