Page 16 - Dr P C Thomas

Eduleader

bytes

What was the motivation behind your promoting GSIS 43 years ago?
As a school student in the 1960s I was deeply disappointed that I wasn’t provided opportunities to develop my tal-
ents in public speaking, sports and music. This made me determined to offer India’s children a school which strikes
optimum balance between academics and co-curricular and sports education. After serving as a teacher and principal
of several schools for over six years, I became aware that holistic education integrating academics with co-curricular
education can only be provided in a boarding school environment. GSIS, a fully-residential school that combines aca-
demics, superior pastoral care and excellent co-curricular and sports education to enable all-rounded development of
students, is the outcome of this awareness.

What are the distinguishing features of GSIS education?
GSIS is a wholly residential school that provides excellent pastoral care; world-class academic facilities; professional
standard sports facilities and coaching to students. With our excellent 1:4 teacher-pupil ratio we are able to provide
customised K-12 education designed to develop the multiple intelligences of our children.

You also promoted the Good Shepherd Finishing School in 2003. What was the motivation behind this initiative?
Right from the start our objective was to transform school-leaving girl children into confident women ready to assume
leadership roles within society. A team of well-trained professionals provide young women training in public speak-
ing, culinary arts, fashion design and etiquette as also certification from the Trinity College of Music, London and BEC
(Business English Course) and DELF-A1-French (Government of France).

According to some educationists, boarding school education is passe in India and worldwide. What’s your com-
ment?
I disagree. Parents worldwide want to equip their children with high-quality holistic education which combines ac-
ademic rigour with excellent sports and co-curricular education. This combination can be best provided by wholly
residential schools sited in clean unpolluted environments.

Thinker/philosopher you admire the most.
Mother Teresa

Your leadership style.
I believe in a directive style of leadership. This requires delegation of specific responsibilities to well-equipped and
carefully chosen professionals with hands-on working experience.

Your favourite book on education.
The Role of the Teacher by Eric Hoyle (1969), An Experiment in Education (1963) by Sybil Marshall, Learning Beyond
the Classroom: Education for a Changing World by Tom Bentley (1998) among others.

How satisfied are you with the growth and development of GSIS over the past four decades?
Satisfied, but we have some way to go. My objective is to transform GSIS into the world’s best international residential
school.

What are your future growth and development plans?
We are building housing, sports and kitchen facilities on the Palada campus to accommodate an additional 600 stu-
dents. Once this construction is completed, we intend to shut the junior campus at Fernhill and operate all classes
from the Palada campus. This will enable us to reduce our overheads and administrative expenditure and minimise
tuition fee increases.

194 | 21 Leaders Transforming Indian Education