If my daughter is happy at ASI, I am happy too : Anand Bharadwaj, a happy parent

Anand Bharadwaj (64) is a CEO – Heritage of Dalmia Bharat Group. He lives with his wife and the couple have a daughter Anandita, whom they often call as Aana. She is 14-year-old and studying in Grade-9 at Apeejay School International (ASI), South Delhi.

Why an IB board?
There are various reasons to choose the IB Board. One of the major reasons I got influenced by one of the sons of my sister who had done IB Board from Geneva. She told me about the IB curriculum and the concept based learning unlike Indian school system. I quite liked the whole concept. I myself had studied in a convent school from St. Columba’s and St. Stephen’s. I told myself that I have one daughter, why not try a different way of learning for her.  Earlier my daughter was studying in a very experimental school from her KG days. When she left that school, we decided to put her in ASI to pursue IB Boards.

Is ASI fulfilling what you desired?
Till now we are very happy. There are very few students. In Grade-VII when Anandita joined Apeejay there were only three kids. Now in her class there are 6-7 students and when she will go to Grade-IX, there will be around 10 of them. I quite liked the fact that there will be more individual attention given in a small group rather than a class of 40-50 students where the teachers tend to focus on only a few favourite students or the front benchers. I was very impressed by the Principal himself and the teachers who are very receptive. All the teachers are very forthcoming and very direct. Even my daughter is enjoying it. Last few years at Apeejay have been very good for her.

Tell me something about your daughter?
Well, she is very fond of reading and writing. She is extremely sporty. She loves to play football, basketball and badminton. Unfortunately due to Covid, the extra-curricular activities have come to a stand-still. She is fond of audio-visual editing. She loves doing that.

Any personality trait or skill set that got enhanced post admission at ASI?
I think she has become far more self-assured. She is an extremely honest human being and that trait continues with her. She is very direct, she doesn’t try to lie about anything. In the last two years, when she was in Apeejay her overall personality got enhanced.

Would you recommend IB over CBSE?
I do that. I have only one daughter and I put her deliberately to an IB School and I would recommend that.

“I prefer the IB way of teaching. It is better than the tradition of studying new subjects in each class and forgetting what you learnt in the previous one.“

-Anand BharadwaJ