'I feel like a headmaster'

Maj Gen K Jai Singh has a challenging job. As the vice-chancellor of Amity University, he says heading the institution is a mission for him

How does it feel to head one of the largest private universities in the country?
I am like a headmaster of a school. I feel great pride heading Amity and with that comes great responsibility. I feel my primary role is to maintain a steady pace for the varsity's growth. I have been with the university since its inception.

I have seen it assuming the proportions it has grown into and taking shape as the number one private university. My task gets rather challenging at times, but I thoroughly enjoy what I do. Heading Amity is like a mission for me.

What makes Amity stand out?
We are the largest and best private player in the education sector. We compete with the best foreign universities in infrastructure and the quality of education. While the Delhi University is stillu00a0 debating the implementation of the semester system, we have been following it for long.

Unlike other universities, our focus is not just the course. We strive for the holistic development of the students. We stress on making our students better citizens. Apart from that our students compete with the best in the job market.u00a0

Talking of the job market, is placement guaranteed after passing out from here?
Getting our students the best of jobs is our main concern. The market has become increasingly competitive and it is important that students join the best companies. We have our own placement cell and we guarantee 100 per cent placements.

There has not been a single instance where a student did not get a job offer from his chosen field. We have separate job cells for each department, which work in advance for bringing the best companies to the campus. Also, Amity has a history of bagging some of the finest job offers. Our management students get offers ranging from Rs 25-28 lakhs per annum. Our placement records have seen the highest peaks and continue to maintain its mark. Every year companies like Infosys, Wipro and Google tie up with us and come down to the campus to recruit our students.u00a0u00a0

What have been your achievements and failures as the vice-chancellor of the university?
I equate my achievements with the functioning of the institution. Every day is a day of achievement as well as a day of failures.

I think we have achieved the highest quality standards after getting the International Standards of Certification (ISO) in quality management and environment. We have a student's satisfaction index to ensure the morale and confidence building of students. Also, we have a quality assurance system, which works independent of any department and the members report directly to me. The entire campus is wi-fi enabled and we issued separate laptops to students in every stream to make studies innovative and interesting at the same time.u00a0

Another achievement would be that we have been successful in creating a closer bond between teachers, students and their parents. The varsity has installed an Intranet so that parents can see the performance of their children at any time.

Can someone from an average background make it to the university?
It depends on merit. Anyone who aspires to be a part of an upscale institution and has got the potential, even from a humble background, can make it to the institution as we have special scholarship programmes. For students scoring 90 plus in XII boards, the entire fee is waived off for the period of study and for those scoring in the bracket of 80-85 per cent, fifty percent of the fee is waived off for the entire curriculum.

Are you on social networking sites? Do you support them?
Our group called Amizon is on Facebook. We send alerts through it and students and teachers can exchange dialogue and suggestions through it. I think networking sites have both advantages and disadvantages, though much of it is bad.