‘Moral values are equally important as marks’

Hyderabad: Being at the threshold of completing 30 years Sister Nivedita School in Ameerpet has made imparting value-oriented education to children as its forte. Giving details of the three decades of its journey in conversation with The Young Hans, Principal Jayanthi Venkatraman said that the school was started in Ameerpet in 1989 by its Founder Chairman Velchala Kondala Rao, who was an ardent follower of Swamy Vivekananda's school.

It also has sister institutions vic., Vivekananda Residential School and Sister Nivedita School in Karimnagar. Current Chairman Sudhakar Rao and Director M Harihara Prasad are leading the objectives for which the school was established by its Founder.

A CBSE resource person for taking sessions in other schools for classroom management and remodelled structure in secondary education, Paul Harris Fellow Awardee by Rotary International 3150, Eminent Educationist and Panel Member for Progressive Teacher Educational Conclave of the Southern Region, Jayanthi Venkataraman shared her views on the education system these days.

1. What is unique about your school?

A. From the day one of its inception children of the school are highly value oriented. This was to prepare them to do well in their academic as well as non-academic spheres. Just getting 100 upon 100 might make a person successfully. But, if they have no values they are not appreciated in society. 
Scoring high marks, though important, however, is only temporary. It was the value-orientation in whatever profession one works, their attitude, manners and the way they behave and to contribute to the society is what makes one an educated and successful person in the real sense of the term. Our thrust area is always being to ensure that the children who studied carry with them such values learned at the school to become successful in their lives.

2. What are the milestones that you consider important in the journey of your school?

A. When the school was started, we never had the mobile-phones, we never had the computers. Though, we had an idea how a school functions, we wanted to know what was happening in the outside world. But, there was no possibility to know the immediate rectifications which need to take or learning like these days. So, we had to depend on a lot of workshops, sessions, journals and media to ensure that children of the school get innovative and relevant learning experience at the school. There were lots of ups and downs in our journey to come up and continue to provide good education to children.

Also, thanks to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), that the principals of the schools were formed into clusters. This provided a common platform for all of us to meet, discuss and come up with plans beneficial to the students studying in our schools affiliated to the CBSE.

With the growing population, there always has been cut-throat competition. But, our continuous efforts with the support of the management we could keep up an up scaling spirit for the last 30 years.

3. How do you find the current generation of students?

A. Unlike earlier, students these days are not only sporting smartphones but they are also smart. Today's students are very decisive and they know their wants and they want their parents to understand them. They have a lot of ideas, as to, what to do in future. All that they want from parents and their mentors is to give them a helping hand, to realise the kind of future they wanted to make for themselves.

They don't mind if their mentors correct and mend them if they are found going wrong at any point in time. Students of these days are rationally oriented. If they are provided with appropriate reasoning, then, they will be gems, achieving success in whatever they do.

However, to nurture children virtual learning alone would not do. Because, they also need emotional skills, social skills for their all-round development. They need to be provided at the school level. This is to prepare children for life, not just for making a living.

4. How do you impart the skills you are talking about to the students at your school?

A. The school had adopted several measures much before the Right to Education (RTE) Act bared corporal punishments like beating and even sending children outside of the classroom. When we are acting as teacher facilitators, we are fully focused on how to transform and reform our students.

There are several of our students who had scored 99 per cent in English, Math’s, Hindi and other streams. But, they are all not just mark scorers. They carry with them a culture of values imbibed at the schools. For example, we have a procedure of accommodating the children in the front row on a rotation basis. This was to ensure that those who are on the front benches are always will not be frontbenchers. Similarly, those in the back benches will not remain backbenchers. When we give them the best sky is the only limit for them to achieve.

5. Are your students undergoe grinding sessions like some corporate schools?

A. No. Only students of Class X will have an additional class of 40 minutes at the end of regular school timings. This was meant to ensure that the students will not go to the home end of the day with so many doubts. They can get their doubts cleared and go, instead of bottling up till next morning.

6. How do you look at the private tuitions phenomena?

A. There are three kinds of scenarios for students going to private tuitions. Firstly, when both the parent goes to work there is no one to take care of them. Instead of whiling away their time they wanted them to be at a secure place also helps them in learning something extra. Secondly, there are children where parents are not in a position to help them out seek tuitions to understand the concepts of the subject and the like. 

Lastly, there are children who wanted more than what they are taught at school. They want exposure. For example, They wanted to know the methods in which they could solve 200 questions in two hours. Such children go for specialised training centres to get what they wanted.

However, in general, we ensure that the students get appropriate training in the classroom itself at our school, focusing more to listen what the teacher says in the class. Further, we make even the morning assembly as a process of the learning experience for children motivating them to study. This is where the difference between a real and virtual teacher lies. Because, all parents can't be teachers, but, all teachers can be parents in nurturing and shaping the children at school.
 
7. What is the reason for the new trend in which more and more students are opting humanities and social sciences?

A. Though the computer had been invented a long back when they become aware of it, everyone jumped in and the Maths, Physics and Chemistry or Computers was the most sought-after combination to land into an IT job. However, now fields like taxation, corporate laws, accountancy, financial management and the like too are most happening fields. So, students too have been following the changes taking place. It may not be a surprise that in near future undergraduate courses in BA and the like are most sought after ones.

8. How about the achievement of your students and alumni?

A. Our alumni include not just engineers and doctors, but also fashion designers, those running their own boutique, nurses and in different fields. Yagna Priya and Pranitha Priya were the two chess champions of our school. Yagna has also represented at national level. Another student of Class VI, Madiha Kulsum Bhanu is a skating champion. There are black belt holders in Karate, cricketers. Also, our students had stood fifth in a national championship programme conducted by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). There are also others who are classical dancers in Kuchipudi and others.