“Awareness More Important Than Accumulating Knowledge”

Meha Mathur Oct 16, 2023

Accumulation of knowledge is something that most schools in the country have been focussing on. But being aware of self and surroundings is what makes the difference as far as your growth is concerned. Bharat National Public School in east Delhi is one such school that emphasises awareness creation. While the school won gold medal in Academic Excellence in K 12, the approach to education is much broader than marks. Kanwaljeet Khungar, the school Principal, says, “One thing I always believed in and was concerned about was that practice and awareness is far more important that accumulation of knowledge. Education should help people with their ability to reflect critically. Reflecting not just on the content we are reading but the premise we have. It also means being aware of the dissonance we might have within us and working upon it.” He adds, “Reflection is something that we worked upon a lot in our school, through in-service teachers’ training. The training that we conduct here begins from the self and then moves on to other aspects of learning. For a teacher, it is important to be aware of discomfort related to my pedagogy or content, or something wrong happening in the classroom, and giving time to address that issue. Therefore, the in-service teachers’ plays a very important role in our school. And they spend time discussing not only about content but also at the level of feelings.”

Other emphasis areas

Khungar informs that the school has worked a lot in terms of pedagogy also. Languages are given a lot of importance, which has to be a language in use. “We have our own elementary curriculum that is rooted in school’s context. And there is sequential learning that starts from nursery; students are not learning things in isolation, and everything is connected.”

“We have circle time with children wherein first thing in the morning they sit in circle and they share their feelings with their teachers -how did they feel the previous day,” he adds.

In classes III to V there is more of project-based learning. And in middle school there is problem-based learning. “Students pick up some problem in their vicinity and then solve it. There is no content or subject restriction.”

In classes IX to XII the curriculum is focussed on ‘self, society and organisations’ (SSO). Students in these grades work on their own problems as well as on entrepreneurship. At this level, the school involves students in vocational subjects through its clubs, like clubs like mass media, theatre, dance, music and fashion.

Khungar admits that while a lot of children interested in Humanities but the combinations that the school is offering are not too offbeat. According to Khungar, “Offering offbeat subjects requires not just logistical support but also requires clarity in terms of what next, after school.”

Irrespective of streams or class, for all students, there is a 15-minute meditation session every day. “We introduced this after Covid when we felt that there is impulsivity in children and teachers too are not able to manage that well,” shares Khungar.

Science and technology

Speaking to BW Education a few weeks after the launch of Chandrayan III, Khungar shares that this moment has set in motion a new interest in sciences among students. But he elaborates, “Scientific temperament not only related to science as a subject. It is about holding to your perspective a little tentatively. And examining it logically. It can happen in any subject. We set a hypothesis and students try to prove that hypothesis right and wrong. Thanks to the curriculum we have created, we can take forward such an approach in school.”

Technology – role of teachers in this scenario

Khungar also ponders on the other big change that is impacting education, ie the penetration of technology. He says, “We can’t deny that technology is going to take over. But there is a need for proper blend. Schools want teaching to be tailored according to technology. This is a flawed approach. Technology should support how teacher is teaching. It has to be customised. Every school has to have its own innovation cell in terms of technology.”

At Bharat National Public School, while the classrooms are smartboard equipped classrooms, it is the teachers who are preparing the material based on what they need to teach. Teacher are to be respected for what they bring to the table. Outside agencies are to be used sparingly. Trust the teachers and invest in technologies so that they can build their capacities and use the technology for best outcome,” Khungar emphasises.