Anirudh Gupta, CEO, DCM Schools, shares how they are planning to deliver quality education even to the unrecognised rural India. In conversation with Sheena Joseph Cherian and Seema Gupta

Please share with us the vision of DCM School.
Our vision is to provide quality and affordable education in rural areas. The school was started in 1957 and has grown tremendously and carved a niche for itself in northern India.

What are your views on change in education?
A lot of changes are happening in pedagogy, assessment, usage and the integration of technology. CBSE has brought in a number of  reforms in education and the government has also started making amendments in education. India has provided the world with many professionals because of the ethos and culture of its education system. While we want to change our education system, we have to  retain our values too. The need is to make sure that these changes are integrated slowly into the system. If these changes are too quick,  they would prove to be a double-edged weapon.

Do you have any plans for expansion?
DCM group is identifying places where schools are required for providing education, especially in rural India. The group is starting a  new school which will be very close to the border of Pakistan in Ferozpur and another in Ludhiana. Thus, the group has a vision to  bring quality school education to those parts which are unrepresented in rural India.

How are you using ICT in the school?
ICT plays an important role in the education system today. We have been using smart classes as a medium of education. The schools  are technology-enabled. The teachers are motivated to use ICT tools by integrating them in their daily teaching and this helps the  children in understanding the concepts better.

How have you designed your teacher-training programmes?
It has been a very challenging task to impart training to the teachers to incorporate ICT in their lessons. The group has a special proposal where the annual assessment of the teachers is based on the technological knowhow of the teacher. The teachers have to upgrade their knowledge in computers and its usage. The teachers have to take an exam based on IT literacy and these grades are used  to give increments to teachers so that they are motivated to become computer literate.

Please tell us about your collaborations with schools abroad.
We have collaborated with a few schools in the UK. The management visits various schools in different countries to study their school  education system, which helps it in knowing the practices followed in other schools. These best of these practices are used for  enriching education in DCM schools. We are also taking up globaisation of education in a very calculated manner while also  maintaining Indian cultural ethos.

What is unique about DCM Schools?
We have initiated the academic cell. The best of the teachers in all subjects are selected from various branches of DCM Schools. These  teachers serve as the resource head and provide support to all the teachers in various branches in their respective subjects. Thus,  uniformity and consistency is maintained in delivering education in various branches of DCM. We also have a mentor system where  weak students are identified at the beginning of the academic year and mentors are assigned to help them. Quarterly review is done to  evaluate the improvement in these children so that all children become equally enthusiastic about their studies by the end of the year.

A Murali Mukund, Secretary, Jubilee Hills Society & Chairman, Jubilee Hills Public School, believes in the philosophy of tradition and technology for providing complete education. In conversation with Pragya Gupta, he speaks on the importance of technology and need for quality education in schools

Jubilee Hills Public School has celebrated its silver jubilee year. How did it start its journey?
Jubilee Hills Public School was started in the year 1986. It was started as a neighbourhood school to provide quality education at an  affordable cost. The main aim was to meet the social obligation and run the school on a non-profit basis. Our tagline: Tradition and Technology, clearly tells our philosophy. We strive to retain the culture and values of our country while simultaneously using  technology to gain quality education which help us in imparting general awareness and a competitive edge in the national and  international scenario to our students.

How do you ensure delivery of quality education to the children?
To ensure that we not only provide education, but also act as a finishing school for the students to prepare them for a better future, we  have installed projectors and smart boards in all our classrooms from LKG to class 12th.
Many of our students are now placed in good  jobs across the world and have excelled in whatever they are doing. That itself tells our success story.
We realised that education is the answer to all the problems in any country and we have taken steps as a pioneer in the education  sector in Hyderabad. The major challenges include commitment of teachers, their quality and their adaptation to technology.
The present generation children also pose a challenge to any educational institution because they are sometimes distracted by the  social media and the downtrend of moral values in the society. There are several opportunities in the education sector, and we have  utilised every one of them to provide better education to our students.

How do you see the school in 2020?
The vision 2020 of the school is to establish its own teacher training centre, to strengthen our skill development centre and  consolidate the sports infrastructure. All these will make our institution one of its kind in the education sector.
During the next few  years, we are also planning to open two more branches in and around Hyderabad, one at Vijayawada and another  at Vizag.

Prashant Jain, Founder Director, Pathways Group of Schools, believes that the education system in India should be student-centric and not teacher- or curriculum-centric. In conversation with Sheena Joseph Cherian and Seema Gupta

Please tell us about the genesis of Pathways Schools.
The idea of Pathways was conceived in the year 2000 and much research has gone into the kind of education that has to be delivered.  We have studied the education models in India and abroad and found that students in India can beat their Western counterparts in  academic excellence but they lack when they have to present themselves to the outside world.
India was a world leader in education 2000 years ago because of the Gurukul system of education. The concept focused on engaging  with the students on a one-to-one basis. It was not a one-way but a two-way delivery of information. This was the basis of setting up  Pathways where education was student-centric and not teacher or curriculum-centric.

