A Felicitation

On 19 September 2015, Principal Ms. Tania Joshi accompanied by Dr. Anu Singh, vice principal, and Ms. Pooja Bahl, senior faculty member, attended a special function organised by the Springdales Education Society at Vigyan Bhawan, commemorating its Golden Jubilee Celebrations. Honourable Vice President of India, Dr. Hamid Ansari inaugurated the celebration by congratulating Ms. Rajni Kumar, founder-chairperson of the Society for completing 60 years in the pursuit of education and excellence. In his address, Dr. Ansari said that in ancient Greece, Plato's threefold formula- gymnastics for the body, mathematics for the mind and music for the soul, was widely acclaimed but this on the fundamental premise of a slave society. In modern India, the fundamental principle of learning is admirably summed up in the Preamble to our Constitution - to secure to all its citizens: Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The event commenced with a conference on the theme, In Search of a Humane Society: Role of Education. The forum witnessed the participation of founder-members, ex-employees and alumni of Springdales' schools from various parts of the country, besides principals of other friendly schools as special invitees. The morning session of the conference was chaired by Dr. Kavita Sharma, former principal, Hindu College.

Among the key speakers were Ms. Aruna Roy, social activist and founder-member of the RTI campaign in India. She drew the attention of the august gathering on the divides that mar sustainable development in India. She pointed out the inequalities based on caste, gender and power that is rampant in our society. The 'Shiksha ka Sawaal' campaign run by her in Rajasthan raises questions on quality and access to education in the state. The next speaker, Dr. Debashis Chatterjee, former director, the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, drew the audience's attention to transcending the mind by making three discoveries: love, intellect and delight. He emphasised the need to become masters and not slaves of our minds. Love for the child should supersede the love for the subject in order to make the learning-teaching process more effective. Later in the day, Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, former chairman, Micromax, succinctly summed up the evolution in the thinking and behaviour of people, from technological advancement in the last two decades, in the following words, " shift from local to global, from experience to relevant, from conglomerates to startups". Prof. Raghunath K. Shevgaonkar, former director, IIT Delhi, in his talk on Educational Technology: humanising or a dehumanising factor, signalled at bridging the needs of the learner as well as the teacher through a judicious use of technology at an appropriate time, place and stage. Hurdles of time and place have been successfully overcome by technology. The conclave concluded with Ms. Lata Vaidyanathan, former principal, Modern School, presenting her views on developing an environmental consciousness for a sustainable change. She stressed on the three P's: People, Planet and Progress. There was a general consensus among all present that modern day values, as reflected in the 21st century skills of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication, play a decisive role in making any change sustainable. Ms. Navreet Shergill.