Page 36 - EducationWorld January 2021

Cover Story

possible because in EWISR 2020-21,
NiBS is ranked #1 on the parameter
of curriculum and pedagogy (digital
readiness), across all day schools (co-
ed, day-cum-boarding, boys and girls)
countrywide.
B ELIEF THAT THE CO-

VID-19 pandemic threat
offers an opportunity to
leapfrog India’s mori-
bund school education system into the
21st century digital age is spreading
across the country. “The pandemic has
provided a sneak preview of what the
future of learning is likely to be. There
are two probabilities: in the near-
term, education will be blended; in
the long-term, children will be taught Wahi: improved learning expectation Gen. Ray: forced induction
by human and AI teachers collabora-
tively to re-skill and re-invent them- rugram (estb.2003) — ranked India’s son d’etre of residential schools.
selves continuously through their #1 co-ed day school in EWISR 2020- Even so Dr. Jagpreet Singh,
lifetimes. The pandemic has forced 21 — also believes that the pandemic the newly appointed headmaster of
the induction of online technologies lockdown has presented an excellent The Doon School, Dehradun (TDS,
into K-12 education which we believe opportunity to reform and contempo- estb.1935), routinely ranked India’s
will improve rather than disrupt the rise K-12 education. #1 boys boarding school in the annu-
learning outcomes of children. In our “Necessity is the mother of inven- al EWISR — except in 2020-21 — be-
Indus International Schools in Ban- tion. Never in living memory has the lieves that the unprecedented Corona-
galore, Hyderabad and Pune we have accuracy of this observation been virus pandemic may well prove to be a
whole-heartedly adopted advanced as well demonstrated as in India’s blessing in disguise for K-12 education
ICT, robotics and AI to deliver re- healthcare and education sectors dur- in India.
mote education to our students, and ing the past nine lockdown months. “Ironically it took a pandemic to
our internal online summative and Many schools have adapted to this shake education institutions out of
formative examinations indicate that adversity with great resilience and their obstinate dependence on con-
children’s academic engagement and ensured that children’s loss of learn- ventional classroom pedagogies. Al-
learning are improving. Therefore I ing has been mitigated to the maxi- though a small minority of schools
am confident that the average score of mum extent, regardless of context across the country, including TDS,
our students who write the IB Diplo- and resource constraints. Bootcamp have been amalgamating online-of-
ma exam in 2021 will be better than in technology adoption has risen to lev- fline teaching-learning for quite some
the recently concluded year,” says Lt. els we couldn’t have hoped for in five time now, the pandemic has acceler-
Gen (Retd.) Arjun Ray, director years. While this augurs well for both ated and further cemented the newly-
and CEO of the IB (Geneva)-affiliated students and educators, the challenge emergent concept of hybrid learning
Indus International Schools and Indus will be to sustain the momentum after which is not confined within four
Trust (estb.2001). In EWISR 2020-21, conventional in-school classes begin. classroom walls. Nevertheless, I be-
IIS-Bangalore was voted India’s #1 in- Teachers have tasted success and now lieve that staff and students of board-
ternational day-cum-boarding school it is a matter of discerning which type ing schools have borne the brunt of
for the ninth year in succession and of blended learning model is appropri- the prolonged lockdown of education
IIS-Pune and IIS-Hyderabad among ate for what needs. But I am confident institutions. In residential schools
the Top 10. we won’t revert to the old normal,” where life revolves around students
Within India’s multiplying number says Jain. on campus, hostels wear a deserted
of avant-garde tech-friendly schools, More than day schools, the nine- look and staff miss their actual and
this is not a minority opinion. Manit month lockdown of education institu- extended families. Learning has defi-
Jain, an alum of Harvard School of tions has hit boarding schools hardest. nitely changed for our students since
Education and promoter-principal of That’s because shared learning, play- tutorials, remedial classes, sports,
the Heritage Xperiential School, Gu- ing and living experiences are the rai- late night theatre rehearsals are sus-

36 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2021