Holistic development of students in DPS

Tell us about the school and what are the values integral to it?

DPS as an institution has always focused on holistic development. Definitely,our USP is academics but at the same time,a lot of emphasis is given to sports and co-scholastic activities. The aim is to help students to develop a well rounded personality. The school has a wide range of clubs and societies which focus on debating,quizzing,performing arts,theatre,elocution and more. Our students have excelled in these areas,not just at the state and national levels,but also proved their worth at the international platform.

Career counselling is a regular feature of the school. Professionals from a wide range of careers are invited to interact with the students on a regular basis.

A sizeable portion of the student body is looking at studying abroad,especially in the UK and the USA. Studying abroad is very expensive so we try to bring in professional counsellors to talk to the students and their parents so that they can take informed decisions. The school’s teacher counsellor also disseminates information as and when we come across any information that is worth sharing with students.

The university system in India is undergoing changes. More emphasis is being given to developing a trans-disciplinary understanding. Do you feel the need for such changes at the school level?

The segregation of subjects into streams like humanities,commerce or science is not really because of any compulsion from CBSE. According to CBSE,any student can take any combination of subjects. There is also a range of non-academic or vocational subjects which are taught at the school level. However,when students take admission in colleges,they often find that marks scored in non-academic subjects are not considered. This makes their admission into colleges even more difficult because their aggregate score in best of four subjects comes down. Hence they do not want to opt for unconventional subjects. However,in foreign universities subjects like theatre and art form a part of the main course and are given due credit.

A lot of new subjects like heritage and law are being introduced at the Class X-XII level. How do you look at these changes?

A lot of experimentation is going on. While the idea might be good,we need to understand and review the feasibility of bringing about such changes. The most pressing problem that schools face while introducing new subjects is finding teachers who are qualified to teach these subjects,understand the full implications and scope of the syllabus,are fully conversant with the pattern of assessment and the methodology to teach them to young students.

There is the question of achieving 100 per cent enrollment through the RTE. Would you say we are closer to achieving that?

It will take time…. will not happen overnight. We try to follow the RTE guidelines very carefully. The emphasis ought to be not just on numbers but on the quality of education. There are some practical issues. On the one hand,private schools are expected to give free education to 25 per cent of the students belonging to the economically weaker sections. On the other hand,increase in school fees is viewed with a lot of skepticism. The money to provide quality education has to come from somewhere. If restrictions are imposed on the fee,then somewhere quality will have to be compromised on. How will the schools then strive towards achieving excellence?

How do you look at CCE — the parameters used for assessing the student?

It is good that under CCE,assessments include things like co-scholastic achievements,values and attitudes or life skills and not just academics. We try our best to make the assessment of co-scholastic areas as objective as possible. As far as the academic part is concerned,I think CCE has diluted it a bit. It is wonderful for the average student but it is the brighter lot which is getting somewhat demotivated to walk that extra mile that always gave them an edge above others. They are not happy with the grading system. For them,a mark here or a mark there brought in more challenge.

What do you think about the point system for nursery admissions?

In most schools,neighbourhood,alumni and sibling criteria are given maximum points for nursery admissions. Does this mean that children whose parents have not studied in Delhi or who do not have a sibling in a particular school will not get an equal opportunity of getting admission in a good school? My school receives thousands of applications for a limited number of seats. It is extremely difficult to say what criteria should be adopted to streamline nursery admissions so that it will satisfy the school as well as all the parents. When the demand is so high,the only solution is to have lots of comparable schools. Government schools should be such that they are also an option for parents. That will help to reduce the burden on private schools to a great extent.