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At just nine months, Ajay Gupta was diagnosed with polio, which left his legs and left hand paralyzed. Today, he has a mobility disability of 70 percent. He faced many setbacks in his childhood, the biggest being that he was unable to go to school until he was six years old, as there were no facilities at that time.
Going to school was not a walk in the park for Ajay. He had to attend a government school nearby while his brothers went to better schools far away.
He was accompanied by an assistant from home who would carry him to school. The same assistant will help him go to the bathroom at school too.
This went on for seven years. Fortunately, my schoolmates were helpful and helped me too. Sometimes, when someone was late from home to pick me up, my friends would take me outside and wait with me. When I started growing up, it was hard for anyone to lift me up. So when I turned 13, I started using screws and crutches and have used them for 33 years,” the 52-year-old told The Better India.
After finishing Class 12, Ajay is unable to attend university despite family support and a desire to study. The reason – inaccessibility.
“Even today, schools and colleges are not accessible to people with special needs. Imagine the situation more than three decades ago. At school, we can ask the authorities to allow an aide to come with us, but these liberties cannot be taken in college. So, I did my graduation through correspondence Ajay adds.
However, he did not let these obstacles hinder his progress.
He made full use of his time and started trading stocks at the age of sixteen. He attributes his entrepreneurial spirit to his ninth-grade trade teacher.
“In our first commerce class, our teacher talked about what it takes to be a good entrepreneur, he talked about the ability to take risks. The idea was sold that same day, and I decided to be an entrepreneur,” says Ajay.
While pursuing his graduation, he began working in his family’s businesses, which included a pastry shop and an export business. By the age of 24, he had established a series of successful companies, including some financial fund companies, computer education centers, etc.
But it was in 2002 that Ajay found his true calling – education.
Improving pre-school education
When Ajay had children, he noticed a gap in pre-primary education, especially in kindergarten.
He realized that only the wealthy had access to a good pre-school education.
“I could not go to kindergarten. After many decades, when I enrolled my children in preschool, I was not happy with the quality of the education provided. And I always wanted to do something in the field of education. Finally, I made my breakthrough in 2002,” he says. Ajay.
He started the core business of building the children’s toy series in 2002 and worked on it for two years. He felt that there was a wide space in the education sector.
“The preschool industry was not well established, there was no curriculum. When I saw my daughter’s collection of preschool books, I felt cheated. There were only one or two books. This motivated me to search for two years and make preschool education more reliable.” And justified. Then I developed the curriculum, content and educational games. We also did teacher training, and we were ready to go in 2004,” he says.
However, Ajay faced a setback in setting up the kindergarten, as he wanted to create a franchise network.
“I had a clear business model in mind. I didn’t want to start one or two kindergartens, I wanted to build a chain across the country. The start was very difficult, as people were apprehensive about getting our franchise. Even my family and friends thought my plan was wrong.” However, we started with a school in Delhi, then in Punjab, and once the schools started doing well, there was no turning back,” says Ajay.
Today, Bachpan Playschools are located all over the country, with 1,100 franchisees, and teach approximately one student.
With this, Ajay says, they have imparted quality education to the second and third tier cities.
Urmi Dedhia, parent of one of the children at Bachpan Playschools says, “There is a 10-year age gap between my two children. When I got my son into preschool about 12 years ago, I was not happy with the quality of the education provided. There was only one book, and it wasn’t He is learning something intrinsic. I enrolled my daughter in Bashban two years ago and I can see the difference in their curricula, the books they offer and the games. It is very interesting and beneficial for the child’s development.”
Since then, Ajay has also created Academic Heights Public School, which has over 100 franchises. Subsequently, he ventured into higher education by establishing Rishihood University.
Enable the disabled
While setting up educational institutes and traveling around the country, Ajay’s health takes a huge hit.
After spending more than 30 years on crutches and butterflies, his shoulders are getting weak. Then he had to transfer to a wheelchair. But he used this as an opportunity to help people like him.
“About six years ago, I had to switch to a wheelchair, because my shoulders became weak. When I used the wheelchair, I discovered the challenges faced by others who use it. Although India is doing a lot for the disabled, accessibility is still a challenge I have set up an NGO called ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ to empower disabled students,” says Ajay.
The NGO holds seminars and works for education and equal access for disabled children.
Disabled children face many obstacles. The first is acceptance from the family. Families should not think of them as a burden and should encourage them. The second is societal acceptance. The third is accessibility in schools and colleges. Our Rishiwood University is quite accessible, and we need more universities like that,” adds Ajay.
The author of “Decoding Business Minds” for budding entrepreneurs now dreams of training para-athletes.
“The sun shines on everyone equally; the possibilities are endless and you just have to recognize them and grab them,” says Ajay.
Edited by Yoshita Rao, photos courtesy Ajay Gupta
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