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What is your experience of attending this forum, especially compared to metro-based events like Mumbai? Thank you so much. It was wonderful meeting so many educators from the state of Gujarat, and there was so much to learn. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for bringing these regional chapters. What happens here is that we come out of our own cocoon and get to know what is happening at the grassroots level. It is a wonderful initiative. There are a lot of differences, but more than differences, I think we need to find similarities. Wherever educators go, if they are visionary, they go for learning. What I learned today is that schools following the state curriculum here in Gujarat are doing phenomenal work. So it is not about the kind of gathering, it is all about learning and becoming a seeker. Whenever I come to your forum or any forum, I go as a seeker, and the more I become a seeker, the more enlightened I become. How do you see digital transformation linked with skilling in education? I love being digital. Let me tell you, I am the biggest promoter of AI because why not make AI your faithful servant rather than your authoritative master. The more we learn about AI as educators, the better we will be able to guide our students and parents. Technology is here to stay, and every 10 years something new comes, and we see it as a threat. But it is not a threat, it is an opportunity. Our children at the age of 9 and 10 are creating things. So why not be a part of this era, which gives you a lot of free time if you want, and use that time to mentor your children rather than just teaching them through chalk and talk. Be there for your students as a mentor, not just a traditional teacher. What are three simple parameters students can follow in their daily lives? Three easy ways—first is learn how to learn. If you learn that, life will become sorted. Second is always be ready to become a seeker. I always say let children ask questions. The art of questioning should be a subject in school, integrated with all subjects. Third is be happy with whatever is happening because the world has become a flat economy. Anything happening anywhere in the world reaches our classrooms. So stay happy, learn, and enjoy life. What are your key takeaways from today’s forum? I see that everybody is future-centric. Everyone wants to move towards Viksit Bharat. The most beautiful thing I saw today is that it is not just talk—everyone has opened their doors and said, “Come to our school, see what we are doing.” This is something phenomenal. Magic can be created when we open our doors. Your organization, through this summit, has created that platform. Even for me, it has opened doors to many schools that I would like to visit and collaborate with in the future. Keep doing this phenomenal work. It is beautiful, and magic can happen when we come together.  

What are the key digital education initiatives in your school, especially around the theme ‘Digital Learning for All’? So AI is the future, and AI is here to stay. The first thing that we need to do is to train educators. AI in education will not begin with algorithms. AI in education will begin with trained teachers. The first thing is to train teachers. So we did a training last year where we trained all our 500 teachers in AI education—how to use AI tools, how to make presentations, notes, worksheets, websites, apps. Every single teacher has been trained in AI education. Because today, a young child is talking in class about Gemini, and if a teacher does not know what Claude or Gemini is, there is a disconnect. The student will immediately say that my teacher does not know what is happening in the world. So teachers have to go hand in hand with the knowledge of the student. Second is that we have to teach students about AI, cyber security, and skills that will be needed in the future from a very early age. So we have introduced a program called Future Edge Program from grade one. They are taught digital wellness, cyber security, AI, robotics, coding from grade one itself. These are the ABCs of today’s world—A for AI, B for blockchain, and C for cyber security. Data is the new textbook, and we have to ensure how we prepare our students for the future. Is it too early to introduce digital learning and AI to young children? How do you balance it? At an early age, it is not about burdening the child. AI is everywhere. You go on Alexa, you use an iPhone, you say “Hey Siri”—it is AI. The child is already using it in some way or the other. So it is not about burdening, it is about guiding them in the right direction. If we do not catch them early and guide them on how to use these tools, it may become a disaster in the future. We cannot run away from AI. We have to accept it and ensure that we have checks and balances in place so that the child is in a safe environment. At the same time, AI in education does not begin with algorithms, it begins with empowered educators. Continuous training of teachers is mandatory, and then it can go to the students. What should parents consider while selecting a school for their child? Trust is a very important factor in education. The moment you want to put your child in a school, every school is doing wonderfully well. Everyone is trying their best. But the most important factor is trust—that this is the school where my child will become a good human being and will be given the tools to be ready for the future. Every 5–10 years, the world keeps changing. Around 65% of students entering grade one will work in jobs that do not exist today. So what is being taught today may become redundant, and what will be useful does not exist yet. So schools must focus on skills rather than just content. Today, content is accessible everywhere. Asking the right questions is more important—that is prompt engineering. Skills include digital skills, but also physical health, mental health, overall well-being, environmental stewardship. We must focus on what skills will be needed to solve future problems and on learning how to learn. You were not taught Gmail, Instagram, or Google in school, but you adapted. That is what we need to teach—how to keep adapting to new technologies. What are your key takeaways from today’s event? It was a great interaction, meeting new people. There were many school educators, representatives from government, and corporates. The overall focus is on making good human beings who are ready for the future. That is the one-line takeaway which I strongly believe in and which was a consensus among all the panelists. In today’s world, with increasing extremism, wars, and polarized thinking, we have to ensure that we are rooted in our values, in our Indian ethos, and become good human beings first. At the same time, we must be ready to face the future. That balance is very important.  

