When you mention Government school and a principal who has strong ownership, motivated teachers, beautiful garden and lawns, disciplined students and clean loos in the same breath, to most of the people, it is an oxymoron.
There will be disbelief and likely query would be, does any such school exist?
I went with high expectations when I visited Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Deendarpur located in the outskirts of South-west Delhi for I was told that this school is different.
When I entered the school, I was struck by the aesthetics and beauty of the garden, landscaping and the lawn. It could rival any of the highly rated private school. When I was ushered in the principal’s cabin, she was busy monitoring the school premises for errant children out of the class if any, on the CCTV. Her table was uncluttered and the room was nicely decorated with numerous trophies won by the school and salient milestones in the history of the school.
The school that was considered a so-so school not very long back, is now considered as one of the best schools in all respects in South-West Delhi.
So, what caused this transformation?
Based on the discussions with various persons associated with the school, my takeaways are:
- If head of the school takes keen interest in all round development of the school with strong ownership, there are very few things that may not be achieved. When you have a strong sense of pride and high level of involvement, it works wonders.
- It is not just the head of the school, who would have to have this strong sense of ownership, but excellent ‘man management’ skills are a must to instill similar sense of ownership and a keen sense of belonging in each and every member of the school team. I saw some ‘tough love’ in action. A good leader-manager having strong leadership that involved leading from the front and excellent management skills in making best use of available resources are equally important will raise the organization above mediocrity.
- Lastly, a relevant question related to the Government schools. Who does the Government school belong to? It is not sufficient that the head of school and school staff believes that it is ‘my’ school but a multiplier effect comes in when community is closely involved and acts as if it is ‘our’ school. It is to the credit of school management as well as the community that both have worked together synergistically to make this school reach its current status.
- Finally, in the government system, the higher authorities play a crucial role. In this case, a large part of the credit should go to immediate supervisors, i.e., Deputy Director, Education who provided a strong support to the initiatives taken by the head of the school.
So, what stops all government schools to be like Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Deendarpur?
I guess that answer lies in leadership. Wherever, head of the school has strong leadership and managerial qualities, the school is likely to be better than those where leadership is not as strong.
It is not my case that the strong leadership alone will be sufficient but it is the most important ingredient in imparting quality education at government schools and running these efficiently.
ulhasv 