Nidhi Sirohi
Principal, Kothari International School, Noida
“We first try and judge a child’s capability and interest and then build upon it to enhance their creativity and critical thinking”
What is your vision of quality education at Kothari International School?
Our philosophy is to groom the children in such a way that they are equipped to pursue a future of their choice once they are out of the school. The most important thing is to have balanced well groomed children who can fit into a zero conflict society.
Please tell us about the curriculum and pedagogy followed in your school.
Although we follow the Central Board of Secondary Education curriculum, we have an international child centric approach. Our classes are in tune with the modern pedagogical approaches, which involve a lot of group activities and research. We believe every child has an inherent talent, which needs to be identified. We first try and judge a child’s capability and interest and then build upon it to enhance their creativity and critical thinking.
What major hurdles or challenges did you encounter while integrating ICT in your school?
Today’s children are in sync with technology as they are constantly in touch with it at school or home. But as far as teachers are concerned, sometimes we encounter resistance to technology integration. So we make it a point to recruit those teachers who are familiar with IT. Initially when we introduced IT in our school, our teachers felt a little restricted. But once they got used to it, they realised its potential of enhancing the teaching and learning process. For example, its visual impact helps the students to assimilate concepts faster.
Of course, everything has a positive and negative side to it. With abundant information available in today’s world, a major challenge that we face is making the children use it in a constructive manner. Otherwise children mostly use computers for games or chatting or visiting social sites like Orkut, Facebook etc.
What initiatives have been taken up by your school for integrating ICT in your system?
We are a new school and this is our third year of running. Technology is an integral part of our entire curriculum and lesson plan. We use videoconferencing and LCD projectors for aiding our classes. In the course of next three months, IT will be completely integrated into our school system. Right from interactions between parents and teachers to making day to day lesson plans, all will be possible on this single software, which is in the design phase. For instance, if a child faces any difficulty at home with any assignments, she can immediately log onto the website with the help of a password and seek assistance. For this, we are developing our own software with professional help.
How do you build teachers capacity in rendering technology mediated education?
We have regular training programmes in our schools where our teachers are trained by professionals from the field. Teachers also share best practices among themselves. For example, a teacher shares her experience, which may have aided her teaching, with her peers. So training happens both horizontally and vertically.
Can a public/private partnership give a boost to technology integration school education?
A PPP model has its own pros and cons. A balance of public/private partnership is certainly beneficial. But then it is essential to keep in mind that the arrangement has to be flexible enough to allow room for customisation later to incorporate the needs of the class.
What are your future initiatives for integrating ICT in your School in the coming years?
We want to expose each and every child, starting from the primary classes to technology. For this we are in the process of equipping our school with smart boards, learning software and other technology tools.
N Dhiren Singh 
Rajeev Katyal
Sita Umamaheshwaran
