Bala Mandir Schools – Journey towards excellence

My association with Bala Mandir began in March 2017, after I retired from the corporate sector. I became Member-In-Charge of Bala Mandir Vidyalaya Nursery and Primary School in October 2019. Bala Mandir schools cater to children from the  Bala Mandir Home and children from the socio-economically weaker section of  society. Bala Mandir Primary School and High School follow the Tamil Nadu State Board syllabus.

The vision statement of Bala Mandir says “All children need loving care, good upbringing and opportunities for development.” Children are born with curiosity to learn. Schools are responsible to nurture this curiosity to learn and ensure that education is not viewed as a chore. Driven by this vision the school team embarked on a School Re-engineering Project in February 2020 (Please refer to ‘Bala Mandir School Re-engineering Project’ – a blog written by P Natarajan).

The school teams have created appropriate content including Samacheer Kalvi books, educational videos and workbooks. Every classroom has a smart TV to play educational videos. The focus is on learning outcomes and not completion of designated portions. At the beginning of each term, tests are conducted to ascertain the knowledge level of students. Based on the current levels of students, monthly goals are set for all classes and subjects. Additional remedial classes are conducted for those students who may be lagging behind in some subjects.

To provide holistic education, students are taught value education, yoga, music, dance, art and craft and such co-curricular activities. Both schools have large playgrounds and offer plenty of opportunities for sports. The High School has set up the Vikalpa Lab which nurtures the creativity of students. Digital literacy begins from Class 3 and the school team is striving to leverage technology extensively to improve learning outcomes. The school team engages with the parents extensively to keep them informed of and involved in school activities.

We have tied up with several other not-for- profit organisations to help us in this journey. ‘Happy Reading’ is an example in which several volunteers coach students over the phone, outside school hours, to improve their English knowledge. We constantly look out for such assistance. Bala Mandir schools will be a model to show that good quality education can be provided at affordable cost to children from the socio-economically weaker sections of society. The entire school team is aligned in this journey towards excellence. The quest for continuous improvement motivates the team and this journey will never end