community

We have with us Mr. Arvind Mahajan. He’s the Chairman and MD of Spring Dales English School, Kathua. We welcome you to today’s event. Thank you. It is a privilege. We would like to know more about your school. Our school, Springdale’s English School, is an ATL school funded by NITI Aayog, and we started in 1991. It was started by my mother and father, who is a retired government HOD of Physics and Computer Science from Government Degree College, Kathua. It started in ’91 with a very humble beginning of 11 students. Today, we are proud to say that we are a community of 1,100 students with excellent academic achievements and state-of-the-art facilities to engage students and help them grow value-wise. We are talking so much about technology and digitalization in events and daily life. What initiatives has your school taken in this regard? Technology-wise, we are very cautious about its use for students because we feel personal touch is more important. If a teacher relies too much on software for grading, they may not remember the students’ names or their progress. In our school, every student is precious. Each teacher knows every student’s name, their strengths, weaknesses, and what is going on in their life. The advantage of technology can sometimes dilute this personal connection. However, for certain processes like fee collection, we use systems to maintain accuracy. In higher classes, we have adopted integrated flat panels from ExtraMarks for smart classes. But when it comes to ERP implementation, we are cautious about bypassing the emotional touch of a teacher with technology. What role does skill-based learning play in your institution, and from which standard do you implement it? We are doing skill-based education right from the first class. Even our kindergarten students engage in activities like fireless cooking. They also participate in poem recitation competitions and various creative initiatives. During Diwali, they do rangoli competitions, and there are events like chefs, modeling competitions, and design workshops. For example, we collaborated with the Indian Institute of Art and Design and World University Design, Sonipat, for our 11th and 12th students, where they made beautiful dresses using waste newspapers and did modeling around it. Recently, we did a design workshop with Bennett University, where the Dean of the Design Department introduced our students to design concepts and portfolio creation. We focus on experiential learning to give students real skills to survive and thrive. For instance, one of our students recently received the Inspire Manak Award of ₹10,000 for creating an automatic on-off gas lighter system that turns off after 10 minutes of cooking. What are your key takeaways from today’s event, having networked and shared knowledge with so many people? One key takeaway was learning about the Mission YUVA initiative from Mr. S. Alam, Director of Mission YUVA. The J&K government is working hard to make students career-ready. I personally faced the challenge of being out of J&K for 15 years in the corporate sector because I couldn’t find a job there. I worked with companies like Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, Jindal Steel. Later, I returned as HR Head at Narayana Hospital, IIM Jammu as administrative officer. This resonated with me because I want children in my district and state to be self-empowered—entrepreneurs rather than job seekers—so they aren’t dependent on other states. Mission YUVA aligns with this vision, and we encourage our students, who are already working on startups in Atal tinkering labs, to apply to this platform. Another learning was regarding value-based education. My mother built this into our school curriculum starting from kindergarten. Our students are different because they are grounded in values, respect elders, and learn important life lessons early on. So, the two main takeaways for me are: value-based education is more important than mere scholastic achievements, and Mission YUVA is an excellent initiative to support. Finally, we are pleased to share that this is the fourth anniversary of ArdorComm Media Group. Do you have any message or wishes? I would like to heartily congratulate you for organizing event after event that are grand successes, inviting eminent educationists from the government sector, and providing a platform for leaders like us to learn. This is especially important in a state like J&K, where opportunities are limited. You have come from different parts of the country to launch this conference here, which is commendable. Keep doing the good work, and we are very thankful for inviting us and organizing this conference in Jammu & Kashmir.