Page 102 - Education World November 2022

Pictorial Essay

Lifetime Achievement in Education Leadership Award 2022-23

Kiran Patel

DR. JAGDISH GANDHI (2017)
ARUN KAPUR (2017)
DR. DEEPAK & DR. BHARTI MAD-
HOK (2017)
BEGUM ANEES KHAN (2018)
PRAMOD SHARMA (2018)
RATNA REDDY (2018)
AMARJYOTI GOHIL (2018)
DR. NISSAR AHMED (2019)
DR. SAROJ SUMAN GULATI (2019)
PAUL MACHADO (2019)
DR. GUNMEET BINDRA (2019)
SANJEEV BOLIA (2019)
Kiran Patel receives award & citation from EW's Dilip Thakore (left) G.S. MADHAV RAO (2021)
DR. ASHOK PANDEY (2021)

commerce graduate of M.S. University, Baroda ticulture & Forestry (estb.1988) on a 1,600-acre campus in
(Vadodara) with an MBA awarded by the blue-chip Navsari (Gujarat) promoted in partnership with the state
A University of California at Berkeley (USA), Kiran government-run Navsari University. Subsequently, the
Patel is joint managing director of the Mumbai-based Aspee Group established the Aspee Agribusiness Manage-
American Spring & Pressing Works Pvt. Ltd (Aspee, ment Institute, Navsari (2007), the Aspee Shakilam Bio-
estb.1946). The closely held Aspee is one of India's top technology Institute, Surat (2012), and the Aspee College
agri-business companies engaged in manufacturing of Agriculture, Porbandar (2020) in partnership with the
pesticides, spraying equipment, and soil nutrients. Navsari and Junagadh agricultural universities. Under
Currently, Aspee has a headcount of 350 employees and the partnership agreements, Patel serves on the Academic
four offices countrywide. A staunch believer in the rural Council of the two universities while the universities man-
and village-led national development model, Kiran Patel age and administer affiliated colleges. Currently, the total
has also played a major role in the promotion of six colleges number of students in the six Aspee Group of higher educa-
and five primary-secondary schools in Maharashtra and tion institutions number 7,913 mentored by 289 faculty.
Gujarat, which have an aggregate 13,025 students and 557 Simultaneously to ensure that rural children receive
faculty on their muster rolls. good foundational education, under the aegis of family reg-
Born in Gujarat, the son of a school teacher, Patel's love istered charitable and education trusts, the Aspee Group
of reading prompted him to establish a circulating library promoted several Gujarati, Marathi and English-medium
at age 17, when he was a schoolboy. The library which had schools with sharp focus on educating and enabling girl
a successful run as a business enterprise, was donated to children. Among them; Padmashree Anna Saheb Jhadav
the M.D. Shah SNDT College, Malad, Mumbai in 1971. “In Kanya Vidhyalaya, Uchat, Maharashtra (estb.1971); Aspee
our family, we were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's advice Kanya Vidhyalaya, Bilimora, Gujarat (1979); Aspee Vid-
that national development is dependent upon rural self- hyalaya, Marathi Medium School (1982), Aspee Children's
sufficiency and prosperity. Therefore, we ventured into Academy (2015) — both at Uchat — and Aspee Nutan Eng-
the agri-business industry and promoted American Spring lish Academy, Mumbai (2011), its first English-medium
and Pressing Works on the eve of independence. Later to K-12 school affiliated with the Delhi-based CISCE exami-
aid and enable India's farmers to adopt modern farming nation board. Currently, the six Aspee Group of schools
practices and improve productivity, we ventured into rural have 5,112 children and 268 teachers on their muster rolls.
education,” recalls Patel. In acknowledgment of his extraordinary contribution to-
The Aspee Group's first venture into education was the wards developing school and higher education, the Editors
Aspee College of Home Science & Nutrition (estb.1981), and Board of Directors of EducationWorld are pleased to
Dantiwada (Gujarat). Seven years later, Patel spearheaded confer the EW Lifetime Achievement in Education Leader-
promotion of the group's show-piece Aspee College of Hor- ship Award 2022-23 upon Kiran Patel and induct him into
the EducationWorld Hall of Fame of Indian Education.

102 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2022