‘Unlike other Indian schools, we discovered a different, refreshing environment at Apeejay Svran Global School’

Mr. Manoj Dangwal is a Program Manager with Capgemini India Ltd. His wife Nabaneeta Dangwal is a software engineer by profession. They are proud parents of Augustya and Shohini Gayatri Dangwal, class six and two students at Apeejay Svran Global School. In a wide-ranging interview Mr. Dangwal proudly recollects the numerous achievements of his children and explains his reasons for choosing the school. Edited excerpts:

 What made you choose Apeejay Svran Global School over other schools?

We stayed in the USA briefly. Shohini was born there and Augustya had started his education there. We returned to India a few years ago. We then did a survey in Faridabad about the schools and visited all the popular schools in Faridabad. In some of the schools we noticed that students were punished using age-old methods such as standing outside the class. We felt that our kids won’t be able to accept and go through these methods since they aren’t a product of this culture.  However, when we visited Apeejay Svran Global School, we found a very friendly and open environment for the students. It was such a lovely culture. So ,immediately after visiting Apeejay Svran Global School, we decided to enroll our kids there.

Please tell us a bit about your children and take us through their progress at school?

Augustya is very introverted as a person. He does not speak much. But he is very logical when he speaks. For the past three years, he has been winning the gold medal in the Olympiads for Math, English and Science. He is a prodigy. He recently won the second and third prizes in a inter school science competitions. He has that desire to achieve things.

He is mostly busy with his YouTube channel. He puts his guitar videos, science experiments and gaming videos there. He is a very good guitar player. We have recently enrolled him into programming and he is developing some nice games. So, he is a man of many talents.

 Shohini is very young but is progressing nicely at school. She recently gave her National Math Olympiad exam and we were surprised to see her finish the hour-long exam in 30 minutes. In the International English Olympiad, she finished all the questions in 15 minutes. So, she is going to be another genius I am sure.

Shohini also likes singing, dancing and she recites poems wonderfully. She has won many awards in the school for poetry recitation. She also has a great command of English.

 I keep my fingers crossed that both of them turn out to be good human beings and also go on to achieve a lot of success and fame in their fields.

At present, they are doing very well in school. All the teachers know them because of their achievements. As students, they are very well-mannered as well.

 Are the teachers engaging well with them?

Yes, they are really doing a great job. The teachers are the main reason we put our kids here. If we see anything problematic, we discuss it with the teachers and Principal Ma’am. The school is like a family to us and everything is good.

Also, Shohini is crazy about Archana Ma’am. She praises her and talks about her every other day.

What is the best thing about Apeejay Svran Global School?

I think it would be the culture of the school. That is the best.  The second-best thing is that the kids feel free to speak. They are encouraged to open up, ask questions and express themselves.

My director from office also stays in Faridabad. Her daughter got educated from Apeejay School Faridabad, Sector 15. It was she who suggested that I get my kids enrolled at Apeejay Svran Global School. She told me that in this school, the kids will be enabled to develop their personality. In other schools, students are pressured and thus they end up losing their personality and identity.

What are the advantages of online classes?

The online classes are good. In a pandemic situation, they are the only recourse possible. For the past two years, we all have been working from home. But even in such situations, our kids are able to learn, study and grow, which in itself is such a lovely thing.