CRADLE OF LEADERSHIP: The Heart of Education in the Heart of India

Touted as one the best schools in Madhya Pradesh and the best boarding school in Indore city, Indore Public School (IPS) is known for providing quality education to its students. The school boasts of excellent achievements in the fields of academics, sports and extracurricular activities. Principal Banashrii Bijoli Barman provides a glimpse of these accomplishments and her leadership in a candid interview

What sets apart Indore Public School from other schools in the city?

Founded in the year 1987 by the Late Shri Rajmal Porwalji, fondly known as ‘Papaji’, Indore Public School was established to meet the long-felt need for an ideal school which would provide quality education through innovative methods. The school boasts of a great strength of students, spacious classrooms and the most wonderful infrastructure in the city. Our hallmark assets are an excellent and enthusiastic faculty, enviable infrastructure and focused learning.

What are the advantages of being a residential school?

Our school hostel was set up with the aim to cater to the ever-demanding educational needs of the students of the nearby towns in pursuit of good-quality education.

We, at IPS, cater to this by providing them a safe and healthy learning environment. In short, the school is referred to as a ‘Home Away From Home’. Being a residential school offers a number of advantages. To enumerate, staying in the premises of the institution saves time spent on commuting. It also makes the students independent as they are to do a lot of things on their own. It gives them a well-rounded personality since it makes them punctual, given that there is time set for sports, games and studies as well. Thus, children learn to be more responsible. Staying in the hostel also gives students an opportunity to avail better sports facilities provided by the school and enjoy more attention from teachers.

How would you compare being a day scholar vis-à-vis being a boarder?

As they are two faces of the same coin, so also are the pros and cons of being a day scholar or a boarder. For me, both are equally important. As the school serves the dual responsibility of looking after the educational, social and emotional needs of the students, we feel equally inclined towards both of these facets of a student’s life.

While being a day scholar a student is not deprived of his close proximity to the family, he is not deprived of parental love and security; although, he may not learn to be as independent as his counterpart in the boarding might be. On the other hand, a boarder learns to be more responsible and other values, such as sharing and cooperation, which are deeply imbibed in him or her.

What is the admission procedure followed at the school and what is the annual intake of students?

Students of up to class three gain admission by having an interactive session with the coordinator. Parents are also asked to participate in this session. From Class IV onwards, children take a written test in subjects like English, Hindi, Mathematics and Science. Their admission in school is based on their performance in these tests. Annual intake is almost 250-300 students every new academic year.

“Many of our students have cracked the prestigious IIT exam and got admission into the renowned colleges of the country. We have produced toppers right from academics to sports andextracurricular activities. Many of our students have brought laurels to school by proving their mark in the prestigious exams and national and international sports camps”

What have been the biggest achievements of the school in the last five years?

Our students have been performing consistently well at the X and XII Board exams. They have been securing above 90% in the XII Board exams. Many of our students have cracked the prestigious IIT exam and got admission into the renowned colleges of the country. We have produced toppers right from academics to sports and extracurricular activities. Many of our students have brought laurels to school by proving their mark in the prestigious exams and national and international sports camps. One of our students, Shraddha Nayak won 100% scholarship and went to the US under the American Field Service (AFS) Exchange Programme. Oshin Alam won accolades by pocketing a gold medal in Taekwondo at the Asian Taekwondo Tournament held in Bangkok, Thailand in the 51 kg category. Akshansh Choudhary brought laurels to school by participating in the Asian Karate Championship held in Sri Lanka.

How well equipped is the school?

It is rightly said, ‘On the journey to life’s highway keep your eyes upon the goal, focus on the donut and not upon the hole’. Internal qualitative and constructive changes are forces that drive an institution to excel. Realising the importance of English language, we have a well-equipped English lab. In addition to it, Chemistry lab, Physics lab, Biology lab, Mathematics lab, Computer lab and a Robotics lab are also available. Built on 54 acres of land, the school provides the best sports facilities in football, basketball, cricket, judo, rifle shooting, gymnastics, tennis, handball, swimming and horse riding as well. Besides these, we have a state-of-the-art dance room, art and craft room . There is a music room as well. A fully-equipped and staffed medical unit with a resident doctor in addition to a visiting doctor is available at all times to meet any emergency that may arise.

Talking of its infrastructure, which is one of the best in M.P., the classrooms are airy and spacious. Moreover, 17 out of the total no. are smart classes to be precise, updated with the latest educational software. The Funtoot Programme being run in the Math lab is worth mentioning. The programme is meant for students from Class II to IX wherein all the basic concepts of the subject can be imbibed with the utmost clarity in a funfilled manner.

