Download - Cenbosec Oct Dec 2013

cenbosec

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Vineet Joshi, IASChairman

M. C. SharmaController of Examinations

Pitam SinghDirector (Special Exams and CTET)

Dr. Sadhana ParasharDirector (Academics, Research, Training and Innovation)

Dr. Antriksh JohriDirector (Information Technology)

P. I. SabuDirector (EDUSAT)

M. V. V. Prasada RaoRegional Director (Delhi)

EDITORS

P. RajeswaryEducation Officer

Niti S. SharmaReport Writer

Quarterly Bulletin of the Central Board of Secondary Education

The views expressed by any author in his/her article/contribution published in Cenbosec do not represent the views of the Board.

Published by the Secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education, 'Shiksha Kendra', 2, Community Centre, Preet Vihar, Delhi-110092, CBSE, Delhi-92, and Printed at I G Printers Pvt. Ltd., Okhla Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi-110020

Vol. 52, No. 4, October-December, 2013

CONTENTSPages

From the Chairman 3Feedback Forum 7Achieving Academic Excellence Contributors1. Achieving Academic Excellence K. C. Garg 92. Testing Mastery of Language at Intermediate Level Dr. Shyama Singh 113. Teacher as the Motivator Dr. Manjit Singh 144. Route to 21st Century Educational Paradigm Lalit Krishan Trivedi 155. Ideal Institutions with Ideal Teachers Dr. S S Khokhar 166. A Hallmark of Excellence for 21st Century T V S Prakasa Rao 187. Duty, Discipline and Dedication Dr. G P Pandey 198. Goals of Excellence Anand Gupta 209. Holistic Learning Devika Dutt 2210. Progressive and Permanent learning Chitra Nakra 2311. Planning for Success Dr. Neeru Joshi 2512. Multi-Disciplinary Exposure Anita Nanda 2613. Setting Academic Goals Dr. Anita Bhalla 2714. Technique of Learning by Teaching Dr. Haleema Sadia 2815. Why Academic Excellence? Radhika Varma K. 3016. Schools Nurturing Excellence Deepika Bhandari 3217. Criteria for Excellence Neeta Tewari 3418. An Inter-disciplinary Approach to Learning and Assessment Mamta Banerjee 3519. Education as a Never Ending Process Yogita Nangia 3720. No Short Cuts to Success Shalini Shukla 3821. Achievements through CCE Amit Rai 3922. In Persuit of Excellence Y. Sreedhar Rao 4023. Achieving Academic Excellence Rajesh Babu Sharma 4124. Achieving Academic Excellence- Aiming For The Stars Shyda Rana 4325. Journey towards Excellence Anju Daksh 4726. 'kS{kf.kd mPprk dh miyfC/k f'ko ukjk;.k lDlsuk 48What Other Principals Say... 51What Other Teachers Say... 57What Others Say... 66What Other Students Says.... 71Gender Sensitization 73News from Schools 80Green Pages 128Health and Wellness Clubs 144Sahodaya Updates 149Sports Arena 153Best Practices 167News from Administration 189Academic Updates 203Circulars 214

3October-December 2013

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Quarterly of the Central Board of Secondary Education

Message from the Chairman

At some point of our growing up years we had been inundated by thoughts, beliefs and at times sermons about persons who were excellent in whatever they did. They could be students who were good sportspersons, artists, musicians, painters and so on. But the awe and admiration was generally reserved for those who had achieved academic excellence.

Achieving academic excellence has often been a dream for individuals, educational institutions and the entire education system. Nevertheless, the yardstick to measure academic excellence could be similar across the world because, as human beings, the benchmark for success could largely be similar, irrespective of who we are, where we live and what we think and do.

Academic Excellence can be de ned as the demonstrated ability to perform or excel in scholastic activities. It has been identi ed with achieving high grades and superior performance. But academic excellence is more than just having good grades. It is the holistic development of intellectual capacities and skills for life ahead.

There might be different perceptions, interpretations and understanding on educational excellence, considering our diversities, social and traditional fabric, values and orientation etc. Keeping this in view the 20th National Annual Sahodaya School Conference was organized by the Amritsar Sahodaya, under the aegis of CBSE from 8-10 November 2013. The conference resolved to create Future Ready Schools equipped with emerging technologies and innovative pedagogies while being rmly rooted in indigenous traditions of lasting values. It was resolved that Values Education, Gender Sensitization and Heritage Education have to become a part of Continuous Professional Development of teachers and Peer Educators for imparting education effectively.

