Page 4 - CC Jan 2017 Issue 3

Issue No. 3 / January 2017 — No. 1.3 / Week Ending on January 15, 2017
Meet your fellow franchisees

My name is Anton Arumainayagam, and my wife’s name is Virginia.
Our son, Tristen, is currently studying in Grade 12, while my twin
daughters, Melora and Menola, are in Grade 10. I completed the Busi-
ness Administration program in Ryerson and did Accounting studies in
Centennial College. While I was working as a Team Leader in Symcor
during the early 2000s, I never expected my life to drastically change
in a few years through my encounter with a children’s math program.

During the course of completing my high school education in Toronto
in the late 80’s, I observed the shocking speed of the math skills from my Chinese classmates. Spe-
cifically, during my Grade 13 math courses, these Chinese students, through their quick calculating
abilities, created intense competition within the classroom. After my son commenced Kindergarten
in 2003, I was strongly motivated to enrol him in a class to learn these Chinese math techniques,
which would increase his confidence and future math skills. However, I was unable to find any Eng-
lish-speaking centre in the Toronto East area. The reason being, mental math skills was not yet
taught in a widely-known institutionalized method in the 90’s and even early 2000s in Toronto.
Moreover, South Asians did not give much importance to speedy math skills as the Orientals did
because they were quite satisfied with the old drilling techniques instilled in them for decades.

This was when I began my research for an organized, institutionalized Chinese math skills program
in 2003. Through my search, I came across a few programs overseas in India and Malaysia, and I
eventually discovered UCMAS. At that time, the UCMAS head office in India forwarded my request
to UCMAS Gujarat because Anand and Snehal were about to launch UCMAS in Canada as a National
Franchise. After a series of events, my son became my first enrolment when I opened Canada’s
first UCMAS commercial centre in July 2004. I was astounded by the UCMAS techniques and meth-
ods of learning after I recognized the difference within my early students who joined this program.
However, the rate of enrolment picked up only after mid 2005 by my centre’s exposure through
many of my radio and television interviews and commercial activities.

My relationship with UCMAS Canada has been a highly positive and inspiring one for the past twelve
years. Particularly, I detected a vision in the Karia family members, who possessed a strong faith in
this program even in those initial days. It took me more than three years to make a big break with
the rate of enrolment, which was enhanced through the very first UCMAS Canada Competition held
at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus. Following that competition, the next three
years witnessed the best rates of enrolment at my centre, and it further increased my faith in this
program’s magical power to embed math computing techniques within the minds of young chil-
dren. In the latter part of 2006, I became the first Master Franchisee by taking over the Markham
and Durham areas, which are the next growing and developing regions to become widely exposed
to UCMAS, following the greater Toronto area.

I have trained many course instructors, and some of them progressed
to become Franchisees and Master Franchisees as well. Currently,
there are eight course instructors assisting me in running this pro-
gram. My biggest strength lies in my trained and experienced course
instructors, who truly enjoy teaching UCMAS in an enjoyable and pro-
fessional way for more than a decade.

Since the housing boom of Toronto in 2010, many young Asian families
relocated to new homes in the northern and eastern parts of Toronto, which reduced the rate of
enrolment at my centre.
Therefore, the demographics of my student enrolment changed within the last five years, from a
predominantly South Asian group to non-Asian groups. I took this change in a positive manner to
reinvent my strategies to further grow my business in the future. If there is one thing I would like
to change about the UCMAS program, I would make it more interactive for students by incorporat-
ing math word problems and games in every UCMAS Level exercise book.

Page 4