“As they are two faces of the same coin, so also are the pros and cons of being a day scholar or a boarder. For me, both are equally important. As the school serves the dual responsibility of looking after the educational, social and emotional needs of the students, we feel equally inclined towards both of these facets of student’s life”

How does the school keep up on the curriculum front?

The curriculum for the whole session is planned right at the beginning of the session. This syllabus break-up is distributed to the students as well so that they too are aware as to what is to be covered in a particular month. Regular Teacher’s Diary is maintained and the lesson plans are regularly cross-checked. It is expected out of the teachers that they stick to the plan so that the syllabus is covered well within the stipulated time. Utmost care is taken hence, that the uniformity is maintained among all the sections per class.

How do you ensure active participation of students in extracurricular activities?

The school has been divided into four houses. Regular inter-house competitions are held throughout the year which contribute to the allround development of a pupil. It is ensured that every student of the house participates in one or the other house activity depending upon his or her field of interest.

These days, most schools have a Model United Nations (MUN) in place. Does IPS have one too for exposure to its students?

The school, in collaboration, with Indian International Model United Nations, proposes to host an MUN Conference for Indore Chapter in July 2018. It will be a mega event where the delegates from within the country and beyond will be participating.

What are the various clubs in which students can participate? Which one among them has recorded highest achievements?

The school has several clubs in place. There is a Photography Club, MUNIPS (Model United Nations - Indore Public School), One Earth Society (Eco Club) and the Rangdhara Club.

The Photography Club, among all these clubs, has won accolades for the school. Their list of achievements is endless.

Not only this, the MUN Club of IPS (MUNIPS) is equally active and has various awards to its credit. In addition to the awards won by the IP Photography members, the delegation to various countries in several MUNs have also been acclaimed and recognised.

What is the strength of the faculty at the school and how are they selected?

The strength of the faculty as it stands today is: 82 with 20 teachers in the primary section, 12 teachers in the middle section and 26 teachers in the senior block. In addition to it, we have 8 teachers in Art and Craft department, 14 in sports and visiting faculty for Fashion Designing and Engineering Graphics. The faculty at IPS is selected through rigorous scrutiny. Selection takes place through several rounds of written tests and interviews. The first phase includes written test and a psychometric test after which the shortlisted candidates are called for a demo.

Is there a career guidance for students?

We organise a career counselling seminar every for the students of Class X. To assess the aptitude of the pupils, psychometric tests are conducted for Class X. On the basis of the performances in these tests, various career options are recommended to the students by the career counselor to ensure right career choices. Each student is called individually along with the parents to attend these counselling sessions.

How does the school deal with parents’/ students’ grievances?

The school has a discipline committee which also looks into the grievances of the parents and the students. Any parent may approach the said committee and relate the detailed nature of the problem concerning them. The committee critically examines the issue at hand and tries to resolve it to the utmost satisfaction of the aggrieved party, Besides, regular PTMs are held which helps in gathering feedback on a sustained basis.

Which are the most popular streams among students and why?

Science and Commerce undoubtedly are among the most popular choice of streams among students. Keeping in mind the Indian stereotypical perspective, most of the students opt for either of these two streams owing to the multifarious career options available with them.

Tell us about the academic rigours, preparing students for Class XII Board.

Special care is taken throughout the year and a proper schedule is prepared under which it is ensured that the syllabus is completed two months prior to the exam. Moreover, weekly tests are conducted on a regular basis so that each and every topic is covered comprehensively. With a view to help students to cope up with the pressure of Board exams two pre-board exams are conducted in the month of December and January, respectively. Students who do not perform well in the first pre-board are made to stay back and special classes are held for them. Rigorous practice is given to the students and at the same time care is taken that the children do not feel stressed by the exams.

Tell us about the academic achievements of the school.

Right from its inception, the school has proved its mark in the field of academics.

Our results of the past 30 years are an evidence to this. Our children have secured marks above 90% at the X and XII Board exams. These have been showcased at the reception of our school.

Tell us about schools international achievements

In fact, the list is long! Our student Sanskar Rathore made a mark in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest horse rider. Pooja Potdar, a netball player represented India in Hong Kong. Amit Pilania (2007-2009) is a Team India player in rifle shooting, who represented the country in Czechoslovakia.