As a part of Swami Vivekanandas 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations, CBSE has also become associated with Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi to develop a comprehensive Three Year Graded Values Education Programme for students of classes VII, VIII and IX. The aim of the programme is to empower students in a real and tangible way and help them evolve as enlightened citizens enabling them to stand on their own feet. Such students will not only achieve academic excellence and professional success but will also look into the larger interest of the community and society at large.

However, one essential aspect of educational thinking is realizing educational processes from the perspective of children, who are the key factors of the teaching and learning processes. The Board has also initiated Assessment of Speaking and Listening (ASL) Skills and Open Text-Based Assessment (OTBA) from the academic session 2013-14 in classes IX and XI to focus on communicative aspects of language learning and promotion of analysis and critical thinking respectively, thus a signi cant departure from memorization. We hope that both teachers and students will share and enjoy this journey of exploring different aspects of learning. A teachers teaching is greatly in uenced by what she or he believes about

4 Achieving Academic Excellence



aspects of teaching like pedagogy, environment, student characteristics, her or his role as a teacher etc.

Achieving academic excellence is a process of both formal and informal education. It takes not only basic intelligence and realistic goals but a combination of skills, organization, time management, prioritization, concentration and self-motivation to achieve it. Indeed, education is a limitless and unending teaching-learning process to be enjoyed for a lifetime.

We believe that the on-going initiatives need to be continued, extended and strengthened with wider participation of stakeholders at all levels local, national and international. It is important that we keep in focus the localized context but at the same time have a broader perspective too.

A famous saying thus goes:

There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you only do it when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only result.

Vineet JoshiChairman

Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi




Feedback Forum

Respected Sir,

On behalf of all the members of Amritsar Sahodaya School Complex, I would like to congratulate you at the huge success of Annual Conference of Sahodaya School Complex 2013. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your motivation and for being an integral part of this National Conference. Your presence was a huge source of inspiration to all those who attended the conference. Sharing Your ideas and expertise about teaching has made this rewarding and successful experience for all the delegates. Your understanding of learning theories, familiarity with school policies and pedagogies, teaching excellence and interpersonal skills have contributed to the success of the conference.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely, Dr. Dharam Veer Singh

Chairman, Sahodaya School Complex, Amritsar, Punjab

Respected Sir,

We appreciate the efforts taken by CBSE to publish the quarterly magazine CENBOSEC. It is a unique effort on your part to encourage all CBSE schools to continue excellence in education. It helps a lot to know about the programs and activities of various schools. It also helps to know the details of CBSE programs and activities.

I take the opportunity to congratulate and compliment the entire team of CENBOSEC for giving importance to Academic Excellence.

Further more, academic excellence is not a guarantee for success in life. If academic excellence is achieved by using unethical means then life of such people or students cannot be peaceful.

With warm regards,

Dr. Ashok GandaDirector

Kamla Montessori SchoolHisar Road, Sirsa , Haryana




Respected Sir,

It gives us great pleasure to share that the Regional Level CBSE - Katha Workshop on Creative Writing held on 25 and 26 October concluded with 98 students who quali ed for the Certi cates after completing their sessions in the two genres - Haiku and Fiction Writing.

The accompanying educators, parents and others were engaged in workshops on the given titles- Effective Communication, Life Skills and Puppetry. The Puppetry Workshop was conducted by the Staff members of the PSBB Millennium School.

We thank you for giving us an opportunity to host the event in our school.

Thank you!

With warm regards,

Sita UmamaheswaranPrincipal

The PSBB Millennium SchoolGerugambakkam and GST Road Campus

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Respected Sir,

I returned from Raipur after conducting an ASL workshop. On my way back re ecting on some random thoughts, specially in the light of the beautiful experience I had out there, I felt I owed a great deal to you (apart from others with whom I interact on a day to day basis) for having reposed faith in me and to have kept me associated with one or the other program which satiates my passion for academic pursuits alive.

I feel so enriched and privileged.

On my journey back home many thoughts crossed my mind And then, suddenly, a thought ashed ---- I had never thanked you enough for all this.

When we talk of CBSE we start looking at everything in a very impersonal perspective and somewhere stop short of the people behind the great institution.

