CONTENTS Great Indian Schools 2018-19 Great Indian Schools 2018-19 is brought to you by Great Place to Study to showcase some of the Indian institutions who are thought 07 leaders in the country’s education community. Cover Image © Skilltree Knowledge Consortium CEO-Forbes India & President Revenue, Network 18: Joy Chakraborthy Marketing : Neha Chimbulkar Juhi Batra Jitendar Gujar Advertising Sales : Preeti Sahni Girish Sharma Mitu Midha Anil Bhatia Atishay Singh Divya Bhatia Distribution: Subhadra Bose Kaushal Pillai Advertising Operation: Chaitali Karia Smita Suvarna Krishna Gupta Prashant Rane All Rights Reserved © 2009 Forbes LLC, as to material published in the edition of Forbes 09 Asia. All Rights Reserved. “Sherwood has taught me how to live 06 with dignity... — Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, Alumni, Sherwood College Publisher: Maneck Davar Expert Speak 29 Issue Editor: Melissa Fernandes Our panel of experts from the Indian education sector share their opinions. Designer: Namrata Shelar DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are of SkillTree Knowledge Consortium and of the respective profiles featured in the magazine. SkillTree Knowledge Consortium takes full responsibility of the content in this issue and places it at the sole discretion of SkillTree Knowledge Consortium. 31 SkillTree Knowledge Consortium has taken full care to issue error-free knowledge in the public domain through this marketing initiative in collaboration with Forbes India Marquee. Multicultural55 Classrooms — Ms. Shweta Sastri Great Indian Schools | 3 EXPERTSPEAK LIFE beyond MATHEMATICS Students who have been given the opportunity to pursue their studies in non-STEM education have shown to be more happy and active. Many schools/colleges today give students the chance to dabble in a wide variety of non-STEM courses. Getting exposure to many different aspects at an early age is a crucial element to finding one’s passion, skills, and their “true calling”. SHEKHAR BHATTACHARJEE Non-STEM actors in the corporate sectors CEO and Founder Even when we look at a corporate entity, it is true that SkillTree Knowledge Consortium STEM professionals form the backbone of any company, Pvt Ltd but they are not everything. A company is more than just a skeleton or pure mechanics; large demographics athematics is an important part of daily life as it of the team have been completely ignored from the is a subject we apply every day. It makes our life equation. The designers, accountants, human resources, organised and prevents chaos. It also plays a critical client servicing, strategic consultants, financial advisors, M marketing experts, sales executives and list goes on. It is role in every child’s life. Maths riddles and puzzles have shown to encourage an open-minded attitude among long overdue that we credit these individuals who breathe youngsters while helping them develop clarity in their life into the company. In India, we need to admit the new thinking. It is a fact that holds true for all STEM (Science, reality of non-STEM career paths paving the way for Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects in innovation. modern life. Hence, STEM education plays a significant part of the curriculum in most of the schools and colleges Benefits of non-STEM education: today. • Studies show that non-STEM enhances logical reasoning and analytical ability in children As far as we can remember, it has always been the idea • Studying humanities or arts helps students develop a of science versus the arts, but STEM has always taken broader perspective and knowledge priority over non-STEM in India. Indian parents have long • It prepares students for future jobs that require excellent emphasised the importance of STEM education to their communication skills and confidence children. Humanities and arts have always been treated as a last resort while choosing career paths. While this • Many employers prefer candidates from humanities as strategy has helped India grow into a world economy, it they have well-developed personalities has hindered the emergence of innovators in non-STEM • Helps students think outside the box and come up with fields. In articles published by reputable newspapers like innovative solutions to global issues The Chronicle of Higher Education and others, experts have voiced their concerns about countries that only focus Working towards a better tomorrow for our children on STEM education, suggesting that the employment When we look at history, the most revolutionary scientists advantage just does not hold up to scrutiny. An argument and inventors have combined their artistic ability and is being presented that non-STEM education has many scientific knowledge. Whether we look at the famous benefits in emerging economies like India. inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci who was also a painter, or Albert Einstein who played the violin and used music Educational diversity promises a bright future for young to think more