HT Correspondent■ [email protected]
Established in 1972,ApeejaySchoolhas becomeahousehold name inFaridabad, and is known for its
academic and sports record.“The overall educational scenario at
the schoolwas excellent and therewasa lot of thrust on extra-curricular activ-ities and sports,” said former Indianwicket keeper Vijay Yadav, who stud-ied here for two years. “I excelled incricket and I cannot ignore ApeejaySchool’s contribution in groomingme.”The school has an English literary
club, science club, environment cluband reader’s club.It also runs an ‘economic activity
club’, in which students learn thingssuch as sustainable development.
HT Correspondent■ [email protected]
Modern Vidya Niketan (MVN)shot to fame in 2009 when itproduced the IIT-JEE topper,
Nitin Jain. “The discipline and qualityof teaching (at the school) helped myson to a large extent in excelling in theIIT entrance examination,” saidNitin’sfather N.C. Jain.MVN, Sector 17 is one of the most
sought-after schools in Faridabadbecause of the quality of education it
offers and the number of its studentswho do well in competitive exams.Started in 1983, it was the first insti-tute of the MVN society.
Prabhu Razdan■[email protected]
Alarge number of refugees fromnewly created Pakistan settledin Faridabad at the time of
Independence. After the upheaval ofthe Partition, education was hardly apriority for the settlers in theearlydays,but as stability returned, schools beganto come up in this part of Haryana,adjoining Delhi.“There were a few government
schoolsbefore thePartition, but in thosedays not everybody was interested ineducating their children,” saidAryaVirBhalla, educationist anddirector of theManav Rachna group of schools. “Theschools easily catered to their (resi-dents’) educational needs till a fewyearsafter the Partition.”One suchold and reputed schoolwas
Mahadev Desai School, established in1947a fewmonthsbefore Independence.The school is still going strong inSector16A.However, asFaridabad started to get
industrialised in the sixties and sever-al government officials started livingthere, a dearth of good private schoolswas felt.“Even children of senior central gov-
ernment officials would study in cen-tral schools inFaridabad in the absenceof any reputedprivate school,” saidB.K.Verma who joined as a teacher in aKendriya Vidyalaya in the area in 1971and taught there for nearly 30 years.The prestigious Apeejay School,
ranked second in theHT-C fore survey,was established in 1972.“Apeejay is not just a school now,”
said principal S. Samra. “It representsa spirit, awill to achieve and it capturesthe passion for excellence.”The setting up of the Dayanand
Public schools in the seventies and theDAVnetwork of schools in the eightieswere important steps in fulfilling theeducational needs of Faridabad.DelhiPublicSchool opened itsbranch
in Sector 19 in 1995.“Today the student strength is 4,346
from 663 when the school was set up,”saidStalinMalhotra, director-cum-offi-ciatingprincipal of the school. “Wepro-vide hi-tech education to our students—thesubjects taughtare supplementedby animation-based lessons.”The increase in the number of pri-
vate schools fuelled competition amongthem, bettering the quality of educa-tion.With the setting up and coming ofage of schools such as Modern VidyaNiketan (started in 1983), RyanInternational School (1991), EicherSchool (1994) and Manav RachnaSchool, Sector 14 (2007), Faridabadentered a new era of education.“Faridabad has seen a revolution in
the education sector over the years,”saidBhalla. “People arewilling to investin their children’s education.”
Faridabad residents clearly havemany more options to choose fromtoday.
HT Correspondent■ [email protected]
Situated on the Delhi-MathuraRoad, Delhi Public School,Faridabad has carved a niche for
itself with its academic excellence inthe 15 years of its existence.“Our main objective is to impart
world-class education to our students,"said Stalin Malhotra, director-cum-principal of DPS Faridabad. “We laystress on learning through doing andlearning ismore fun-filled inour school.”Malhotra said the focus was on the
students’ all-rounddevelopment—“beit academics, sports, art and culturalactivities, personal development and
other extra-curricular activities.”The school has introduced ‘smart’
classes, which is a blend of teachingand technology.
“The inter-school sports competi-tions held at the school contributeimmensely in the over-all developmentof students,” said Mathew Kaul, a for-mer student of DPS who now studiesin Delhi University.