So this letter is just to extend A BIG THANK YOU for your continuous support and faith in me because of which I continue on my academic journey (my greatest passion)

Thank you once again.

Mrs. Veena Bhasin Noida- Uttar Pradesh




Achieving Academic Excellence

K. C. Garg *

The paradigm of education is rapidly changing...with the advancement in technology and exposure to varied media.its an altogether new era of teaching and learning. Education today has a multifaceted role. It should give wings to the students to y on their own and at the same time keep them rooted with the values inculcated in them. A school is a world in miniature where one receives training for life. It is here that we prepare students for the challenges of the global worlda world that continually demands new skills and competencies a world that requires the students to excel in communication and inter-personal skills a world that requires them to become life-long learners and earners.

This is a mammoth task as the schools have to empower students with knowledge that provides them with a rm foundation to lead and create a niche in their respective careers even after their exit from school premises. It is empowerment through learning and the schools should focus on all the domains for the holistic development cognitive, moral, social, aesthetic and physical.

The skills capped under these domains should be designed in such a way that they promote innovative curricular and co-curricular programs to sustain success in nurturing future-ready citizens. The ultimate aim is to see our students reach the pinnacle of success. The target is to involve and get response from all the students. To achieve this, teachers should be motivated to prepare the lesson plans that are comprehensive and student-centred. This includes checking the pre-requisite knowledge, attempting pre-reading tasks, providing synopsis of the lesson, points to remember, HOTS and application based questions. To further enhance the understanding, students should be encouraged to frame questions and ask their peers. By working in groups, students gradually internalize the discourse that occurs, challenging themselves by asking for reasons and, in general, accounting for their own work. Let me cite the example of ash card activities that can be conducted in class after the completion of each chapter, wherein students are divided in groups of four and given time-bound activities. The ash-card activity creates the ambience of coffee table wherein students of varied understanding level collaborate to practice the concepts taught in the classroom in xed time duration. Here, teacher plays the role of a mentor. Another practice that supports students' participation involves shifting responsibility from teacher to student done in the form of research activities and projects so as to widen their knowledge horizon.

A combination of methodologies should be used at all levels viz., exchange programmes, eld trips, collaborative projects, exhibitions, activities, games, questioning, computer assisted instructions, group discussions, self-instructional packages, demonstration and role playing, etc., to enable the students to think critically, synthesize, transform, experiment and create.

* Chairman, Rukmini Devi Public School, Pitampura, New Delhi




With the phenomenal changes in the education systemthe future belongs to those who best educate their students for the future. The students must be encouraged to learnexploreexperiencegrow professionally and be the agents of change. To achieve academic excellence, the schools have to be the harbingers of transformation.

As schools, we should strive to mould the personalities of children. For the judicious and holistic development of youthful energies, we should focus on enhancing communication and interpersonal skills. Students should be provided exposure to right and apt knowledge by keeping them abreast with the latest. Their awareness should be enhanced so that they are channelized towards creativity and self-actualization. Therefore, as educators, we have to rede ne, reinvent and restructure our curriculum, so that, we are able to hone students pro ciencies.

One major aspect while delivering teaching should be concept clarity. Students should be able to understand the concepts and apply them in real life situations. Application based concept clarity will make the students re ective, critical, creative and independent thinkers. Conceptual clarity is quintessential as it is the keystone.

It is a well known fact that learning a foreign language may lead to better skills in other academic areas. It boosts con dence and can ignite a deeper and broader passion for learning in general. I believe that due to highly globalised economy, students should be uent in more than one foreign language. Being multi-lingual rather than bi-lingual is the need of the hour.

The efforts made by the schools towards holistic growth should enrich the moral ber of the nation. Whilst educating the minds of young students, we must not forget to educate their hearts. I believe that education is not merely to infuse brain with information; rather it should enable the students to acquire good qualities for a life time. The most important aspect is being a good human being. Education to be complete must be humane. As Albert Einstein so aptly puts it, Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.




* Linguistic Department, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Testing Mastery of Language at Intermediate Level

Dr. Shyama Singh *

Testing is necessary to knowing students progress in learning and it is a compulsory and important part of the education system. Like other subjects testing is also very important in language teaching. In context of language teaching, we can obtain the students language progress and achievements data by this. Testing also helps the teacher in evaluation of language achievements of whole class. Teacher can determine the problem of any special student or the whole class by test and s/he can identify the dif cult part of his/her teaching. By using the objective test s/he can do the error analysis and the problematic part of language, and ascertain that the aim of language teaching is successful or not.