creatively. The most recent example is minds Barack Obama who studied political science. He worked Every time we hear about children performing poorly in community development and law before going on to in maths and science, the issue is usually misdiagnosed become the 44th President of the United States. The fact by both parents and teachers. To make things worse, remains that in the current evolving corporate landscape, students are forced to take up extra classes and tuitions, skills gained by social sciences and humanities students which are usually after school, with an aim to tackle the can be applied to all facets of life which make for extremely so-called ‘shortcomings’ of non-performing students. rewarding careers. We need to encourage our children to It poses an undue burden on students who are already explore their passion and steer them towards a successful struggling. The government of India time and again has life and a rewarding job they love. Teachers, parents mainly focused on new initiatives to expand STEM courses. and the education fraternity need to come together to understand and promote non-STEM education. As more educators and parents realise the unexplored potential of non-STEM courses, the importance of arts and A new India is emerging and with it, a new generation of humanities is gaining momentum in the Indian society. It thinkers. We need to ensure that students have a well- has come as a breath of fresh air for many students as rounded education. Together, we can encourage students it has given them a chance to explore their passion and to peruse knowledge that inspires them to go beyond excel in their respective fields, not just a well-paying job. themselves. The graduates of tomorrow should become policymakers, educators, journalists and international The advent of a non-STEM career option in education actors who will carve out a niche for the Indian identity. A long-due revolution in the education sector is finally on And even though Mathematics remains an important its way. A few educational institutions have begun paying aspect but the time has come to realize that there is an equal attention to both the sciences as well as the arts. equally better and bigger world with focus into design, While it has been a welcomed decision by some portion of arts, literature, humanities, architecture, media etc. the Indian public, it has yet to resonate with the majority. 4 | Great Indian Schools EXPERTSPEAK Honing YOUNG TALENT to prepare them for the challenging FUTURE the sunset, seeing the colours of the leaves change in the different seasons and observing nature in its many colours, forms and shapes. The attempt is to inculcate a sense of responsibility towards the earth and commitment towards life. The campus is a rich ground for bird watching and nature study. Students are encouraged to play for the love and joy of playing. An attempt is made to create an atmosphere of affection, without undue dependence on MRS. URSHIA AKHTAR reward or punishment, comparisons and competition. The Principal campus is a near zero-waste one with 100% composting Rajghat Besant School of kitchen waste and extensive composting of leaves. We Krishnamurti Foundation Varanasi also grow organic vegetables in our rural lands that supply our kitchen while an 80-cow dairy supplies organic milk to the entire community. n J. Krishnamurti’s words, ‘Education should not be separated from life and that it must help the young and Underlying all this is an affirmative attempt to help Ithe old to understand not merely the outer world but students understand their psychological world and also the inner world of human consciousness’. share their thoughts and problems. Students are urged to appreciate their role in the creation of a new world The Rajghat Education Centre of Krishnamurti Foundation without fear, conflict or contradictions. India situated on a beautiful green 330 acres’ campus overlooking the confluence of the rivers Varuna and Ganga At the senior level, we follow a prescribed syllabus and was founded by the well-known seer and religious leader prepare students to meet life beyond school, helping J. Krishnamurti in 1928. The children’s school building at them find their rightful place in society. Some of the Rajghat was constructed in 1933. important components of the program are—to learn by questioning, to learn to think independently, to learn to The curriculum is affiliated to CBSE with a public take responsibility and to learn the art of working together examination at the end of class 10 and class 12. In this with people. sense, the school is perhaps not very different from other private schools in India. There is, however, a significant The academic program includes not just lectures by the difference in the manner in which learning takes place teacher but aims at increased student’s participation through exploration and discovery and in the nature and through a lot of reference work, presentations, seminars, quality of interaction between teacher and students.