BENCHMARK Faridabad once had fewgoodschools; now it’s entered a newera of education
Catching up with the best
Location: Sector 19Board: CBSEWebsite: www.dpsfbd.comPhone: 0129-2280522/2290522Nursery cost: R24,000 per annumAverage number of students in asection: Class KG to 5 — 40; Class 6 to10 — 41 and Class 11 to 12 — 39
DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL
08 | metro special | hindustantimesHINDUSTAN T IMES, NEW DELHI
FR IDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 , 2010
classapartFARIDABAD FIFTH OF A SIX-PART SERIES ON NCR SCHOOLS
TOPSCHOOLS
1
Location: Sector 17Board: CBSEWebsite: www.mvneducation.comNursery cost: NAAverage number of students in asection: NA
MODERN VIDYA NIKETAN 3
TALK TO US■ Any comments or suggestions on the
survey results and the school profiles? Wewould like to hear from you. Write to us [email protected]
Power tothe students
Board: CBSEWebsite: www.eicherworld.comPhone: 0129-2437583Nursery cost: R40,800 per annumAverage number of students in asection: Class KG to 5 — 30 andClass 6 to 10 — 35
Eicher School,Sector 464
Location: Sector 14Board: CBSEWebsite: www.mris.edu.inPhone: 0129-4197200Nursery cost: R53,200 per annumAverage number of students in asection: Class KG to 5 — 25 andClass 6 to 12 — 28
Manav RachnaInternational School5
Board: CBSEWebsite: www.ryanfaridabad.co.inPhone: 0129-4273700Nursery cost: R30,096 per annumAverage number of students in asection: 40
Ryan InternationalSchool, Sector 21 B6
Board: CBSEWebsite: www.dav14faridabad.orgPhone: 0129-2283335/36/37/38Nursery cost: R30,300 per annumAverage number of students in asection: Class KG to 5 — 35 andClass 6 to 12 — 40
DAV Public School,Sector 147
Board: CBSEWebsite: NAPhone: NANursery cost: NAAverage number of students in asection: NA
St. Joseph’s ConventSchool8
Board: CBSEWebsite: www.dav37.netPhone: 0129-4279200Nursery cost: R15,480 per annumAverage number of students in asection: Class KG to 5 — 45;Class 6 to 10 — 44 andClass 11 to 12 — 40
DAV Public School,Sector 379
Board: CBSEWebsite: NAPhone: 0129-2243344Nursery cost: R7,920 per annumAverage number of students in asection: Class 1 to 5 — 55and Class 6 to 10 — 48
Carmel Convent School,Sector 7 D10
Producing all-rounders
Competitive advantage
Location: Sector 15Board: CBSEWebsite: www.apeejay.eduPhone: 0129-2285932Nursery cost: R38,400 per annumAverage number of students in asection: 45
APEEJAY SCHOOL 2
TOMORROW
We look at the top 10 schools ofGhaziabad and what makesthem so special
■ DPS uses Information Technology to maximise students’ potential. ARIJIT SEN/HT
■ Learning is full of fun-filled activities at Apeejay School. ARIJIT SEN/HT
HT-C FORESURVEY:FARIDABAD’STOPSCHOOLS
The survey was conducted in three phases. In thefirst phase, schools in Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabadand Ghaziabad were invited to provide informationon academic and non-academic facilities, perform-ance of students and profile of teachers. Siftingthrough this, research agency C fore shortlistedschools for the second round, in which a perceptualsurvey was carried out with a sample of 500 parentsand teachers in each city. They were asked to assessschools they were aware of on a scale of 10 againstparameters listed in the table to the left. The parame-ters are based on suggestions made by an expertpanel comprising Prof Yashpal, former chairman ofUGC, Shyama Chona, former principal, DPS, RKPuram, Ashok Agrawal, lawyer, Kiran Bhatty, nation-al right to education commissioner, and JitendraNagpal, child psychiatrist. Results of the perceptualsurvey were combined with objective data from thefirst round to rank schools. In the third phase, C foreresearchers visited the schools to conduct an auditand finalise rankings. Perceptual data scores wereextrapolated for schools that did not participate.
METHODOLOGY1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10RANKParameters (on scale) DPS Apeejay MVN Eicher Manav Rachna Ryan Intl DAV, Sec-14 St. Joseph’s DAV, Sec-37 Carmel ConventAcademic rigour (100) 88 84 85 68 60 65 67 63 66 61
Extra-curricular (100) 73 78 58 67 65 62 63 58 57 50
Sports (100) 69 72 62 64 60 70 58 55 58 52
Competence of teachers (100) 76 73 71 68 61 60 62 67 56 53
Attention to students (100) 66 64 62 70 75 63 61 52 53 51
Value for money (50*) 37 35 34 29 25 32 38 44 35 41
Innovative teaching (50*) 35 37 31 32 33 30 28 24 26 21
Parental participation (50*) 39 34 30 39 35 31 27 25 27 23
Infrastructure and facilities (100) 73 76 70 65 72 59 63 57 51 56
Safety and hygiene (50*) 36 38 34 33 42 39 35 29 33 28
Life skills education (50*) 42 37 30 32 35 30 27 26 29 25
Social accountability (50*) 40 36 28 27 25 32 37 41 35 39
Total score (900) 674 664 595 594 588 573 566 541 526 500*PARAMETERS FOR WHICH ONLY PERCEPTUAL DATA WAS AVAILABLE WERE MARKED ON 50
Our biggest hurdle in creatinggood schools is not lack ofdesire but lack of imagina-
tion. It’s time to think beyond theborders of our experiences andcreate schooling that meets chil-dren’s immediate needs andconcerns.Agood school recognises that chil-
dren's cognitive development isdependent on an enabling social andethical environment at school.Efficient learning can only occur
when the child is taught a wide rangeof cognitive skills needed to navigate
the various stages of the learningprocess, including grasping informa-tion, analysing its implication, explor-ing its value and applying it.Developmentof these skills requires
the child to feel accepted, protectedand respected.Importantly, characteristics of a
good school are intertwined with acomprehensive life skills education.Therefore, a good school should:
create experiences, environments andrelationships that enable joyful par-ticipatory learning for children; helpchildren develop self-definition, self-
confidence, self-assurance and thebelief that they canmake auseful con-tribution to their communityandcoun-try; be a place led by visionary teach-erswhoappreciate that educationgoesbeyond the classroom; be run accord-ing to a shared mission and publiclydeclared values and standards; havepractical policies and operationalmechanisms that are faithful to theschool’s mission.(Thewriter is programmedirector
& psychiatrist, Expressions India —The Life Skills Education & SchoolWellness Programme)
Learning Curve
DR . J I T E NDRA NAGPA L
Enable joyfullearning
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