My background...

My father was in the Indian Air Force, and he would be transferred to a different location in the country every 5 years. So, my early schooling was in many different locations like Haryana, West Bengal, and Delhi. When I completed high school, he was transferred to Andhra Pradesh. I completed by bachelor’s degree in chemistry in Andhra Pradesh, then completed my master’s degree also in chemistry.  After that I obtained a Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) degree. I enrolled to work on a doctoral degree but decided instead to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. I have been teaching in several schools for the last 14 years, before joining NSL as a chemistry teacher. I have since been promoted to the position of academic coordinator, and now principal.

I love to take new responsibilities, learn new things, involve myself in new initiatives. I try to stay current with new methods of teaching and learning and how to incorporate that in the school’s approach to academics.

Our approach to teaching...

We have adopted new methodologies of teaching and trained our teachers in that. This school is in a rural area. But we believe that all the students should get quality education no matter their background. We are constantly updating our teaching methods so even the students from rural areas can excel in a competitive world.

Previously, children learned by rote memory but now they are learning vital 21stcentury skills through activities that involve more interaction, experiential learning, collaboration, life skills, and technology. We have included agriculture as an additional subject in our curriculum. Majority of our children come from farming families. The children can help their parents using the knowledge they acquire in this course.

My thoughts on Aikyam...

Aikyam is a good fit with our school’s goals. When this program was started 2 years back it was new to everyone involved. We feel privileged to be selected for this great opportunity to explore and work on projects that are getting international exposure. Children are learning how to develop a solution for the problems they see in society. It is a level of empowerment they have not experienced before. They are excited to do the work, sometimes even after school and at home. They are meeting and interacting with people in different positions in their communities like farmers, law enforcement officials, university professors, professionals. The children are exposed to so many new things through these interactions.