Objective tests are very useful to know the students achievements and language related progress. In simple words, we can say that the test is an objective and standardized procedure for assessing ability, achievement, pro ciency and other traits of a student. It is conducted usually after a prior announcement and is designed to cover a speci c unit of instruction as part of the learning process. In a regular teaching programme, class tests are usually conducted once a week, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly.

Types of Language tests:- There are four main types

(1) The Prognostic test

(2) The Progress test

(3) The Achievement test

(4) The Pro ciency test

1. Prognostic test the Prognostic test provides a statistical indication of a students probability of success in his study of the language. According to Lado it is aptitude test which is used for measuring the ability of a student in language learning.

2. Progress test the Progress test is designed to measure the quantum of mastery acquired by learners in material taught or skills in which they are trained.

3. Achievement test the Achievement test is one which is to measure the extent of learning of the material presented in a particular course.

4. Profi ciency test the Pro ciency test in language refers to an instrument which attempts to measure complete mastery of language competence of a student.




Language skills there are four basic skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing.

(1) Listening the skill of listening requires pro ciency in three areas:-

(i) Discrimination:- For example making a phonemic distinction between long and short vowels and minimal pairs of the language in the part of listening skill. The main object of a listening test is to evaluate students comprehension. His/her degree of comprehension will depend on his/her ability to discriminate phonemes and to recognize stress and intonations patterns. Discrimination of sounds and vocabulary for intermediate students may incorporate known vocabulary.

(ii) Retention:- It is a serious problem for beginners and seems to present less of an obstacle for the intermediate students. In testing retention as such sentence should be constructed by using words and structure with which all the students are familiar.

(iii) Comprehension:- The main objective of a listening test is to evaluate the students comprehension. His/her degree of comprehension will depend on his/her ability to discriminate phonemes to recognize stress and intonation patterns and to retain what has been heard. In conversation, however understanding the target language obviously also requires a knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, passage comprehension may be used with intermediate level students since the aim of such a test is to evaluate the students ability to follow a long passage .The question must be framed in an unambiguous and easily comprehensible format, multiple facet type items are useful for this test.

(2) Speaking is a social skill. Speaking however is more than pronunciation and intonation. At the functional level speaking is making oneself understood. At a more re ned level speaking requires the correct and idiomatic use of the target language.

(3) Reading is dependent on pronunciation test based on new material. Intermediate students who have mastered the sound of the new language will perform unevenly on this type of test. Discrete vocabulary items as synonyms, antonyms, de nition, completion and passage items are used in a reading test.

(4) Writing of the four basic skills. Writing may truly be considered as the most sophisticated one vocabulary, spelling and rules of grammar must be mastered before the students can aspire to precision of expression, uency and style. All language related aspects we can tested through the writing skill test viz. dictation of dif cult phrases, completion, replacement, transformation, word order, sentence types vocabulary and grammar-based composition, translation, etc.

Linguistic techniques

Language as a tool for communication, plays a key role in test construction. It determines the competence of students. Language is a system which is phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic.

Phonology is the study of sounds and then distribution of a particular language. Phonology is used as a potential input for item writing towards developing mastery. It is one of the major components of language concerned with sound structure as segmental (single sound, contrastive sound, complementary sound) and non segmental (duration, accent and stress, juncture, aspiration, tone and intonation and sandhi) features.




Morphology is the study of the grammatical structure of word and the categories. Morphology is used as a potential input for item writing. Its major components are parts of speech pre or post position, verb and verb modi er, auxiliary, particles and clitics etc.

Syntax is the study of the grammatical relations between words and other units within the sentence. Syntax is also used as potential input for item writing and is one of the major components of language concerned with phrases, clauses, sentence types, sentence patterns, syntactic concord, sentence relationship etc.

Semantics is the study of meaning. Semantics as a concept being used as a potential input for item writing as it is one of the major components of language concerned with different types of meanings like lexical, grammatical, denotative, connotative and so on. The interrelated/hierarchical aspects that constitute these components and dimensions that are associated with each of them are considered to be the potential input for question preparation towards the development of mastery tests. Mastery test is a general term that indicates that the examinee has achieved enough to satisfy the minimum requirements of a syllabus. It is not intended to indicate how much s/he has achieved in relation to his/her peers, these tests usually consists of items with low dif culty level and provide longer time to the examinees for completing their responses.




