Bio-Data of Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad

Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad was born in a village called Botini, Sabeto, Nadi in Fiji on 18th January 1940. His parents were Bhagoati Prasad and Ram Kumari who were descendants of the indentured workers Sarju Mahajan and Gangadei.

Sarju Mahajan and Gangadei were brought to Fiji from Basti in UP India in 1907 by CSR Company to work on the sugarcane plantation as indentured labourers. They established themselves as successful farmers with their family and raised their children and grand children with special emphasis on their education and the health and welfare of their family.

Ram Lakhan Prasad was educated at Sabeto Primary School under the headmastership of a prominent educator Rameshwar Prasad from 1946 to 1953. Ram Lakhan Prasad was the first student of Sabeto Primary School to pass the then Primary School Leaving Certificate to get an entry to the prestigious Government High School known as the Natabua Secondary School. He completed his high school education at Natabua from 1954 to 1957 where he attained his Fiji Junior and Senior Cambridge Certificates under the Principal ship of F E Joyce and some very prominent teachers such as Parshu Ram, John Sharan, Rohan Prasad, SR Sharma, C M Dass and CP Balakrishnan.

Ram Lakhan Prasad was trained as a teacher at Nasinu Teachers' College from 1958 and was posted to teach as a primary school teacher in Vanualevu Fiji in 1960. He began studying for his degree of Bachelor of Arts through correspondence from Massey University of New Zealand and by the time he got his posting back to the main island of Vitilevu he had completed three subjects.

Ram Lakhan Prasad was married to his college mate Saroj Kumari Sharma on 19th January 1964. They raised four children, two boys and two girls: Praanesh, Praneeta, Harshita and Rohitesh. They had eight grand children: Jaya, Hamish, Anjali, Meera, Jayden, Sonali, Elliott and Charlotte.

Whilst teaching in various schools in Navua, Suva and Nausori they established their home in Lami and then in Nasinu in Fiji. The homes were constructed gradually and supervised by Ram Lakhan Prasad himself with the help of the family members and some skilled labourers.

Ram Lakhan Prasad served Fiji Teachers' Union as a successful unionist from 1968 to 1982, serving as the Publicity Officer, International Relations Officer and Editor of the Fiji Teachers' and English Teachers' Journals. He represented the Union at various conferences and international meetings of WCOTP, IFFTU and CTU and NEA in USA, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Panama City, USSR, Singapore, India and UK from 1972 to 1990.

He presented various papers at these conferences and these were published in the Fiji Teachers’ Journals of those years. He served on the Executive Board of the International Feneration of Free Teachers’ Unions, Asia Pacific Region for three years.

Ram Lakhan Prasad completed his Bachelor of Arts degree plus Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of the South Pacific on Fiji Government In-Service Award in 1973 and began teaching as the Head of Department (Languages) at Gospel High School and Laucala Bay Secondary before being appointed as Senior Lecturer at Fiji College of Advanced Education in 1976. He was promoted to the position of Senior Education Officer for Curriculum Development and Assessment Unit of the Education Department of Fiji in 1981.

He acted as an examiner for various national examinations in Fiji and served as an adviser to secondary school teachers in the teaching and learning of English as a Second Language. In 1984 he was appointed as the Head of the Western Division Advisory Team for the Secondary Schools.

Ram Lakhan Prasad then retired from Government service at the end of 1987 to join a business organization as their Director of Human Resources. By this time Ram Lakhan Prasad had served the country as a successful Rotarian and a lecturer for various community organizations like the Jaycees, Lions, Apex Clubs, Rotaract Clubs and other Youth and Women’s Organizations on his favourite subject of Motivating the Unmotivated.

His publications: History and Development of the Fiji Teachers’ Union, Motivation Towards 2000, Motivating the Unmotivated, Selling Tactfully, A Guide to Parents and Managing People in the Business World have been well received by the business community in various countries.

Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad completed his Master of Business Administration in 1989 and Doctor of Business Administration in 1991 from California University in USA. By this time he was serving as a consultant for various business groups in Fiji on various issues of HR.

Dr Prasad migrated to Brisbane Australia in 1995 to teach as Senior Lecturer at the Brisbane Education and Training Centre. He taught there for ten years before retiring to continue doing consultancy work in HR and Education matters.

Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad is now retired and is living in Brisbane Australia. He has his own website www.ramlprasad.com and most of his fictional and non fictional publications are published on www.freeebooks.net. As a retired educationalist Dr Prasad is a mentor for Brisbane Seniors and has been a volunteer to teach IT skills to seniors. He now is a member of Bellbowrie Probus and he enjoys creative writing as his past-time activity.

Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad’’s role as the Patron to the i-HR Consulting Advisory Board has now given a new meaning to what the word "mentor" can mean to so many people looking for guidance and support. Some of his additional Hindi novels, short stories and poems can also be found on Google Plus.

Dr Prasad loves to travel and enjoys meeting and making new friends.

   Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad, Cert Ed., Dip TESL, BA GCEd, Dip Legal Studies, MBA, DBA.  JP (Qld)

  76 Ghost Gum Street, Bellbowrie, Qld 4070 Australia Ph 07 32028564 Mob 0451387763

             Email : srlprasad40@hotmail.com website: www.ramlprasad.com

                                                                   May 2015