Page 8 - Dr Bijaya Kumar Sahoo

HISTORY

milestones

topper throughout his school life Bijaya Sahoo graduated in 1982 from Utkal University and
A pressed on to qualify as a chartered accountant certified by the Institute of Chartered Accoun-
tants of India (ICAI) in 1985. This professional education was topped with a law degree from University
Law College, Bhubaneswar. A firm votary of continuous education Dr. Sahoo also qualified as a works
accountant certified by the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) and was awarded an
MBA in finance by the All India Management Association while practising as a chartered accountant.
Most recently in 2011 he was awarded a Ph D in commerce by the Open International University, Co-
lombo, Sri Lanka.

In 2007, after 25 years of successful practice as a chartered and works accountant, Sahoo made a
life-changing decision to transform the under-developed K-12 education landscape of Odisha by es-
tablishing the SAI International School on an eight acre campus in suburban Bhubaneswar, the admin-
istrative capital of the eastern seaboard state of Odisha.

“Although Kalinga now known as Odisha was the epicentre of the great kingdom of 3rd century BCE
Emperor Ashoka and an ancient seat of learning, in the early 21st century, it didn’t have a world class
K-12 school. I made it my mission to address this glaring lacuna. With the grace of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba,
our three schools are providing high-quality internationally benchmarked pre-primary, K-12 day-cum-
boarding and wholly residential education to 5,260 children mentored by 756 highly qualified and

t e

well-trained teachers. And it’s a matter of pride for us that all our schools are ranked among the Top
3 nationwide by several publications including EducationWorld,” says Sahoo whose leadership role in
placing Odisha on the education map of India was acknowledged by the Times of India which con-
ferred him the TOI Achiever's Award (2015-17). More recently he was honoured with the ET Now Edu-
cation Entrepreneur Award 2020.

For the success of all his endeavours and education initiatives, Dr. Sahoo acknowledges the invaluable
aid and advice of his wife Silpi, a postgraduate in history with a doctorate in women’s studies awarded
by Utkal University.

122 | 21 Great Leaders Transforming Indian Education