Page 245 - EducationWorld November 2020

mar, a maths postgraduate of Kerala sha Vidyalaya Sangathan (OAVS) —
University and currently principal of an unprecedented initiative launched
KV, Pattom (estb.1964) which has an in 2015 by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
aggregate enrolment of 4,500 stu- government of Odisha to establish one
dents mentored by 117 teachers on its CBSE English-medium class VII-XII
muster rolls. school in each of the state’s 314 dis-
Although the seating order at the tricts.
Top 5 table of government schools has “We are delighted that OAV, Hati-
been rearranged because of the entry ota is ranked India’s #5 government
of two previously unranked schools, day school within a span of four years
it’s noteworthy that this year’s Top since we admitted our first batch in
15 continues to be dominated by the 2016. Although the school is doing
Central government’s well-funded really well and has 166 boys and 256
Kendriya Vidyalayas. Ten KVs are girls instructed by 117 teachers, all
ranked in the 22-strong league table our 214 OAVs have quickly adapted to
of government day schools with the provide technologies-enabled learn-
previously unranked KV, Cochin ing environments to our students in
making an impressive debut within the Covid-19 pandemic era. We have
the Top 10 at #6. WSMP’s Kerkar: impressive debut integrated our robust ERP and OAV
However the Delhi state govern- website with Moocs and SWAYAM,
ment which allocates a larger share of into the country’s best government e-CBSE, e-Pathshala, Diksha, Khan
its budget to education than any other school,” vows Bageshree Kerkar, Academy, AQAD and Mind spark
state is giving the KVs stiff competi- an alumna of Bombay and Maharash- apps. By December, we intend to com-
tion. Four RPVVs are ranked among tra Open universities and principal of plete construction of the remaining
the Top 10 in 2020-21. WSMP. 100 OAVs and additionally develop a
Refreshingly because of continu- Proof that state governments are model school in Bhubaneswar which
ous flight of students from govern- beginning — even if belatedly — to will share best practices with other
ment to private schools, even local accord serious attention to raising OAVs,” says Lingraj Panda, IAS,
governments are upgrading and im- teaching-learning standards in K-12 state project director, OAV Sangathan.
proving their schools. A case in point education is provided by the spectacu- It’s self-evident that raising teach-
is the Worli Seaface Mumbai lar Top 5 debut of Odisha Adarsha ing-learning standards and learning
Public English School (WSMP, Vidyalaya, Hatiota (OAV-H), one of outcomes in the country’s 1.2 million
estb.2000) of the Municipal Corpo- 214 CBSE-affiliated schools promoted government K-12 schools in which 53
ration of Greater Mumbai which has under the aegis of the Odisha Adar- percent of India’s 260 million children
made an impressive Top 5 table debut
at #4. OAVS advisor Bijaya Sahoo (left) with chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Inset: Panda
“Ours is perhaps the first municipal
school ever to be ranked in the Top 5.
We thank our teachers and non-teach-
ing staff and especially BMC educa-
tion officer Mahesh Palkar, for their
dedication and hard work. Following
a major renovation drive recently, we
are now able to provide our students
a stimulating ICT (information com-
munications technologies)-enabled
learning environment. After the Co-
vid-19 outbreak forced mass closure
of schools countrywide, our teachers
were able to quickly switch to online
classes delivered on digital platforms
such as Zoom, Diksha, WhatsApp and
Telegram apps and MCGM channel.
We will continue to improve our on-
line teaching techniques to mature

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