‘Apeejay gives special thrust to extra-curricular activities’

Vinay is Zonal Sales Manager at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals while his spouse Ekta is a homemaker. Their children Udbhav Vashisht and Yogeesh Vashisht are studying in class 2 and UKG, respectively in Apeejay School – Mahavir Marg, Jalandhar. In a freewheeling interview, Vinay takes us through the progress made by his sons since joining the school. Edited excerpts:

What made you pick Apeejay?

I was always clear from the beginning that my children should enjoy their childhood. Hence, I wanted to pick a school where the focus was on the holistic development of children, not solely on academics. Apeejay gives special thrust to extra-curricular activities. In fact, no other school in India gives as much importance to extra-curriculars as Apeejay does. My brother-in-law’s son was already studying in Apeejay and I witnessed at close quarters his all-round development since joining the school. My father-in-law also advised me to go for Apeejay as the group is known for providing quality education from pre-nursery to doctoral level. You can enrol your children in Nursery and not worry about their higher studies.

According to you, what’s the importance of extra-curricular activities in school life?

These activities allow your child the opportunity to explore different areas of interest, boost self-confidence, build leadership and teamwork skills— all while having fun! It makes your child a jack of all trades. Every child can’t be a topper or good in academics. He/she could be a good artiste or a sports player. If we don’t encourage our children to explore and develop their own set of interests, how can we unlock their hidden potential? For instance, if Apeejay College of Fine Arts Jalandhar alumni Sugandha Mishra or Kapil Sharma were only made to focus on studies, could they have achieved stardom? 

Are you content with the progress of your children?

I am, without a doubt. I would like to specially talk about the Covid-19 period to buttress my point. The leadership and ingenuity Apeejay teachers have shown during the crisis deserves a huge round of applause. At a time when other schools struggled to get to terms with online education, Apeejay took the lead to ensure learning never stopped during Covid-19 education disruption. The children also participated actively in non-academic activities. During virtual classes, the teachers shared a close bond with students which helped create a conducive environment for learning. I have seen parents complaining that Covid-19 has rolled back progress made by their kids by at least a year. However, thanks to teachers, the learning continued uninterrupted amidst the pandemic in Apeejay. I see no learning loss in my children. I would like to specially thank Ms. Sarika Khosla, Ms. Sanyukta Jyoti, Ms. Anamdeep Kaur and many other teachers who supported my children through thick and thin. They have given motherly care to my sons. I would also like to thank Ms. Madhu Kochar who honed my children’s speaking skills.  

Please share with us your most memorable moment.

When I first saw the report card of Udbhav, I was thrilled and overjoyed. There was no mention of his academic score, the remarks in the report card only talked about his personality and strengths. It was written that he was ‘charming’, ‘innocent’, ‘sensitive’, ‘has a good grasping power’, etc. It’s not as if the remarks were inaccurate and were written to make us happy, but they were in fact factual and grounded in reality.