K. M. Vasudevan Pillai (born 17 May 1946 in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

) is an Indian

educationist Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

, institution-builder, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. He is the founder and CEO of the Mahatma Education Society, a not-for-profit trust that manages 48 educational institutions, from

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

and

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

to institutions of architecture, management, engineering,

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

, and

teacher training Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitude (psychology), attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they requir ...

. The institutions are spread over five locations (

Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large suburb in central Mumbai, India. It belongs on the harbour line of suburban railways and offers the best connectivity with Mumbai Monorail, Santacruz- Chembur Link R ...

Gorai Gorai ( �oɾaːi is a village at Dharavi Bhet, in Mumbai, India. It is located on the North-western part of the island of Salsette. Gorai is accessed more usually by a ferry crossing the Manori Creek and Gorai creek or otherwise by the ove ...

Panvel Panvel () is a city and taluka in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is highly populated due to its closeness to Mumbai. Panvel is also governed for development purpose by the body of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Panvel Municipal C ...

New Panvel New Panvel is a residential, commercial and educational node of Navi Mumbai, Raigad District, Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is b ...

, and

Rasayani Rasayani is a town located in Khalapur taluka of the Raigad district, Maharashtra, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest c ...

) and serve over 30,000 students. The Mahatma Education Society employs over 2000 teachers, many who have been trained in-house.

Early life and education

Pillai is one of six children. To acquire an urban

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, he was sent to Mumbai in 1962, at the age of sixteen. After completing his post-graduation in English Literature, he worked for a year as a lecturer of English in Somaiya Polytechnic College, Mumbai. Later, he completed his doctoral thesis on the works of the renowned English poet,

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

, traveling through the length of the Lake District to track the poet's life and sources of inspiration. In 1970, Pillai established the Chembur English High School under the aegis of the Mahatma Education Society .

Family

Pillai is a long-standing resident of

. In 1981 he married Dr. Daphne Pillai, a lecturer of English Literature at Jaihind College

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. Daphne Pillai was also the Founder President of

Soroptimist International Soroptimist International (SI) , founded in 1921, is a global volunteer service for women with almost 66,000 members in 118 countries worldwide. Soroptimist International also offers Associate Membership and E-Clubs. Soroptimist International h ...

, Mumbai-Chembur, and has been responsible for several initiatives for the empowerment of women, including an adult literacy drive in slums.

Achievements

* Pillai is the founder of the Dr. Pillai Global Academies in

and

. They are international schools that offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and the University of Cambridge schooling programmes. The schools have won many accolades for their state of art of infrastructure and innovative teaching methodologies. * He is also the Chairman of Erudite Education Mission, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that fulfills the CSR objectives of the group. * In 2006, Pillai started an international management exchange programme with St. Mary's College of Business & Economics, California, with a view to expose students to global advancements in management. * In April 2010, he was part of a high-level national delegation to the BRIC-IBSA Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Publications

Dr. Pillai is the author of ''Edunation: The Dream of an India Empowered'', a book that offers insights into what can be done to transform India's education sector. The book is an exhaustive reference point for policy-makers, institution-builders, teachers and educators.

References

External links