Interview by Bhawna Rawat

Dr salabh mehrotra

Dr. Salabh Mehrotra is currently working as the HOD of BBA/B.Com at Vidya Knowledge Park, Meerut. He holds an M.B.A and Ph. D degree and is a NET-qualified Professor. His work experience includes working in the capacities of Assistant Professor, Centre Superintend, school teacher and Head Examiner. Several of his research work has been published in journals and he has also written a book on the Impact of Globalization on Indian Economy in 2009. He has been actively participating in national/international seminars and conferences.

There have been a lot of changes in the education industry and still, there is a lot to be done

I have an experience of 16 years in this education industry. From past till now, there has been a lot of changes in the field, in the attitude of students, change in the curriculum and everything has changed but yes some new challenges are taking place in the education industry but my experience in the education industry has so far been good. A lot needs to be done here.

A leadership style which gives freedom and is democratic

Being the HOD, my philosophy of leadership is giving space to the faculty and students and respect the dignity of the teachers, especially in front of the students because my leadership style is democratic, not autocratic. If I will respect my faculty in front of the students, the students will respect the faculty.

Convincing students to regularly attend the classes has become a major challenge now

There are some challenges, not major as such but they are present. Not just as an HoD but these challenges are being faced by every faculty members. The students these days just want a degree but they don’t want training or education. Their first question at the time of the admission is that if they can get some relaxation for attendance as they cannot come regularly. This is the main challenge which every faculty is facing. Even the parents are supporting the children saying their child is busy with some work or some coaching.

This is a major problem because if students are not able to come to the class they will not be able to learn what the teachers are teaching. This is a major challenge.

Our curriculum focuses on preparing students for the placements from day 1

Basically, the curriculum for BBA and B.Com. is decided by the CCS University. Apart from the CCS University’s curriculum, we provide the students with the JSM- Job skill module in which we provide the placement training in a different sense from the semester 1 or year 1. In the majority of the colleges, the focus on the placements starts from the final year but here the focus on the placements starts from day 1. The response from the students is good and the students’ response is that their friends in other colleges are not getting these opportunities. Next week we are going to start the Tally course in our BBA course. It will be a complete course in Tally. And next month we are going to have six sigma course for our BBA and B.Com students.

Read more about placements opportunities available at VKP

The value addition courses are a boon for the growth of students

As I just said that in this college we are having some value addition courses which specifically adds to the placements of the students. The day before yesterday, our students had an HR conclave for our BBA, MBA and final year students where the HRs from different industries had come to the college.

They shared what the industry really wants. We are having these HR conclaves from time to time to share their experiences that what the industries want from the college students. So, we are having a different part where the training and development of the students are basically focused on the overall growth and progress of the students.

The students’ problems will be dealt but Indiscipline of any sort won’t be tolerated from the students

I am always available to the students. My philosophy is very simple, I will be ready to have them to any extent for any academic field. The only thing is that I don’t want any kind of indiscipline in my department.

An Ideal school environment should be democratic

Simple. It should be democratic. The teacher should have their say and similarly, the students should have the democratic say. If they have anything to say about the faculty and are not satisfied with it they can approach the HoD or the high authority. This culture of feedbacks from the students is taken very seriously.

Goals of transforming the college into a University

We are planning to convert this college into a University. Doing this is a hell of a task and it requires a lot of efforts. So, as the department, our first task is to transform it into a university and bring in the name and the fame to the college.

A suggestion for the youth to adopt the habit of newspaper reading

There is one suggestion I always give to the students on day 1, that they are not reading newspapers. Even if they are reading it they are reading Bollywood gossips. For example, they don’t know who is Amartya Sen even after being from commerce background. All the young generation should read newspapers so that they remain updated and well-aware of the happenings around the globe.