All great men were good at hand skills

Hi-Tec City: All great men were good with their hands, be it Mahatma Gandhi, Michael Faraday, Issac Newton, Mendel and several others. Mahatma Gandhi used the charka and treated the lepers. Michael Faraday had no education and his mother removed him from school, however, he used his hands for book binding and the books that he bound ignited his interest in science. So was Mendel who used knowledge and gardening to good effect, said Prof Dinesh Singh, former vice chancellor of Delhi University, at the 6th national conference on teaching, learning and leadership organised by BrainfeedGroup in the city here on Thursday.

Delivering the keynote address, Ian Davies, head of Garodia International Centre of Learning, Mumbai, said, "Neither teachers nor students are bad. One needs to adapt according to situations and move ahead. The challenge today is to nurture leadership qualities. Oneshould not replace teachers but support them." Anjum Babukhan of Glendale Academy, said, "More than infrastructure and lesson plans it is an ecosystem that one creates in the school is important and the seven good habits by Steven Covey is something that helps. Swathi Kantamani, head of CSR, Natco Trust, said that there is nothing such as a perfect school.

Real education would happen when people of all races sit on the same table and are not judged bytheir race. Neti Srinivasan of Ryan International Group of Schools emphasised on the need to use hands and include carpentry, blacksmithery etc. The challenge is to prepare students for a world that is full of surprises.The one-day conference witnessed 400 school leaders come-together to share knowledge. 

On the occasion, Brainfeed Lifetime Achievement Award 2018-19 was given to N Sesha Reddy, chairman, Aditya Group of Institutions, Lina Asher, founder, Kangroo Kids Ltd, Gita Karan,director & founder principal, Gitanjali Group of schools. Brainfeed education leader of the year award 2018-19 was given to Benny Kuriakose, principal, Coorg Public School, and to Dr Manimekalai Mohan, managing trustee and correspondent SSVM institutions.

 Also, school excellence awards were given to 300 schools. K V Brahmam, founder, Brainfeed Group said, "We do not believe in the number game. Every school is unique in itself. We recognise schools for making a difference to society and to students." A special award was given to the first boarding school Srirama Rural Academy in Telugu states that was established in1949 by the late K V Subbaiah Chowdary that is located in Chilumuru near Tenali in Guntur district.