MAY, 2000

STUDENT QUALITY CIRCLE

Go International

 

Quality Circles are springing up with unexpected members in unexpected places--teenage students in India, for instance.

The most recent student quality circle conference, the second in the past three years, took place in Lucknow, India. The title, "International Convention of Student Quality Control Circles," may have been an understatement: 77 Indian and 25 foreign schools participated. Also participating were speakers from around the globe. Represented nations included the United States, England, Japan, Germany, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nigeria and Nepal.

 The CMS School in Lucknow hosted the event. CMS, whose 17 campuses are attended by more than 23,000 students, is the world's largest single-city private school. Jagdish Gandhi, its founder, visited Japan in the 1990s and returned inspired by several aspects of the Japanese commitment to quality and quality circles in particular. Gandhi was determined to introduce quality principles into the education system.

 Vineeta Kamran, the principal of one of CMS' larger cam-puses, helped make that goal a reality with the help of P.C. Bihari, a mechanical engineer with Indian National Railroads. In 1994, their pilot circle, made up of 12- and 13-year-old students, presented its project at an international quality conference held in Hong Kong.

 The third conference in this series will take place on the island nation Mauritius. The event for circles from business and commerce will be held on July 26–28, and the conference for student circles will take place July 24–25. Contact Andre Lim, the event organizer, by e-mail at ipc@intent.mu , or visit QCI International's Web site at www.qci-intl.com .