From the schools of Juhu, this week, we shifted focus to Somaiya School, a CBSE school in Ghatkopar (East). We spoke to parent Nishma Shah, whose 7-year old son, Aarav, studies in the 2nd grade at the school.
WHICH SCHOOL IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD?
School: Somaiya School
Curriculum: CBSE
Parent: Nishma Shah
Child: Aarav Srinivasan
Grade: 2
What made you choose the Somaiya School over other CBSE schools and other schools in the area?
N: The Somaiya School is the only CBSE school in the area that I live, which is the Chembur-Sion area, and this played a large role in my choice of the school. My son is a part of the first batch ever to study in the school – when I admitted him into nursery, the school had only just started. The other reason was that the Somaiya name promised that the quality of education provided would be good.
I attended the school’s orientation, and they promised parents that they would teach the children five languages. We were also promised a good student to teacher ratio, which is something I see myself – at the pre-primary level, the ratio was 2 teachers and 1 didi to 23 students, and at the primary level, each division has a maximum of 30 children. At the first grade level, each classroom has two teachers, and after that, the number of teachers is reduced to one. These two elements helped make my decision of the school final. I believe that in their formative, young years, children need personal attention in order to develop, and the attractive teacher to student ratio meant that Somaiya could deliver that level of attention.
While there are other, older schools in the area, as well as older CBSE schools around the city, Somaiya was the only one that could promise my son the whole package. I did not want my son to travel far to go to school, and I wanted him to attend a CBSE school. Furthermore, other schools not only had a higher teacher to student ratio, and they also put students under an enormous amount of pressure to complete mountains of homework and do well in exams. So while admitting my son to Somaiya School was a gamble, it has paid off in full.
What made you choose the CBSE curriculum in Somaiya School for your child?
N: As I mentioned, Somaiya School was the only CBSE school in the area, and I didn’t want my son to travel far for his education. I felt that he could spend the time in other, more fruitful pursuits. I also wanted him to study the CBSE curriculum, so that automatically narrowed my choices of school.
Somaiya also promised good quality education for my son. As far as I am concerned, the method of imparting knowledge is as important as the board chosen for study. In bigger schools, the students are under greater pressure, and there is less personal attention given to them.
I come from an SSC background, but there are no quality SSC schools anymore, so that was out of the question. The CBSE curriculum puts an emphasis on science and math, as well as on different languages. I feel that if children learn different languages early on in life, it helps in their overall development, and Somaiya promised to offer that. The school teaches students Sanskrit and Marathi from the beginning of their education, as well as French, which is taught from the nursery level. Going forward, the program will also be teaching them German and Spanish. Thus, as far as I was concerned, Somaiya was a natural choice.
What has been your experience with Somaiya School as a parent?
N: The school has an open door policy, and it takes parental input seriously, whether the input is good or bad. If parents send the school a message regarding any issues, the school replies to us immediately, by the end of the day. The school also conducts workshops for parents throughout the year, including workshops on parenting and education. Thus, the school gives parents a chance to gain an insight to what experts think about these topics.
The school also ensures that there is a lot of parental involvement in all the events that it conducts. I was involved with the school’s PTA for several years, and I can attest that the PTA is extremely involved with the school, and is also open and receptive to parental comments and input.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that my faith in Somaiya has only been improved by the tone that my interactions with the school have taken.
What has been your child’s experience with Somaiya?
N: My son was extremely shy when he first started school – he was so shy that he couldn’t speak in front of a classroom of students, and it got so bad that he couldn’t even run during the annual sports day. Of the 90 children involved, he was the only one who refused to participate.
From that shy boy, thanks to years he has spent in Somaiya, my son has transformed into a much more outgoing person. The school organises a Gita recitation competition annually within the school, from which a student is selected to represent the school at the next level, and he has managed to become that representative. The school has opened up my son’s personality so much that he has gone from a boy who was too shy to run at the sports day and against trying new things to one who is eager to try new languages and is participating in a variety of events and sports offered by the school.
My son enjoys going to school thoroughly, so much that he looks forward to it whenever he is on vacation. The school makes sure that extracurricular activities are not only something that they offer after the school day, but are also part of the daily curriculum, because young children tend to be interested in these activities much more than they are interested in regular school. Because of this, Aarav loves going to school.
What advice would you give to parents applying for admission to Somaiya School?
N: I would tell anyone who is getting admission to the school to jump at the opportunity and take it. This is because there are limited seats available in the school each year – after all, there are only 30 students per division, so there isn’t much space for new students.
The school offers students a chance to gain all-round development, and gives each child personal attention. If a parent truly wants to make sure that their child develops as a person, instead of simply in the studies, they should definitely take the amazing chance offered by Somaiya School.