Dr. Manjit Singh *

Excellence simply means being very good and outstanding in your eld. Academic excellence may be de ned as achieving excellent grades and attaining higher degrees, but it is not the end. Broadly, academic excellence involves developing our intellect and other skills.

For achieving academic excellence, students should x a goal. Once the target/goal is xed, students must work hard to achieve that goal because hard work is the key to success. So, the hours of studying, playing and socialization must be xed. A student must be disciplined to achieve higher academic excellence. It includes completing assignments/projects in time and the student must be committed to study without waiting for the deadlines. A student must be focussed on the target because any distraction can bring down the academic performance. Further, time management is also important. In this whole process mentioned above, the role of teacher is vital. The teachers must guide and motivate the students for achieving their goals in life because a good teacher is a motivator. Thus, the teachers must guide and motivate the students to achieve academic excellence because the future lies in the hands of teachers who can in uence a childs growth and ability to achieve in life.

It is a matter of fact that the academic excellence of a student depends (to a large extent) on the teachers of that school in which s/he studies. With good teachers, the students will achieve higher grades. Thus, quality education depends on the quality teaching. For achieving academic excellence, trainings for the teachers are a pre-requisite. CBSE has been doing an excellent work while conducting training programs/workshops/seminars for teachers and Principals. The new schemes like CCE and other changes being brought in curriculum etc., require training of teachers for proper implementation of the same.

It is also important to mention here that to achieve academic excellence, innovations are a must.

Besides, good teaching aids are required. With improvement in technology, the teaching-aids also improve. The smart classes and other modern teaching aids have helped.

The quality of education at the university level also has an impact on academic excellence. India needs good research facilities in universities. The need and demand of more institutions providing higher education cannot be ignored any further. In order to achieve academic excellence, more universities with good research facilities need to be set up.

Thus, in a nutshell, it can be said that academic excellence involves developing the intellect and other skills. The teacher should guide the students to plan and achieve their goals in life by motivating them to work hard. Efforts must be made to improve the quality of teaching which will certainly improve the quality of education. Stress should be given on new innovations, schemes, teacher training programs and teaching-aids which are important medium to achieve academic excellence.

* Director/ Principal, Dasmesh Parivar International School, Tarn Taran, Punjab

Teacher as the Motivator




* Director/ Principal, Roots International School, Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh

Lalit Krishan Trivedi *Nowadays, educational professionals are keen on developing innovative and radical ways to bring in

academic excellence in education to ensure that todays children face the 21st century challenges. Tony Wagner rightly argues What is the Global Achievement Gap and further reiterates that The Global Achievement Gap is between what even our best schools are teaching and testing versus the skills all students will need for careers, colleges, and citizenship in the 21st. century Boards assessments play a role in education, but a score on a test will not help the student when they are competing for a job with someone from China or Australia.

The most effective learning occurs in the elementary grades. Elementary teachers are not hindered by subject boundaries as much as in later grades, so interdisciplinary instruction occurs more naturally. Elementary teachers spend more time throughout the day with their students and that interaction allows for easier and more plentiful teaching opportunities. Students uninhibited enthusiasm to learn and not being afraid to ask questions. Many teachers would agree that the most effective means of teaching is answering students questions, because when they show interest in the subject they would remember the answers.

By the time students get to high school, instruction becomes segmented and many students become less engaged in the learning process. Their ability to investigate interconnections between what they learn is sti ed because the teacher has too much material to cover and not enough time.

No clear pinnacle of academic excellence has been identi ed; save by the Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi.The Board has introduced many changes in the teaching-learning gamut to make the curriculum quality oriented, global speci c and student relevant.

At the very least, the school should be a place where children are not treated as though they are data or numbers in someone elses policy war, or as only future members of society. Each school community needs to think through what important achievements look and sound likeset their standards and defend them even as they revise and edit. But it is education that has the potential to move individuals into a different space from where they can see life in a new way and indeed can create a new life for themselves. Education, unlike other areas of social service, can be transformational; yet it is not so for everyone .

On a low note, the majority of schools after being af liated to the Board, have their own whimsical rules to run the school. The schools should be periodically inspected for their norms, academic attainments, internal assessment and documentation and teachers competencies and their professional quali cations. The schools should be inspected and checked for mandatory educational requirements in terms of section/class, student strength, functional Science labs., Maths lab., playing elds, quality of text-books, etc.