What methods have you adopted to train your teachers? 
A teacher should have the ability to connect well with the children and should be able to speak their language.
Pathways has teacher training programs for its teachers all through the year. Every Thursday, the school ends one and a half hour  earlier for students-teachers collaborative training programme. During summer and winter vacations, all teachers come back a week  earlier and a huge teacher-training program is run for the teachers at the school. The teachers are sent for training workshops held by  IB. Experts in various fields from all over the country come to provide training to the teachers.

Please share with us about the cocurricular activities Pathways has taken up.
The objective of a school should be to educate the child in all spheres of life. Academic knowledge is only one aspect of education but  for the overall development of a child, various areas like dance, drama, art, debating and sports have to be made an integral part of  education. Pathways Schools has special educators who can identify the inherent qualities of the child and then help enhance them  further. We also have a brilliant set of teachers and educators who provide wholesome exposure to all co-curricular activities to  students.

What do you think is the role of ICT in education? How is it useful to students?
ICT should be used as a tool for education as it provides ways to enhance the learning experience of the students. ICT complements  education beautifully. It enables the child to do his work from anywhere and doesn’t restrict him to the classroom. It also makes the delivery and understanding of education easier.

How is social media being used to promote agenda of schools?
General social media is a very open platform and can be easily misused by the children. In contrast, a modified and monitored  platform which all children can be a part of should be provided. This platform can be used by the children and teachers alike to take  forward the experience of the children in education.

How has CCE pattern been introduced in the schools?
In CBSE schools, CCE has just been introduced but in the IB system, the concept of continuous evaluation has always been followed.  Pathways Schools hasbeen practising the CCE pattern since the inception of the school. Assessment of children happens all through the  year. At the end of the year, the teacher has the flexibility to take whichever best assessment he wants to include in the final grading.
A Pathways student is evaluated on two levels: achievement grade and effort grade. A child scoring an A in a subject in achievement  grade but a C in effort grade means he has only scored good marks in that subject but has not made much effort in that subject. This  helps the teachers know about the child’s multiple intelligence and his likes and dislikes.

What are your future expansion plans?
Pathways will be starting a preschool which will be a family-solution school for the young children. The Pathways Early Years is a step  to fill this gap. This school will take care of children from age one till grade five. It will be like an extended day for Pathways students  and a day care for children coming from other institutions.

Dr T Venu Gopal Rao, Academic Director, Fusion International School, Hyderabad

We need to upgrade the Indian curriculum with new ideas for bringing maximum benefit to our younger generation. As India is a land  of contradictions and dichotomies, the education system should be suitable to everyone’s needs and aspirations.
Almost 50 percent of Indians are youngsters, but compared to the Western countries, our education system lags behind. We often  have instances of children feeling bored at school; this could be because education is not being delivered in a proper way. Majority of our schools are teacher-centric, and this makes the children feel that education is being imposed upon them.
There is a need to revolutionise the pedagogy. New ideas in education have to be implemented.
If Eastern educational philosophies are merged with the philosophies from the Western world, then we will be able to carve out a road  for globalised and holistic education. Real education is where students can apply their skills to solve an issue, think laterally, with  horizontal expertise and lateral exposure. Organisations willing to impart education should have a clear motive, vision and mission. A good team work is a necessary part of the vision.

Curriculum development
The curriculum needs to be designed to suit the needs of the students, thus helping them utilise their skills and apply their education and learning in the future. The curriculum must be vibrantly designed and it should appeal to the younger generation of today.
A step-by-step process is a must for integrating the above skills into the curriculum. The content needs to be explained very lucidly  and repeated many times. We need to have a pragmatic way of teaching; incorporation of emails, interactive boards and YouTube will  help students in understanding the concepts with greater clarity.
Giving enough room for higher order thinking skills (HOTS), journal writing, creative writing and interdisciplinary learning needs to be  encouraged.
The schools can also try to indulge the students by having entertaining assemblies, which also foster learning. During the assembly sessions, the students can present their talent through a skit, presentation, poem or song. The students will thus develop  confidence to face the crowd even before sensing stage fear.
Primary school assembly may be segregated from pre-primary assembly. Students of pre-primary can recite rhymes and tell stories in  their assemblies. This will encourage learning by emulation. It will also make way for better bonding between the students.

Implementation
It is important for the schools to take parents along in all their initiatives. The parents must be convinced that this kind of programme  will build up self-esteem, strength in concepts with knowledgebased learning and will lead to the road of success in their lives. It is  important to be communicative with the parents regarding the programmes conducted in the school. Regular parent orientation helps  the parents align themselves with the curriculum and keep abreast of the latest programmes in the school.
A lot of preparation and planning is required from the teachers and senior administration to implement the programme. Continuous  comprehensive evaluation must be implemented in schools, because you cannot evaluate a child’s potential with just marks obtained  in the examination. Group discussion on a question or a topic is compulsory. Teachers have to plan the lessons and elicit answers from  the students on a constructive theory of learning. They should build the concept and add information to what the students have learnt.
Physical education has replaced physical training. Theory and practical lessons have to be conducted by the sports personnel. Both  indoor and outdoor games need to be stressed upon. Curriculum must be designed to allow the students to stay fit, both mentally and  physically. The right kind of balance between height and weight is important. A regular regimen of 3 to 4 minute aerobic lessons is a  must.

