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“We need to skill our teachers as well because they are coming from the 80s and then we are going to teach in the 21st century children and that’s a huge gap in between,” says Hema Harchandani, Founder & Managing Director, Canvas International Group in an interview with Chandan Anand, CEO & Group Editor, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘ArdorComm New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’ #ELSAJaipur #ELSARajasthan What is the message you would like to give specially to the people who are already running schools and those who are eying to be one of the owners of the school? I think two things are the major agenda which I also speak about, one is the parent partnership program which has to be very dignified way and then every school has to design in a such a process because we are focusing on the new skill-based program most of the time. So, the parents should also be aware of that what are the skills we have and what we are going to teach our children that’s one major fundamental thing because then only the collaboration work together, as a school as an educator as a parent. Another part I always emphasis on is the training process, the training process has to be the school side in a very high side because the way today the recruitment is happening we need to skill our teachers as well because they are coming from the 80s and then we are going to teach in the 21 century children and that’s a huge gap in between. So, first we have to skill ourselves and then only those strategies have to be put on. Earlier we used to talk about teacher training program now is it like teacher training and skilling program? Yes, it’s more into a skill-based program, I think the teachers who are already coming from they know how to teach the subjects but they need to enhance their levels because the children have skill set better than the teachers so they should think out of the box. This is not a classroom sitting kind of thing there has to be life experience even in the science, math any language we are talking about those things has to be in an experienced way that’s what we have to talk about. Would you like to share any experience as a live example of your own school? I always remember one thing is when you take them outside from your school campus most of the things whenever we the teachers are doing inside the campus they are okay with that. Take them out take that risk along with you, yes definitely there is a risk involved but I think beyond the campus if you take the children then you see the ‘wow’ thing is happening with the children so think about those strategies, think about the openness don’t focus on the numbers, numbers will come automatically. We all have united here for the New Normal Education Leadership Summit and Awards, what does the word new normal stands for you? I think new normal is adjusted now, we all are adjusted after covid in the new normal. I think new normal for me has done wonders personally as well as professionally. One thing I’ve learned from after covid is patience. Whatever you do things will happen their own way. So, I think that one message I really wanted to give is be calm, be patient things are going to happen as per your plan don’t be impatient and rude for the anybody else so that’s what it is. When we gather in a program like this where all the stakeholders from the same fraternity like academia, industry and government are present, what should be an outcome of certain forums? School and education is a community business we need to understand, it’s not be, okay the government only going to do that or as a owner I’m going to change it or as a parent I have to, every stakeholder has to come on the forum and then talk about. At the end of the day we have to focus on what are the end results so suppose today we are talking here so many concepts, so many things. I think everybody has to take it forward in their school the strategies we gather here, we discuss. If I am doing something different and somebody else is doing we should start, this has to be exchanging program instead of okay no I am doing this, I am very rigid on my strategy which should not be. So, in any conference we are going be ready for the openness be ready for the learning thing and be ready for taking it forward. I’m glad to share that we’ve recently celebrated our one year of existence, any message would you like to pass on to ArdorComm Media? I think Chandan and the team is doing excellent work and I know him for last couple of years now and I am sure you are doing such a great work and keep doing it.  

“Learning has to be orchestrated where the child experiences learning because you can’t teach a child he has to learn,” says Geetika Bahuguna, COO (Services), Millennium Education Group in an interview with Chandan Anand, CEO & Group Editor, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘ArdorComm New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’ #ELSAJaipur #ELSARajasthan As you have moderated a very well defined and an informal segment which is now formerly coming under the umbrella of NEP as well, what has been your experience two years before and now? I think there has been a lot of change in the mindset of people and also the confidence level that you can embrace technology because they have seen it happening during the pandemic now it’s only about how do you leverage it better, how do you actually harness the potential of technology. If I talk about the pre-primary segment that has been untouched so we haven’t literally leveraged it in a physical school so now it’s about taking it out from the virtual mode and bringing it into the physical school and creating maybe a hybrid or an integrated model where technology becomes a very innate and a critical component of the entire pedagogical cycle. Preschool segment has been considered as a very experiential and a lot of hygiene should be maintained over the years, people are very sensitive in selecting a brand or a school, how are you taking your brand in that way? See, we are a very child safety focused organization so our processes are very well defined. We have all the structures and processes because you can’t actually run a chain if you don’t have that and there are continuous regular audits and so whatever is being done in this robust training which happens and closed monitoring of the schools. So, everything is catered for and taken care of. If anybody is opting for a franchisee of a Preschool what should be kept in mind like top key pointers for selecting a brand? It is about who’s running, what is the credibility of the organization, what is their pedagogy, what is their approach and what is their connect with the parents. Its credibility would be based on the experience of the parents or whatever anecdotal evidences are there plus the pedagogy would define how the child is actually being exposed to learning because that is very critical like what we had been hearing that it has to be social emotional experiential all that. How do you place immersive learning in the Preschool segment? It is all immersive you cannot have learning which is not immersive, the child has to be immersed in learning and the learning has to be orchestrated where the child experiences learning because you can’t teach a child he has to learn. So, it is very constructivist at that particular stage also child will learn if he is interested, he is curious, he’s engaged so that process of making, ensuring these three conditions are met is through immersive learning, so it cannot be any other way. From an educator point of view, what should be the criteria of selecting a teacher for Preschool? Teacher is a passion her connect in fact we were also figuring out with our HR in case we could actually, figure out what is the EQ component because it is all energy. See, content comes later what you require is a true love, care, passion and the Zeal to keep learning. We have all gathered at “New Normal Education Leadership Summit and Awards”, what does the word New Normal for you stands? New Normal is one is the traditional definition because we’ve gone through the VUCA period so this is like practically a new normal otherwise also I think what somebody said that every day is a new normal we are evolving at a very fast pace so I think it will continue, it is going to be the only constant. Recently we have celebrated our one year of existence and it’s been the first anniversary of ArdorComm Media, any message and good wishes you want to share with us? All the best and congratulations. I was there at the last time also and I’ve seen that passion, energy and the commitment in the team and you’ve been able to gather all the thought leaders. Please continue doing this because these are forums which give each other that confidence and the moral support because this education community has to move together and there has to be partnership.