Let us strive for the best and ensure an effective educational model for achieving academic excellence in our educational institutions.

Route to 21st Century Educational Paradigm




* Principal, BSF Sr. Sec. School, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir

Dr. S S Khokhar *The shine on the brass is seen by all

But praised are the hands that remove specks. The quality of brasso claims it all

But the grace is claimed by the place it decks.

Achieving academic excellence is a different phenomenon for different schools and different individuals. Every individual student has his/her own standard and goal, and every school has its own standard and goal. Setting a goal for a short term and achieving it individually or institutionally may be called as achieving academic excellence. An ideal institution, with ideal teachers and ideal students, interacting in an ideal environment can achieve academic excellence with limited resources too.

We shall start from teachers. Real and ideal teachers are self disciplined. They inculcate self-discipline among students. For this, the new teachers may be observed in or more of four areas- instruction, professionalism, classroom environment and planning. Observations are to be preceded by pre-conference, in which the Principal and the teachers discuss the lesson followed by a post-conference, in which the Principal shares his or her impressions of the teachers performance.

Coming to the students, ideal students are self-disciplined and very enthusiastic. They have their own goals and work hard to achieve them. Some students need a little monitoring and counseling. It is rightly said that discipline is the fuel of achievement whereas enthusiasm is the match-stick to ignite this fuel". Enthusiasm is very necessary to make progress in the right direction. An unenthusiastic person becomes listless and his progress becomes stagnant. The parents and teachers will have to think of a strategy to bring the child back on the track of progress by infusing and awakening a new enthusiasm in him or her. School Management ought to look after the interests of the staff in all respects.

Professional councellors should be invited to guide the individual students according to their aptitude and attitude. This will make the students goal-oriented and focused and will reduce the disciplinary problems to a great extent.

Some children need regular counseling in their adolescence while they are undergoing physiological and psychological transformations. Sometimes some children develop unnecessary and baseless worries which dissipate most of their valuable energy and leave them frustrated youth gone off track. They desperately need a good councellor to be put back on the right track.

Incentives also play a great role in orientation. Medals should become a part of the uniform of the student till it is claimed by another student or earned by the same student for the next session. This acts as a constant

Ideal Institutions with Ideal Teachers




reminder for the student to retain it and an object of coveted envy for other competitors instead of being felicitated one day and then forgotten for-ever. Achievers are not only those who shine on the top. They are also achievers who compete with themselves and make remarkable progress. They too need to be identi ed and honoured in the same way. Time needs to be set aside for parent-teacher meeting both individually and collectively. Nothing is more effective than a healthy discussion between parents with teachers, along with their wards. Parents should never compare the achievement of their ward with some other child.

Educational tours and use of multimedia is assistance beyond description in achieving academic excellence. They help in percolating the knowledge from the head to the heart. We learn more through associations. When a lesson is associated with some of our personal experience, it becomes ours forever. These educational tours not just enhance the subject knowledge of the students but also broaden their outlook and promote National Integration in the best possible way. Multimedia is half way behind but at least half way ahead than mere classroom lessons. Tours and excursions have time and monitory limitations which are paved by multimedia to a great extent.

Case study is another means to motivate the students to achieve their desired goals. Lives of the successful alumni may be presented for case study by students. Teachers too should maintain record of the weaknesses and strengths of individual students to set them on the path of progress.

The attitude of the teachers, students, management and the guardians is of utmost importance. Teachers and management need to have a missionary zeal. Schools should be made bigger and well-staffed instead of over-crowding classrooms and overburdend teachers. Curriculum should be intensive instead of extensive. Learning should be thorough and deep instead of super cial and quantitative.

To conclude, we can say that academic excellence is the product of the amalgamation of the efforts of the teacher and the taught in the crucible of the institution under the temperature of the up-to-date infrastructure and the pressure of the administration of the management. But since the product is a human resource, its litmus test is its conduct and contribution to the society. This positive or negative output determines the success or failure of the institution.




* Principal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Deogarh, Odisha

T V S Prakasa Rao *

If India is to be a great nation, it must begin in her classrooms

-- Jawaharlal Nehru

By 2020, India will experience an age advantage of at least three decades. This demographic demand is an unprecedented opportunity. Unless every Indian acquires knowledge and skills to suit the demand for jobs both domestic and aboard the demographic demand cannot be utilized effectively. Hence achieving Academic Excellence among students is the need of the hour for every educational Institute.

