“To be a teacher, we have to be a learner first,” says Mr Ajay Tamang whilst sharing his entrepreneurial voyage.

Back in 2016, when Mr Ajay came from London, he started visiting various schools in upper Assam. He was planning to start an Ed-tech. He had his application which he launched at Gauhati Press Club. But at that time, Mr Ajay didn’t find enough support to execute his idea as people were a little hesitant to allow their children to use gadgets to study. He and one of his friends from Germany, Thomas visited around 100 schools all across upper Assam.

Mr Ajay Tamang, a professional English Trainer and an Educationist, is on a mission to make a difference in Northeast India. Hailing from Dhemaji District, Assam, Ajay is the Founder of North East School of Language (NESOL) in Itanagar.

He has been training people in spoken English, writing skills and preparing for competitive exams. On receiving a not-so-positive response from Assam’s schools, he went to Arunachal Pradesh without losing his spirit.

It is said that whatever happens, happens for good. And so moving to Arunachal, Mr Tamang saw a blooming career ahead of him. The official language in Arunachal Pradesh is English and people welcomed his idea openly. Step by step, he started building his business in Arunachal and it’s been 7 years, he is teaching there.

Mr Tamang feels Northeast is not ready for the new education policy. There are a lot of gaps. Teachers are not trained properly and the government has not planned enough to make a transition from traditional to technology-driven education. With his observation, he thought to provide training to teachers as well. Eventually, he also started training teachers.

Mr Tamang did not plan for an entrepreneur. But he always had thought to do something for the betterment of society. And today, with his passion and perseverance, he has touched more than 20,000 lives and plans to help 1 million students.

He was there in the UK for a long time. Covid came as a blessing in disguise after which he moved here, in his hometown, Assam. He says he’s really happy to have spent time and to be there with his mother’s last days.

How can one be an English trainer?

In any language, but as we are speaking specifically of English, we need to know 4 areas i.e listening, reading, writing and speaking. I took an ESL training (English as Second Language.) I also gave IELTS examination. One need to have a strong hold of grammar and one has to develop good writing skills. So, it depends on what one is after.

When I came from abroad, I started teaching grammar because I felt that students did not have the basic of grammar and after that, I started providing the civil services courses as well. Recently I became an author of ‘Science of Paragraph Writing’ and I am planning to write more books in the time ahead.

How did you create a market for your customers?

 I found that the demand for such advanced English courses in Arunachal is positive. When I came here, there were many coaching centres and institutions. I travelled to 10 districts in Arunachal to reach out to needy people. There I taught to faculties and principals and visited schools and that’s how I created my market. Hadn’t I found a rewarding market, it wouldn’t have been easy to run an institution solely teaching English. Also, English being an official language in Arunachal bought more customers to my course. Initially, I, on my own, used to visit students and do the marketing part. Gradually, through social media and word-of-mouth, I would get more students.

Mr Tamang completed his higher secondary in Assam and then moved to the UK to get a Diploma in IT. Thereafter, he did his bachelor’s and MBA. After he finished his education, he worked in sales and telecom sector in London.

Talking about his journey so far, he says as he feels that he was born to be a teacher. It brings him immense happiness to watch the students having fun in class. And he finds the beauty of teaching when students get excited about the class. He wells up when his students share sweets with him after getting a job.

Mr Tamang is a certified trainer of Gamification. Gamification in education means that educators apply game design elements to an educational setting. The goal is to make learning more engaging. His practice is to incorporate interesting tactics that make learning fun. Currently, he is working on ‘Brain-Science’ as a scientific approach to teaching.

Mr Tamang has got a teaching style that is fun and refreshing and it is the reason students get excited to attend his class. The first thing he asks in class is if the students want to have fun in class. He says children remember effortlessly when they are taught in this way.

Ajay’s Entrepreneurial Journey

Since I came back, I have enjoyed every moment. I was away from my parents for a very long time. I reminisce the best thing is staying with her in the last days of her life. This is called a real-life MBA. You have got to be there, in the field, you need to understand the market, you need to understand the students and their parents, as a beginner, you need to create a niche. And you need to improvise daily.

Education business from a revenue point of view

I think education is the safest business with less risk and capital. One can just start teaching from their smartphone and start a business. Since the verge of Covid, many edupreneurs, they became unicorn. So I think this is the safest business in terms of revenue.

NESOL’s future objectives

Mt Tamang wants to hit the bull’s-eye by reaching 1 million students and he sees it happening by 2027. He says he can’t guarantee the offline status but is fully optimistic about the online status.

Would you say the future of education is online?

 Yes, yes. People are saying that the online industry is going down but we can also see that people are aware that online courses can save us time and provide us access to quality tutors, so I guess that will remain.

Ajay’s vision is to help 1 million students from Northeast India, plant 1 million trees, and assist 1 lakh teachers from the region. With a master’s degree from Anglia Ruskin University, UK, and an ESL Certified Trainer, Ajay is well-equipped to make this vision a reality. NESOL, located in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, offers coaching for state-level competitive exams, spoken English, brain science training, and personality development courses. Their YouTube channel, also called NESOL, is dedicated to providing English classes to students. While currently focusing on Arunachal Pradesh, Ajay and his team are planning to expand their reach throughout the entire Northeast region. NESOL also provides an Android-based app that makes learning fun for learners, with all videos stored on it.

Ajay Tamang’s dedication to education and social welfare has already made a significant impact on the region. With his ambitious goals and the support of NESOL, Ajay is set to change the face of education in Northeast India.