‘I was tired of being called a college dropout’

He trekked all the way to Stanford at a ripe age of 50 because he grew tired of being labelled a ‘college dropout.’ Fashionable as the tag may be, Azim Hasham Premji ensured he finally got what he had once set out to do — an engineering degree from Stanford.

In a free-wheeling chat with ET, Mr Premji talks about his passions as a youngster, his favourite teacher, his artcollection and the matter close to his heart — primary education.

Could you tell us about your schooling at St Mary’s, Mumbai? And the teacher who influenced you most?It was a very cosmopolitan school with people from all income levels and backgrounds. St Mary’s had very high teaching standards with emphasis on sports.

The person I still remember is Kenneth Dyer, who taught us English and Math. I first met him when I was in class 7 and he taught us for 3-4 years. He was an exceptional man and I remember him because he was one of the most disciplined and caring teachers I have ever come across. We maintained contact even after he retired.

College life was....

I studied Science at St Xavier’s, Mumbai. I still occasionally meet my classmates. During my college days, I played a lot of cricket. I was more of a bowler than a batsman. And we used to cycle in Bandra and Juhu.

After college, some of my classmates and I went by ship to Naples to tour Europe en route to our respective universities. We travelled across the continent, five people to a room at times. I then joined Stanford.

When you left for Stanford, were you sure you would return to India? You had to drop out in the last year due to the demise of your father. Did you want to go back and finish the course?

Of course, I was sure I would return. My plan was to work abroad for 2-3 years after graduation. But I came back before I could finish my course. It was only about 10 years ago that I decided I just had to finish my last semester. I was tired of being called a college dropout. I asked Stanford if I could re-activate my enrollment. I finished my graduation through correspondence.

What, if you could, would you change about your educational life?

Maybe less engineering and more of liberal arts. Stanford in fact offered a lot of liberal arts but I had to meet the core engineering requirement.

What are your interests?

A: Hiking trips, on which I generally go alone. I also take 4-5 short vacations in a year, always within India.

I collect art but I patronise unknown Indian artists. These are people who are good but nobody wants to buy their paintings because they are not famous.

Wipro also buys art from such artists. I also read a bit, mostly management books but not as much as I should.

I don’ have any favourites, I read what is shortlisted for me — whatever is contemporary and important.Primary education, English and the Azim Premji Foundation, a comment....

Primary education is the fulcrum of all social development. If you educate the girl child then she is more conscious of issues such as family planning and primary healthcare for the
whole family.

As for English now being the preferred medium, it is a global language. Due to popular demand, Wipro’ Peenya factory conducts English coaching classes for workers on Saturdays.

The Foundation currently reaches out to 20,000 schools, 60,000 teachers and 3 million children with active support of various state government officials. We are now setting up training institutes for teachers. I believe that if we can improve the quality of teachers, it will create the biggest impact on education.