“The school treats us like a member of the extended family”

Mr. Sanjay Radhakrishnan, Chief Strategy Officer at Tata Classedge and Mrs. Uma Sanjay, a homemaker, are proud parents to Sripad Srinivas Sanjay and Ramchandran Sanjay, Apeejay Nerul students in class five and Nursery respectively.

In an interview, they share reasons behind choosing the school, their experience with the teachers and the online mode of education. Edited Excerpts:

Why did you choose Apeejay Nerul over other schools for your sons’ admission?

Sanjay Radhakrishnan: The first reason is pedagogical excellence. The second reason is the fact that the school is a blend of traditional values and at the same time it prepares the child for life skills needed in the modern world. The third reason would be that both the teaching and the non-teaching staff are very accessible and caring. I think the school has a holistic approach towards education. They try to make better individuals out of the students. The school also instills a sense of nationalism in the students.

Uma Sanjay: My elder son has been a part of many skits in the school. Skits and plays based on the lives of national leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru. These activity-based learning programmes make the students go through the history of the nation and they want to learn more.

These are the reasons for which we chose the school for our elder son. He has been there for five years. So we put our younger son here as well in Apeejay Nerul. Our interaction with the teachers has been very warm, so we wanted to have the same teachers for the younger son as well.

Please tell us a little about your sons and take us through their progress in school?

Uma Sanjay:  Ramchandran is actually very shy. Online learning requires the child to speak up. His teacher has been doing a great job in this regard. She has made him very comfortable in answering the questions online. She gives a chance to all the children to speak and gradually my son has started opening up to the teacher. I think that Ramchandran is gaining in confidence now. Basically he is a happy child. He loves to sing and dance. He loves a lot of attention as he is the youngest at home (laughs). Ramchandran likes activity-based learning the most. He wouldn’t like to learn from the book directly. So the way the teachers are teaching is matching his style of learning.

Do you think the teachers are engaging well with the students?

Uma Sanjay: Yes without a doubt. With the limited resources during the online classes, the teachers are giving their best. The class teacher Ms. Ranjana Kaul is doing her best. I would mention another teacher’s name, Ms. Tanuja Sarkar, my elder son’s class teacher back in Nursery. Even Meena Saha Ma’am, my elder son’s class teacher, is a very warm teacher. Also I would like to thank Ms Mrinalini, the coordinator for Nursery classes, for her persistent efforts.

Sanjay Radhakrishnan: The teachers are brilliant. They bring life to the classroom. They bring so much joy. Both my children look forward to the next day’s classes. It is only because of the quality of the education the teachers are providing and we want to really thank them. I want to thank Ms Ranjana Kaul Ma’am especially.

What is the best thing about the school?

Sanjay Radhakrishnan:I think it is the overall experience. The warmth, the openness and the accessibility of the school staff. They treat us like a part of the family.

Uma Sanjay: Whenever I need to ask something from a teacher, it is so easy to approach them. They are very warm as people. Also their standards of teaching are very high.

What is your perception about the online classes?

Sanjay Radhakrishnan:The school has not left any stone unturned. They are not only engaging well with the students but are also innovative in education. The school is putting in all possible efforts. I want to thank Dr Rakesh Joshi, he is now the director of the school. We would also like to thank Vice- Principal Namita Anand Maam for her efforts. Truly it has been possible due to them.

Uma Sanjay: I think the teachers put in all their efforts, every time. I can see that since Ramchandran’s lessons are very well-curated. He has even started reading complex words and I think it is all due to the efforts of the teachers.