Mrs. Sasmita Mohanty is committed to nurture the young minds by providing all facilities for holistic development of the children with academic excellence. She is currently the Director of Sanjay Ghodawat International Schools.
In this interview, Mrs. Mohanty speaks of the green initiatives taken up by her school to conserve the environment and much more.
1.What or who inspired you to get into the education space?
I entered into education space by chance as I was free and wanted to get engaged.
2. You school has the reputation of being the 3rd best school in Maharashtra. What according you are the factors that helped your school achieve this feat?
Our school is the 2nd best school in Maharashtra from past three years as per the ranking of Education World and 1st by Education Today for academic achievement of the school.
The school has got this rank for which the first credit goes to our Chairman Mr. Sanjay Ghodawat, who is a visionary leader who has not compromised with the world class infrastructure and amenities he has provided for the inmates of the school. Secondly, the academic achievement of the students due to the guidance of good competent teachers, similarly achievements of the students in sports and other co-curricular activities as the school has provided equally qualified and inspiring facilitators for the students for guiding and preparing the students to excel in co-curricular activities.
SGIS stands as school with difference as the children here are nurtured with care and love.
3.‘To instill a sense of conversation of environment among staff and students’ is the main institutional goal of SGI School. Please elaborate.
Yes, we feel students should respect care and conserve the environment through practical way. Our sschool encourage various activities for developing the concern and care for environment.
On the birthday of each child, the child donates a plant to school. We have collected and created a nursery of 5000 plants donated by children. Just recently we completed a project of planting 30000 plants in 76 government and private schools and sharing the message of planting more trees and taking care of the environment. We have rainwater harvesting project, water recycling project, solar and wind power supplying system and vermiculture practice in our school. We give the award and certificate as green hero and green teacher who takes initiative in variety of green projects. Our school has also a leading participant in the Behetar India project of NDTV. Our students have made short film and shown in different neighbouring schools and taken pledge for environment protection work.
4. What is it that differentiates your school from the other emerging institutions?
We are different than other schools as we concentrate on wholesome development of the child as a responsible global citizen with the development of qualities like courtesy, kindness, industriousness and ambition. At SGIS students are encouraged to explore and innovate the different ways of learning. Our school matches the dynamism of 21st Century by developing a curriculum which would match the requirement of employers in future. School gives equal importance to human values. We provide maximum exposures and ample of opportunities to the students to strengthen their talents and maximize their potentials.
5. What according to you are the most important life skills, apart from academics, that the children need to be taught in schools today?
Integrity, honesty, leadership quality, communicating skills, social skill, teamwork, patient, respect, dignity, kindness etc. to be taught in school.
6. According to you, are value education classes necessary in schools today? Please elaborate.
Very necessary, as the students have unlimited and in most cases unmonitored access to a variety of information which makes them vulnerable to a number of things which are detrimental for the growth of a healthy personality. Secondly, breaking down of families from joint to nuclear and from nuclear to broken and at times both parents work so children today lack the quality time with parents. So, school has to take care of the value education when children are young so that we can contribute for the creation of a peaceful world. With academics alone, we can create qualified doctors, engineers but if we have to create a qualified doctor with good human character we need to teach value education at school.
7. Do you think it is importance to have a counselor in school? Kindly elaborate.
Yes, it is a must, as a counselor is a profession who can diagnose the problem of the child and advice remedies for the teachers and parents for the child to overcome the difficulties. Without which the child may become worst.
8. Focusing on child safety in schools, what according to you are the measures that schools need to take, to achieve the same? Kindly elaborate.
Child safety is the primary responsibility of each school. Safety to electricity use, clean drinking water, fire alarm, fire safety, mock drill for fire evacuation, good security, CCTV camera, good caring attenders, safety transport, GPS and camera in buses, clean hygienic environment, medical, first aid facility, POSCO training to staff, anti ragging committee, safe use of internet training, training for bus safety rules, etc.