“Through Shroffism I’m trying to reach to the world and say that all of us are born with innate intelligence, we have the energy within us that we need to tap,” says Dr. Manjula Pooja Shroff, MD and CEO, Kalorex Group, in an interview with Chandan Anand, CEO & Group Editor, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘ArdorComm New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’ #ELSAJaipur #ELSARajasthan There has been a lot of ups and downs in the whole education sector especially in school education, what are your observation of last three years, pre-pandemic and post pandemic? Education has become slightly regulated as a sector, so apart from K-12 even preschool regulations we have been talking about it’s also been an area that has attracted a lot of attention, right from the RTE to the NEP. So much happening in education now, as if that was not enough on a policy side, the pandemic threw up different challenges. So, challenges of new age kind of learning because children, they’re too young to adjust to such a big thing and in these two years the ways of learning, the ways of how we can reach out to children has completely changed. It really is no longer what it used to be and devices have become so central to children’s lives that we are actually re-adapting to the New Normal very quickly. According to you what does ‘New Normal’ stands for? Many things, New Normal stands for an opportunity for us to do things in a better way. It stands for us to move away from Pure cognition-based learning to multiple intelligences such as mental, physical, social-emotional. I think children are like sponges they will completely absorb what we give them and if we just you know use this one vertical of cognition we are not tapping that entire potential that they’re capable of. So, I think it’s a great opportunity because there’s so much content available digitally, anyways living a digital life shall we refocus and then bring in multiple intelligences and make a wholesome individual. Any message for teachers and educators for their kids and children at school? So, the teacher has to first change, they have to change their way of thinking before they can execute, implement or demand change from children what is internal is external, if the teachers don’t believe in what they are doing, they really will not be able to reach out to the students. My request to teachers will be to start being more humane in their approach to teaching and less procedural and transactional ritual, start focusing on more psychology, positive psychology, emotions, the social quotient, the spiritual quotient, the emotional conscience, the physical quotient and of course the mental quotient. But please do not leave out all these quotients because then the product the child will become lopsided. What is Shroffism? How do you define it? I believe that there is a greater power on Earth and that is the universal power, which is higher energy. Through Shroffism I’m trying to reach to the world and say that all of us are born with innate intelligence, we have the energy within us that we need to tap, somehow in our rat race call it in our day-to-day existence it talks to us but we push it away it’s time to get back it’s time to talk to our inner voice so that we are completely anchored. You are the subject of the book ‘Success Mantras and Musings’. Has this also inspired you to become an author sometime soon? I don’t know really. I cannot commit this now. But, I can see this that we’ll have to write more and more books, because books have a very powerful way of being able to tell a story. I see that what we are talking about new age education, how to teach, parenting is a big challenge. I do a lot of work for parenting, I run a series called conversations for children for teens for pre-teens, I see that we may have to write books like that for actually coaching and hand-holding parents in the New Normal. In digital era, there is the shift going towards the eBook. We should develop a habit back to read physical books. I think everything is about optimization. Digital is here to stay, having said that the things which you can teach through theory and practices that fleeting digital cannot do so things have their own perspectives what the digital can do is concede a thought but in order to grow the tree you will need theory and practicals. Any message would you like to give to the readers who got inspired from reading your book? Any book which you remember you got inspired from? There are several books that have inspired. It’s a great way to learn by reading biographies.        There are many inspiring stories of industrial people, political people, social workers, or people from royal families, if you read the biographies it will provide insight to life. I think biographies are a great way to learn from others’ lives. How does certain kind of forums or symposiums help? Where you see the edtech players, the academicians, teachers and even the government people at common platform? I think it’s a great opportunity. Everybody is a part of the ecosystem, if everybody doesn’t play the role we don’t get a whole. It’s like if by coming here we see the whole pizza, one pie education, which we are, the people who are implementing, there are policymakers who bring in one part of the pie, there are edtech people that really make our lives easy, there are finances that are helping further, then there are school supplies. So unless that whole ecosystem is complete you don’t have the whole pizza to eat. Places like this provide that whole pizza. Message for the growing ‘ArdorComm Media Group’? All the very best! I mean it for you and your