How has your journey been from a retired bureaucrat to an academician, and what have been your key learnings? School education has been close to my heart. I have been passionate about it. In my early life, in my childhood, I had to struggle a lot because I come from a village which is not close to a city. We used to walk 5 km a day carrying a school bag on our back, not complaining, having fun all the way, and being a part of nature. We all learn by our senses. We learn by observation, by listening, and by doing. Sometimes we also learn by listening to wise and learned people. Being part of government service, I had exposure to a variety of situations and experiences, and that has been useful when I thought of setting up a school. In our school, we believe in the motto “care and share.” We care for each other, and we share what we have. It is not only about sharing your lunch or dinner; it is about sharing your knowledge. Because life is too short, and if you leave this world without sharing, it all goes with you. How important is digital hygiene in today’s world, and what precautions should be taken? The digital world is everywhere, and we are more and more into it. It is created by human beings to help perform tasks easily and smoothly. But we do not want the digital world to take over everything because we are human beings, and the human touch in learning should never go away. That is what I believe. Technology can facilitate learning, but it cannot replace human interaction. Person-to-person experience, sharing, talking, and learning is the best form. Technology can only help; it cannot take over all functions. Human interaction is the best way to learn from each other. How do you bridge the digital gap between rural and urban students? The digital world is everywhere. Access to the internet is available widely now. It is not about going to a big place to learn; you can learn wherever you are. Our students are already learning these things at home. Technology is easily accessible. In fact, sometimes students are more knowledgeable than teachers. So it becomes a challenge for teachers to keep themselves updated. We must accept this fact. If teachers are not updating themselves, will they remain relevant? That is the question. What are your views on NEP 2020 and its implementation? Our Education Policy 2020 is a very good document. The challenge is implementation. It is beautifully created by wise people and should be followed in letter and spirit. But what we often miss is whether we are listening to our children. Education has been more teacher-centric rather than child-centric. Teachers sometimes feel they know everything, but that may not always be true. The best classrooms are interactive. When you listen to children, you realize you also need to learn more. What innovative practices have you implemented in your school? Our school focuses on activity-based learning and learning by doing. At the same time, we are experimenting with child-centric learning. One day in a week, we ask children what they want to learn and how they want to learn. We act as facilitators. My experience is that children are learning and enjoying it. It is worth trying this experiment. How do forums like this help society at large? Such forums are necessary because many times we live in our own isolated worlds. We do not sit together, share ideas, or exchange experiences. These forums bring people together to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices. Education is a vast field, and learning must always continue. If we stop learning, we start stagnating. So we must always remain open to learning. Any message for ArdorComm Media as it grows? Just keep it up and have more such sessions. We need more opportunities where people can come together with an open mind and share ideas, experiences, and best practices.  

