Computer Class upto three batches, interim trainer in place

It has been a while since I have posted an update on the technology blog, and I apologize for that. In this instance though, no news is GOOD news. There has been a lot that has happened in the last month and a half. The last time I updated, two batches of classes had just started, and I was in search for a trainer. Now, I have found an interim trainer, and have just started three batches of classes.

The search for the trainer wasn’t an easy. After speaking to contacts in the business, and advertising twice in the newspapers, I still only got around 4-5 prospective applicants. This was strange – after having spoken to two or three major schools, they all recommended an ad in a major newspaper as a sure fire way of getting a slew of applicants. One explanation for this might be that most trainers might already be employed at the many schools that the Jhunjhunu district has.

Since I was about to go on a two week scheduled vacation around Diwali, there was an imperative to get the trainer up and running. The week before, I took on a candidate from Bagar. While he doesn’t have confidence in the technology, he has been following the curriculum diligently, and has built a good rapport with the class. There is frustration among the morning batches, however. I think it’s because the pace of learning of that class is fast, especially for a few of the students doing really well. Since the rest of the class is slow, I don’t think they feel challenged enough in class.

I had promised quite a few students to start classes after the Diwali break. When only 3 students signed up, I had to push them back for a week. When no one still signed up the classes, I finally decided to start with the 3 students, to give me a boost to get the students.

When the word started to get out that the classes had started, things really started picking up. People started coming every other day. On the weekend of Dec 1, in one day, I went from having 3 enrolled students to 8 enrolled students, all of them coming to the GDL office to sign up. It’s a testament to having faith in your product and to keep going. It’s also a testament to the fact that GDL needs to have better systems to market and get the word out, a unified marketing strategy of sort.