A business management alumnus of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai who pressed on to study for a PhD from the International University of America, London. Dr. Chandan Agarwal is chairperson of GD Goenka Public School, Kanpur.

Dr. Chandan Agarwal

What is the objective behind the promotion of GD Goenka School, Kanpur?
Education is the soul of a society passed down from one generation to another. With innumerable players in this arena, it becomes important for schools to build a formidable reputation in society, and enjoy the support and loyalty of its parents, students’ and teaching communities. A positive image helps attract and retain skilled and experienced faculty and also influences students’ achievements. To create and sustain a popular image, it is significant to ‘live the brand’ and reinforce positive reputation through various platforms such as websites, newsletters, participation in community welfare programs etc.

What are the distinguishing features of your school?
Our school provides a learning environment that focuses on and augments the evolution of 21st century skills- — critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. We believe that every child is unique and blessed with inherent capabilities. Therefore, our endeavour is to provide appropriate developmental programmes with not more than 25 students in a class. The ambience inculcates a lifelong love for learning. A futuristic approach to learning based on experiential and child-centric pedagogies has been our forte from inception.

What initiatives did your school take over the past two pandemic years to ensure that every child continues to receive holistic education?
The disillusionment regarding the seriousness and objectivity of online education did not shake our determination to provide quality education. We adopted a progressive approach and during the initial stages of the pandemic, charted a strategy to implement multidimensional teaching pedagogies, using different mediums of communication to reach out to all our students. To ensure the physical and mental well-being of our students and parents, frequent motivational and counseling sessions by iconic personalities from different walks of life were also organised

What are your school’s future plans?
The need of the hour is to provide students with enriching experiences which will reinforce their learning and expose them to various opportunities of self- growth. The NEP 2020 has also been designed to nurture skill-based learning and focus on socio-emotional, intellectual and physical needs of students. In the future, we intend to focus on experiential learning, personalised attention, and gradual implementation of NEP 2020.

What are your suggestions to revive Indian education post pandemic?
Reopen schools now!. The past several months of schools’ lockdown has taken a severe toll on children’s social and emotional well-being resulting in enormous learning loss. We must restore their confidence and enable them to recover lost learning, identify new and innovative strategies to sustain through changing times and prepare students for the future. Let us not forget “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”.