Could you tell us more about Sardar Patel Education Trust and its institutions? Proud to tell you we have four autonomous colleges. One is B.N. Patel College of Allied Science, which is the first allied science autonomous college in all of India. We are implementing professional courses for several professionals coming out as physiotherapists, nursing professionals, optometrists, and allied science graduates. We run arts, commerce, schools, and everything. We create the dream of the kids with their dream for their future, to create the future of the young ones who will represent the future of India in this coming AI world, which will evolve with technology. One thing to say—we study the past to represent our future. From the past, we have to learn and adapt our future in such a way and implement it because our students will become the future of tomorrow. Could you elaborate more on your institution’s academic ecosystem and offerings? First of all, we are very much thankful to ArdorComm and the management for inviting us to this mega event. We are from the Sardar Patel Education Trust. We have institutes under the trust in Gujarat, and we have four autonomous colleges in the field of arts, commerce, and science. As far as Sardar Patel University is concerned, we have the largest number of institutes affiliated with it, and all are accredited with NAAC. We are providing various programs from UG to PhD, as well as programs in artificial intelligence and cyber security. What is your perspective on the evolving role of technology and global developments in education? Traditional mode of education is evolving. When ISRO is evolving, NASA wants to collaborate with ISRO. Day by day, ISRO is making steps to move forward towards space. The one who conquers space has conquered mankind. In the future, wars—whether technology, information, energy, or cyber—will be fought from space. Everything will be directed from space. People like Elon Musk have seen the future and are moving beyond where traditional thinking cannot reach. It is written in our ancient history that people with knowledge would travel far into space and were the leaders and creators of humankind. In such a competitive and evolving education landscape, what keeps you motivated? Education is worship, and worship is education. Education cannot be left behind; it always has to be forward integrated. It is the duty of the trust or management to ensure that the system is upgraded, just like technology is upgraded. We have to evolve with technology, and certain changes are very much necessary at the state-of-the-art level. Tutors who are developing students must also upgrade themselves and create space for new learning. The world is moving, time is endless, and we have to move forward with time. What are your key takeaways from today’s event? As we know the theme of today is Viksit Gujarat, Viksit Bharat, and we are in the era of artificial intelligence. We have many takeaways. We need to implement these technologies and strategies in our regular education system. Once again, thank you very much to ArdorComm and the management for inviting us.  

How has your experience been at today’s event, and what value does such a platform bring? Thank you so much. You invited us to this ArdorComm event, and it is a really wonderful platform for all school owners as well as university representatives. We came on a single platform that is purely for learning. At our school, we are running and managing operations, but here all school owners, directors, and principals are present. We get new ideas and learn from others on how to tackle present challenges. What are the key challenges when comparing schools in rural and urban areas? If you talk about schools in rural areas, students are very proactive, teachers are also proactive, and management is also proactive. But the main challenge is that the things we implement in Ahmedabad take around 2–3 years to reach nearby towns or surrounding areas. That is the gap. They have the infrastructure and even AI-enabled campuses, but implementation takes time. However, we ensure that across Gujarat—whether in Ahmedabad or Bharuch—we follow the same pedagogy. How do you decide on curriculum and academic patterns across different regions? It varies from area to area. Even within Ahmedabad, in the west region we follow a different set of books, and in the east region, a different set. Similarly, across Gujarat, for example in Nadiad, we first understand the local student needs and what parents expect. Based on that, we decide the curriculum and content to implement. How important are digital tools like ERP and LMS in schools today? ERP is a 10–15-year-old platform. It covers basic functions like fee generation, accounts, and attendance. But now the demand is for LMS systems. LMS focuses on what you actually deliver to students—how parents can track performance, how students can learn better using technology, and how teachers can interact directly with students. So LMS is essential for modern school campuses. Are such digital systems implemented in rural schools as well? Yes. Recently, we tied up with a Delhi-based company. We have implemented systems where every classroom has cameras, and AI generates reports on what the teacher is delivering. From these AI reports, teachers can understand their performance and improve their teaching methods. How do forums like this benefit the education community at large? These forums definitely help. As school owners, we are usually surrounded by a limited group of people. But here, people from across Gujarat—from different schools and universities—come together. We learn from each other about what they are implementing. Such events provide ideas, and it is great that you are organizing a platform where everyone can come together, learn, and share. What are your key takeaways from today’s event? I met many good people who are implementing strong learning platforms in their schools. We learned from them, and we also shared our ideas. It is a very good learning platform for all school owners.