Apeejay School International gives special emphasis to character-building: Priyanka Jain

Dr. Priyanka Jain is Associate Director, Artificial Intelligence Group in the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), the premier research and development (R&D) organisation of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology for carrying out research in IT, Electronics and associated disciplines. C-DAC was created in November 1988 to build supercomputers in response to the denial of import of supercomputers by the USA. Dr. Priyanka did her PhD from North Maharashtra University Jalgaon in Cognitive Computing. Her daughter Prisha Jain is studying in class 12 of Apeejay School International (ASI), South Delhi. In an informal chat with Apeejay Newsroom, Dr. Priyanka tells us how the school has made her daughter more expressive and taught her the importance of community service.

Why did you choose ASI?
I joined C-DAC around 20 years ago in Pune and it was only last year that I moved to Delhi as I wanted my family to stay together. My husband is Commandant with the CRPF and is posted in Delhi these days. Due to the nature of his work he has to often shift cities. Prisha had a hard time growing up without the constant company of her father. So, when my husband was transferred to Delhi, I decided to shift to the Capital along with Prisha. Soon, we began hunting for the best school for our daughter. We realised that Prisha has a unique persona. She is a great writer and thinker and her observational skills are top-notch. Upon deliberation, we came to the conclusion that the IB board will do justice to her potential. After taking multiple factors into consideration, we zeroed in on ASI. Though ASI was starting class 11 for the first time, we had the assurance that the school will put in extra effort on students as this will be their first class 11 batch. The reassuring call by the Principal also made the difference and we went ahead with the admission.

Can you please talk about the progress made by Prisha?
I am delighted with her progress. She is enjoying her studies compared to the earlier school. Her teachers are also praising her work. Prisha shares a great rapport with her teachers. She has become more expressive and excitingly shares her new learnings with us. Earlier, she was a bit reserved. I am in research and her study involves a lot of research too, so there’s a constant exchange of ideas between us.

What do you appreciate the most about ASI?
I appreciate their focus on community service. Recently, they organised a Menstrual Hygiene Campaign for girls living in slum areas of the city. I liked that boys from Prisha’s class were also roped in for the campaign. This will help remove the gender bias and make our society better. One thing that really touched me about this whole exercise is that Prisha didn’t seek our help to raise the funds, instead she donated her piggy bank savings. I like the emphasis given by school on character-building.

“Teachers are polite, humble and caring. They share regular feedback on our daughter and are always available for discussion. If required, they get in touch with students even after school hours or weekends. They do whatever it takes to enhance the performance of students.”

Priyanka Jain