Amitesh Purohit has set a world record for skating Korea. Alaknanda Ray is a yoga expert and a gold medalist (1994). Sajid Lodhi played lawn tennis in an international open event held at Qatar (Dubai). Neha Khandelwal, our champion swimmer and diver made history in Sri Lanka in 1995. Jitendra Shinde was quite a rage in Bangkok on the field of Baseball in 1998. Abhishek Mishra is an international martial arts player. Pawan Yadav and Kuldeep Raghuvanshi from IPS emerged as the star players in the cricket competition organised in Bangladesh. In 2008, Shivi Kharia made a name for himself in Pakistan when he participated in the international football matches. Vijay Sonkar represented our country in soft tennis tournaments held in UAE. Usha Bhagat went to Nepal for Aerobics in year 2004. Nine participants of Yellow Diamond Riders 2009 from Indore Public School rode on horseback for 24 hours, 31 minutes, from 8:15 am on March 5 to 8:46 am the next day. The riders were Rishabh Mehta, Anshul Porwal, Vishu Kala, Sahil Sharma, Luv Soni and Gautam Kale and two girls Neer Choudhary and Gauri Golkonda. They used a total of 51 horses which were changed every one hour, giving a rest of minimum four behours to each horse. Their names were registered in the Limca Book of Records.

“My goal is to ensure that all students become critical thinkers, active problem-solvers, inquisitive readers, diligent researchers and prolific writers”

Tell us about the global exposure that the school provides to it students.

The school tries to give global exposure to its students. Students participate in AFS programmes conducted by AFS. One of our students – Shraddha Nayak went to USA for one year on 100% scholarship under the Students’ Exchange Programme of the AFS. It was under the same programme that the school hosted a foreign student from Italy named Marzia Ortelli. She spent one year in school and we got to know many things about Italy from her. Our students also visited NASA in the year 2015 and took a short training in Robotics.

As the principal of the school, please tell us about your contribution to the school.

As a principal, I have been spending hours going in and out of classrooms, observing and evaluating teachers. This part of the job has always been very challenging. The challenge for me is not the paper work or time spent in follow-up meetings. Rather, the challenge came in that I observed lots of good teachers who were committed and passionate about their work, but I also observed many who should not have ever set foot in the classroom in the first place. It became clear to me as I met with these teachers that many of them who were struggling with classroom management, lesson delivery or building relationships with students were probably never given opportunities to be supported, coached or mentored.

Over the years, I have tried to resolve these issues amicably and tried to maintain transparency everywhere. The same is expected from my staff as well. At the same time, I ensure maintaining a democratic environment where all are free to voice their views, opinions and concerns in the overall development of the children. The call to support and mentor my teachers has always been at the forefront of my work. Whether through a formal observation or chatting over coffee in the staff room, this work of support, which has become a daily routine, made a huge difference in the success of my students and my school community. Seeking guidance from my teachers became part of my school’s culture. Together, we consistently work to develop a professional learning community.

What is your message to the students of the school?

My goal is to ensure that all students become critical thinkers, active problem-solvers, inquisitive readers, diligent researchers and prolific writers. I do all of this to prepare them for the demands of the realworld so they may become productive citizens, become our future leaders, and contribute and/or give back something positive to the community. Therefore, my message to my students is this: Follow your heart, dream big and persevere in your efforts. Explore yourselves, realise your inner potential. Don’t follow the crowd but think critically before following and let the sky be your limit.

How do you see yourself as a principal— a strict one, or one who is more liberal and understands her students well?

I am strict as well as liberal and it is important to balance both as an administrator to keep a check on discipline and promote productivity. No principal can be strict at all times nor can she be liberal altogether. It has to be a right combination of both. We, at school, deal with delicate buds who would bloom into beautiful flowers tomorrow and spread their fragrance all around. So, a proper loving attitude with the right mix of strictness and liberality is the best course.

What qualities makes you a great leader, upon whose shoulders lie the essential responsibility of running a school and honing India’s future?

As a difference maker, I need to be able to keep the focus on important initiatives and culture characteristics that have an impact on student learning and achievement. They establish accountability measures to hold teachers and students accountable for learning. I have to take risks, but see that I don’t overdo it. I have to be ever- ready to try new things and have a mindset to keep trying until improvement is the end result.

We are given the task to establish a positive school culture by treating people the way they would like to be treated. How we smile, say hello, and engage in conversations all are important factors in setting a positive tone. Addressing problems is important. I have to do the hard, dissatisfying work associated with addressing and removing ineffective staff. This requires addressing problems head on with a positive attitude.

When hiring new staff, we need to go to great efforts to hire educators that align best with the vision of the school. I care about my students and staff members. I try never giving up on my students and supporting staff. We need to become the epitome of instructional leadership and show the students and teachers how to become more effective in their respective genres.

By Namrata Gulati Sapra