Nancy S Nanavaty, Academic Director, Phoenix Greens International School, believes that education shouldn’t be the premium of the people who can afford it

Please tell us about the genesis of Phoenix Greens.
Phoenix Greens was started with the aim to provide an alternate for disillusioned parents. Also, we wanted quality education to reach  every child. Education shouldn’t be the premium of the people who can afford it. Usually that is what is happening. The parents who can afford it send their child to the best of the schools and spend a lot of money. Education should be within the reach of the common  man. The middle-income group is the thickest of all the groups. We wanted to cater to them by giving quality education to their  children. Our fee structure is very competitive. And like they say ‘paisa vasool’, for every penny that the parent pays, we give it back to them.
Education is not just academics; you need to educate the child in everything. It is all-compassing: personality development, leadership skills, presentation skills, how a child presents the work, how well he is groomed – the whole persona has to be taken care of  by the school, not just ABCD. Because even a parent can do that.
But why does a parent say, “How does a school differ from another school?” It’s by bringing this holistic development. Everyone says  that their school provides holistic development, but are we really providing it? What are the measures a school is taking to provide  this holistic development?
Even a nursery class child from our school would be able to take the mic and speak. When we have the parents’ day, all the 300  children of our school are on the stage, and not just as the flower walls, paper flowers or as the trees swaying in the breeze. Everyone  participates.
I also subscribe to the Glenn Doman way of thinking which says that every child is born a genius, he is born with a potential intelligence that was used by Einstein and all the great people. How we utilise this potential genius, how we stimulate the brain, is what is going to make this child an above average, below average or an average child. It is an awesome task for a school.

What are the challenges and opportunities in expansion?
Yes, absolutely till grade 12. We follow the CBSE board because I believe the CBSE is one of the most dynamic boards. We could have  easily started with a Cambridge or the IB or ICSE curriculum, but CBSE is so dynamic, it’s within the reach and in the middle-income  society, there are a lot of transfers. So wherever students go, they will be following the same thing. Our syllabus is CBSE, but our  curriculum is international because we take the best practices and teaching methodologies from all over the world and we incorporate  them in ours.
When you say syllabus, it’s a very narrow one. When you talk about curriculum, it’s a very broad perspective.

What are your views on technology in education?
It’s an absolute must. Even for the simplest of things, technology and education should go hand-in-hand. Unless the child does and  sees something, education is not complete. Rote teaching does not happen now. Our theme changes every month. So when our theme  is, say water, our children go and watch on YouTube what a water cycle is and what the different bodies of water are. Our nursery  children also go to the computer lab.
They only know that is the monitor, this is the keyboard, this is the CPU, this is the hard drive, this is a pen drive and these are the CDs.  Prep 1 and 2 start using the Paint and do a lot of activities. And nowadays, there are a lot of interactive activities. In the third term, the  nursery children would be able to click the mouse to see. There are a lot of interactive sessions, like when they are doing the letters, if  you say ‘A’, there’s a picture of an apple, a bat and a cat. And the child has to click the apple. So technology and education go hand- inhand.

What is your vision for the school in 2020?
Academically excellent, social responsibility, pride in being an Indian: as elaborate as that, that encompasses everything.

Dr K T Mahi, Chairman, Sree Group, Sreenidhi International School and Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology, tells how the school is doing its bit for the society

Please tell us how Sreenidhi International School was started.
The genesis lay in the idea of creating something that would endure and make a small contribution to the society. The school was  founded to realise a dream: to create an institution where there is no fear of education in the minds of the students, and where teachers  do not pursue the teaching for any short-sighted gain.

The school has been in operation for a couple of years. Where does it stand now? 
It stands poised, confident, eager to learn, prepared to take greater strides in all directions, and, above all, at peace with itself and  perfectly self-possessed.

What is the biggest challenge of the school today, and what are you doing to address it?
The biggest challenge is to not stopping even for a moment in the journey to improve ourselves and learn new skills. Besides this, there  are three other challenges:
1. Not to allow anything to make us deviate from our vision
2. Never become self-satisfied and rest on our laurels
3. Never forget our duty towards the students and the parents.

How is the school distinctive from other international schools?
We neither believe in competition nor do we compare. Running a school is not like participating in a beauty contest. We have our goal,  vision and responsibility and we are focused on that.

Please share your vision for 2020.
Such visions do not take into account two things: First is the world of change: I do not know what will happen tomorrow. And second is  too great a pre-occupation with the future that makes us neglect the present.
Moreover, a school is always an evolving vision that develops from conversations with parents, students and teachers. For me, 2020  is here and now, and so, we work towards making the school great every moment.