Off late, the Pinto family is in news for all the wrong reasons. The family that was highly appreciated for running the St. Xavier’s Group of School (Mumbai and Navi Mumbai) in the 90s ahead of the ICSE fad is now in a huge soup for handling Ryan International School especially Ryan Pinto who is the CEO of the Ryan International Group of Institutions and Ryan Global Schools.
As the Bombay High Court Rejects Pinto’s anticipatory bail in regard to the 7-year-old Pradyuman Thakur Murder case, here we share everything about the man running and managing the school.
Early Life and Background
Ryan Pinto is the youngest son of Dr. AF Pinto and his wife Madam Grace Pinto. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Ryan initially studied in St. Xavier’s Group of school run by his parents and then studied in Hebron school. He completed his graduation in the UK from Aston University and then enrolled in Cass Business school and got his Master’s degree in Management & Strategy in the year 2010. Ryan has two elder sisters – Snehal and Sonal Pinto.
Ryan Pinto Acted in a Bollywood Film Masti Express
While Ryan is a well-known educationist, it is interesting to note that he did even try his hand at acting. In the year 2011, he was part of a comedy Bollywood film Masti Express starring Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi and Divya Datta. The film starts with the introduction of Ryan International school and revolves around the same. Ryan in the film plays the role of a student.
He was Awarded as Asia’s Emerging Business Leader
Ryan Pinto was awarded Asia’s Emerging Business Leader in 2013-14 at the Global Indian Excellence Summit in London and in the presence of Priti Patel, UK MP. The award was given to Pinto Jr. as per the consumer and product survey conducted by the World Consulting & Research Corporation (WCRC).
The Influential Connection of His Parents with Top Brass Politicians
The connection of Dr. AF Pinto with Congress and its leaders is well known and so is the connection of Madam Grace Pinto with the BJP leaders. Back when we studied in one of the Pinto’s school, it was a pride moment for us as Dr. AF Pinto became the sheriff of Mumbai in the year 2000. Our school had a huge photo of Dr. AF Pinto with Rajiv Gandhi and President Gyani Zail Singh.
At present, Grace Pinto is a member of BJP’s Mahila Morcha. In fact, she is the general secretary from the Mumbai area. Her viral photo with PM Narendra Modi is receiving a lot of flak. What’s interesting is another fact that she holds the position of Independent Director in Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), a central government undertaking company.
While, both BJP and Congress are blaming each other for the controversy surrounding the Pinto family and Ryan Group of Schools, it is interesting to note that the family has a close association with members from both sides of the political divide.
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Controversies Surrounding Ryan Pinto and Ryan International Group of Institutions
While Pradyuman Thakur’s murder case exposed the school’s mismanagement, there have been controversies of the group in the past that shows how scant respect the CEO Ryan Pinto and his management have for the laws. 2-years-ago when Yash Singh (then in Grade 10) was beaten up a school teacher in Ryan School, Chembur, instead of taking action, the school not only humiliated the child but also suspended him from the school, making him difficult to take admissions in other schools. The family is still fighting against the school management at the Child Rights commission.
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Hardly, one and a half year ago, another school kid Devansh Kacrora was found dead in yet another Ryan School. While the sequence of events according to the reports hinted that the school was responsible for the death, the school and its management post the death of the kid, labeled him as hyperactive. Even in that case, neither the parents nor the police was informed when the child was being taken to the hospital.
While these controversies around Ryan International Schools shock us extremely, it is yet to see how it’s CEO Ryan Pinto and Managing Director Grace Pinto would make amendments to make their students feel safe and secure.
