Page 15 - Pooja Javer Charu Wahi

Eduleader

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What is the history of the Nirmal Bhartia School?
My grandfather Mohanlal Bhartia promoted NiBS in 2005 in memory of his first-born son, Nirmal Bhartia ,who died at
the young age of five. A year later, we re-launched the school with the broader mission of providing contemporary
holistic K-12 education in a nurturing and collaborative community environment integrating the best local and global
research and practices.

What are the major teaching-learning innovations at NiBS?
A major innovation is Nirmal Chhaya — Centre for Parents — to encourage and involve parents in school activities
to build a collaborative and cohesive learning community. We have also introduced several innovative curricular and
co-curricular initiatives — the Learning Together programme, community service projects, life-skills advisories; To-
gether We Can — an inter-school design thinking challenge and the Voice of Art exhibition.

The distinguishing features of NiBS education...
At NiBS, we believe that children learn best in inter-connected, vibrant and diverse communities. Therefore, we have
designed a curriculum that helps students reap the full benefits of individual attention, collaborative and experiential
learning and parental partnership. Moreover our unique curriculum is rooted in VOICE (values of ownership, integrity,
collaboration and excellence).

Thinker/philosopher you admire the most.
Sri Aurobindo, J. Krishnamurti, John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Maria Montessori and Loris Malaguzzi. I’ve also been
inspired by the practices our acharyas embedded in India's ancient gurukul system.

Your favourite book on education.
Difficult to name a single book. But Making it up as We Go Along: The Story of The Albany Free School by Chris Mer-
cogliano has deeply influenced me. Shaping School Culture by Terrence E. Deal and Kent D. Peterson; Pedagogy of
the Oppressed by Paulo Freire; Experience and Education by John Dewey, Toto Chan-Girl at the Window by Tetsuko
Kuroyanagi; Lifelong Kindergarten by Mitchell Resnick are among my favourites.

Pessimistic or optimistic about the future of education in India?
Despite the grave problems debilitating Indian education, I am optimistic about its future because of the passion,
energy, creative ingenuity and intense commitment of thousands of unsung individuals and organisations shaping
India’s education landscape.

How satisfied are you with the progress and development of NiBS?
I believe that we have successfully walked the path less travelled. It has been a fulfilling and enriching journey. But we
are committed to continuous improvement.

What are your future plans for NiBS?
Our focus continues to be on discovering newer and deeper ways of opening up traditionally isolated schools and
transforming them into welcoming communities . We want to encourage and extend lifelong learning beyond class-
rooms into the world outside school gates. We intend to build robust partnerships with community institutions, think
tanks, industry representative organisations, universities and environment preservation and cultural organisations.
We are also working on developing multi-disciplinary learning hubs and sharing NiBS’ innovative pedagogies with
schools across the country.

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