‘Apeejay Kharghar’s focus on academics sets it apart from other schools’

Mr. Yogesh Malik is the Training Lead in the Petrol Retail sector at Jio BP (British Petroleum). His children Vihaan and Sachika Malik are students at Apeejay School, Kharghar, in classes 8 and 2 respectively. In an insightful interview, Mr. Malik speaks about being familiar with the Apeejay Education Group since the time he stayed in Delhi, the great review he received about the school after moving to Kharghar and also highlights what makes the school stand apart. Edited excerpts:

Why did you choose Apeejay School, Kharghar, ahead of other schools for the admission of your children?

I moved to Mumbai from Bareilly in 2011. We were looking for a good school to enroll our children at that time. It was then that we came to know about Apeejay  School, Kharghar.  However, we were also aware about the Apeejay Education brand since we had stayed in Delhi for some time. We had heard many good reviews about the brand. Even here in Kharghar, we heard many great reviews about the school.  We were eagerly waiting for our son to get admission in Nursery and fortunately he got through there. Back then, Apeejay was considered as the best school in Kharghar and I think they have maintained the same standards even now.

Please tell us a bit about Sachika and Vihaan and take us through their progress at school?

Vihaan is doing very well in academics. The school is doing the best it can in the online mode of classes. I could observe the same during my work-from-home days. I could see very high quality of teaching, the meticulously planned course content and the excellent delivery of lectures. Vihaan’s favourite subject at school is Science. He loved playing badminton in school before the pandemic. Nowadays, he is more interested in cycling.

Sachika on the other hand, has Maths as her favourite subject. She is also a part of the Brainobrain academy. She loves anything to do with numbers. She is also into martial arts and loves the sport.

Are the teachers engaging well with the students?

Certainly, we are very happy with the way the sessions are delivered. The teachers are very thorough with their subjects. In case the students have any queries, the teachers are always available to help them out.  I as a parent have also at times reached out to a teacher for a clarification on my child’s behalf and I must say that the teachers were very polite and welcoming.

Sachika’s class teacher Mrs. Negi is a wonderful teacher. She spends a lot of the time with the kids. Vihaan is very happy with his class teacher Shalini Puri Ma’am. He praises her style of teaching a lot.

What is the best thing about Apeejay School, Kharghar?

If one compares Apeejay Kharghar with other schools in Kharghar, one would see that the other brands try putting the academic with non-academic front on an equal measure. But what happens eventually, is that when the students move on to the higher classes due to the stiff competition, it is always the academics which counts in the end. In Europe, there are 10 seats and 8 applicants. Here, in India there are 10 seats and 10,000 applicants. So, it is the academics in India which determines who will get that seat.

Apeejay Kharghar is highly focused on academics, much more than the other schools in Kharghar. This is what creates the difference in education. Since class 8, the school becomes very serious about the academic progress of its students. That is the best thing about Apeejay Kharghar.

How has the experience of the online classes been for Vihaan and Sachika?

They are both very happy and satisfied. There was rarely any occasion when my kids would not have attended the class owing to poor connectivity or other issues. There is a lot of interaction during the classes, the students are kept engaged with many tasks of writing. It is not one-way-communication from the teacher. The child is asked to put across his/her questions and is also given the option to interact. There is full engagement. The online classes have been continuing since the past 2 years and I am happy to find that my children are not finding them difficult or making it a reason to not attend the classes.