'New Bills Have Made The Matter Worse As They Are Not Regulated'
What must a parent look for in a residential school? What are the marketing mechanisms, parents must see beyond?
In my opinion, they should look at the academic faculty, infrastructure of the school, pastoral care, placement support, international exposure, community service engagement, sporting achievements and in the end should meet the management and understand the philosophy behind the school. It is also very helpful if the parents get a chance to interact with the alumni of the school, as that gives them a realistic scenario of the school.
Parents should look beyond the unrealistic pictures of the campus with facilities that are not relevant to the child’s holistic development. I am personally against giving children unnecessary comforts as that hinders their growth process and takes away from a public school experience.
Sexual abuse, loneliness, safety, health measures, psychological tortures, distancing from parents are some of the innumerable apprehensions of a parent when she/he thinks about admitting his/her child to a residential school. Do these myths still hold?
Unfortunately, these are realistic concerns and the problems may occur even after the school has taken all the necessary precautions. To overcome these problems the school should encourage zero tolerance policy for any kind of abuse.
Pedagogically, what have been the major challenges in running a residential school?
Pedagogically the school sometimes does face a challenge as we get students from different parts of the country belonging to different curriculums. This is one of the major challenges when we have to plan the curriculum for the year ahead.
Do you have difficulty in finding the right faculty?
Fortunately, our school is located near the city of Indore due to which we have a good mix of faculty who are qualified and dedicated towards the development of our children.
Discipline, safety, psychological balance is a problem that every residential school grapples with. What do you think of this?
When dealing with children you can only plan to an extent as it’s difficult to plan for the unknown, which all schools have to deal with in some cases. Right kind of mentors help construct the psychological balance of a child’s thinking and where discipline is concerned, I believe every school should have a strict policy to enforce it.
What are the effects of the new Bills and policies on residential schools— regulation of fees, franchise, etc?
Sadly, the school education scenario has become more restricted and the inspector raj has increased instead of decreasing. Laws like RTE and fee regulation have further made the matter worse as they are not regulated and have massive loopholes in the selection process.
How do you engage and increase confidence of parents who are stationed far away from their children?
When parents enrol their children in a residential school, there is a certain amount of trust they bestow on the school and its management. The schools can also have regular interaction between the house masters and class teachers, and parents.
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