Principals share their takeaway from Singapore trip

Amritsar, August 6

Seven government school principals from Amritsar were part of the second batch of the 72-member delegation that was sent to the Principals Academy in Singapore for updating their professional knowledge and expertise in the field of education recently.

After going through a series induction programmes, workshops on school education system and curriculum development and visits to several schools and educational institutions in Singapore, the school heads returned home and shared some knowledge they gained during their trip.

Deepak Kumar, principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Tarsikka, said the biggest and probably the most effective lesson he learnt was that schools were an institution that build character of a student.

He said, “The school system in Singapore treats students as future wealth. So, they focus on building character along with education. Education is considered highly and there is a lot of investment on school development. Also, I visited several primary schools that had ICT labs. Students are being imparted practical knowledge of computer software and technology.”

GSSS Tarsikka is a school in the rural border belt with a student strength of 550 from Classes I to XII. Kumar said he would like to implement a few things that he learnt during Singapore visit in his school.

He said, “I would like to design a curriculum that focuses on practical learning and stress on building student’s character which is major aspect of education.”

Anu Bedi, principal, GSSS, Karampura, too was impressed with the school development system in Singapore. She shared, “The Singapore government invests a lot in manpower and the school development system. Class gradation is done from sixth standard onwards according to students’ academic performance and area of interest. It encourages student’s growth as per his/her calibre. There is a lot of community engagement that includes proactive parents’ and teachers’ associations.”

For her, the biggest takeaway was the concept of teach less, learn more.

The seven school heads that were part of the 72 member delegation that visited Singapore include Varun Kumar (GSSS, Nag Kalan); Deepak Thukral (GSSS Girls, Kathunangal); Sukhdev Singh, GSSS, Talwandi Dosanda Singh); Deepak Kumar (GSSS, Tarsikka); Rajeev Kapoor (GSSS, Beas); Anu Bedi (GSSS, Karampura); and Sonia Randhawa, (GSSS, Fatehgarh Shukchakk).