In the recent days, we have heard a lot about the concept of progressive school and a series of discussions has been held on this model, but most people are now aware of this. What is a progressive education?
Progressive education is an activity-based and learner-centered education which focuses on identifying the unique inborn aptitude of students and imparting relevant education based on it. In other words, progressive education is a continuous learning process where the importance is given to the learners’ multiple capabilities and unique aptitude where they can learn from five senses. Every child has unique aptitude and learning capacity. So, progressive school is an institution that imparts education considering holistic development of students.
Akshara School has been promoting a culture-based education since its establishment. What is culture-based education, and to what extent, Akshara School is distinct from its contemporary organizations?
The culture-based education is an aggregate of life skills, culture and ethics. Akshara school has some distinctive features which make it to be different from its contemporaries. Our education has a linkage with culture and life-skills.
As soft-skills our education entails life-skills, code skills, digital skills and disciplinary skills which are integral part of progressive education. In addition, another feature of our school encapsulates value-based education which is the most important attribute each learner must possess.
We have accommodated students who are distinctively heterogenous in terms of their financial considerations and cultural practices. So, we carefully watch cultural background and learning aptitude of each individual learner while imparting education.
You have stated that Akshara School has been imparting education equipped with culture and social dogmas. It is a fact that children spend more time at home and less at school; thus, a satisfying environment at home is a must for children to acquire culture-based learning which begins from home. In your opinion, what should the parents’ role be like in helping their child(ren) to achieve a well-cultured education?
In fact, there is an indispensable relation between the school and parents which imparting value-based education to our children. Since our students spend less time at school and more time at home, it’s essential for parents to observe their academic and behavioral changes at home so as to give us right information. In this regard, the role of parents is vital.
Akshara School has maintained coordinative relation with its parents. The parents should inculcate good culture and ethical value in their children. The culture that should be transmitted to their children from home is love, respect, familial ethical values and norms. Similarly, the culture that should be disseminated to students from school is life-skills and knowledge which lead them to embrace a successful career.
So, the roles of both school and parents are significant for educating children and ensuring their holistic development. We are really privileged to establish an amicable relationship with our valued parents which has enabled us to identify unique talents and intelligence of our students.
Quality education is widely discussed in the present context of Nepal. In your opinion what are the measuring scales of quality education?
The main quality measuring scale is the achievement of levelwise competency of students. Level-wise competency of the students is measured to measure the quality of education.
What kind of support has the local government offered to your institution from the perspective of monitoring and evaluation for the attainment of your organizational goal for the assurance of quality education?
In fact, our mayor is very positive and keeps keen interest in the development of education. He treats both government schools and private schools equally; the national policy is not positive and supportive of private institutions in Nepal. Therefore, we have felt that the monitoring and evaluation frameworks are not given priority by the federal government.
Finally, what message would you like to convey to the parents as the principal of Akshara School?
The relationship between the school and the parents is crucial in order to identify the real talents of students and help them user their talents into achievement level. So, I would like thank the parents for their supportive role and urge them to identify latent talents of their child(ren) and assist them to generate interests in their learning endeavors for purposeful results.