The great Scientist Einstein was once asked How many feet are in a mile. Einstein's replay was I dont know why I should ll my brain with facts, I can nd in two minutes in any standards reference book." Einstein taught us a big lesson. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Memory does not have that much signi cance. Edward DeBono had stated that thinking skills should be nurtured in schools. Thinking skills helps in detecting the individual potential.

The classroom instruction has to be designed to address the affective dimensions of the learning such as intellectual and social dispositions, relationship building and habits of mind. The classroom instruction should motivate all students, addressing the diverse needs and capabilities of each student. The teaching should promote the students curiosity and passion to learn new concepts and should enhance their questioning skills and higher order thinking skills. The teacher should acquire the knowledge about different questioning techniques such as closed ended questions; open-ended questions (leading /loaded questions) recall and process questions, rhetorical, funneling questions.

J. Krishna Murthy advocated the schools for detecting the childs potential. It is very important that each teacher should be trained as a Vocational Psychologist so that the students do not choose the wrong profession and suffer for life. Career guidance, wellness, Adolescence Education Programmes, behavior management and leadership programmes, team work and group dynamics activities are to be organized in the schools in a planned manner and regular periodic evaluation of the students performance is necessary for the students success in life. A variety of co-curricular activities and physical tness programs like yoga, meditation are to be organized to provide opportunities outside the classroom to further identify and develop the students gifts and talents to enhance their creative, aesthetic, social/ emotional physical and spiritual capabilities.

The classroom instructions are to be redesigned to inculcate the meta-cognitive skills among the students. The CCE scheme introduced by CBSE is a milestone in the history of education of India The objectives and signi cance of CCE should be understood properly and it should be implemented in true spirit to achieve the desired academic excellence.

A Hallmark of Excellence for 21st Century




* Principal, Delhi Public School, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

Dr. G P Pandey *

In a world driven by digital revolution, there is a plethora of information. In this technological quagmire de ning academic excellence in itself is a complex affair. Academic excellence thus comes from lessons of life which teaches pupils ways to adapt, to deal with change, to be prepared for anything. This is achieved by not preparing them for anything speci c. It means leaving our old ideas at the door and reinventing everything.

For any learning to be complete and ful lling, our children need to be equipped with a few skills. First and foremost is the ability to ask questions. If our learners grasp this skill they will be able to explore possible answers on their own. This again requires encouragement from facilitators and a conducive environment of encouraging questioning. Solving problems is the next step in achieving academic excellence. Let us not be overenthusiastic in bringing a quick x solution to every problem our child faces. Let him ddle and try out various options. Help your child in developing con dence in his/her problem solving abilities. To my mind every child must be guided to nd an individual passion. It is not goals de ned by others or discipline and motivation that drives the young blood, but passion which keeps him/her excited. academic achievements follow only if s/he is passionate about it.

Independence is another requisite essential for academic excellence. This may sound surprising in a school scenario but experience says that if you teach children to stand on their own feet that is encourage them to do things on their own they will surely make mistakes. But once they become independent they manage learning on their own. A child with a bunch of successes is able to handle books and syllabus in a more balance manner than the one who is given steps of construction in a handy way. Time management tips and strict follow up of the same in the school scenario is a bare essential. A child needs to realize that there is no alternative to hard work. When a disciplined and dedicated study time is devoted without any compromises, the habit of toil and perseverance shall de nitely creep in. Lastly, I would say that while infusing academic nuggets in the psyche of children our educators should train them in dealing with changes. Mental prowess is not an isolated accomplishment. It comes from mental and physical well being too.

With a brilliant barrage of information and entertainment on one side and companionship and education on the other, our children today have a lot to handle. Therefore balancing academics beyond classrooms is very essential. We as educators need to meet their needs outside the con nes of classrooms. And to sum it I would reiterate that innovation and novel ideas are the key. A distinctive blend of offerings in the areas of knowledge and enterprise in the form of encouraging students is the most sought after contribution today. So, we are looking forward to a grueling team work and compassionate service!

Duty, Discipline and Dedication




* Principal, Vidya Mandir Public School, Faridabad, Haryana

Anand Gupta *

When we think about achieving academic excellence, we must think about setting and achieving academic goals. We must realize the power of setting goals. Achieving academic excellence is not a big task. Its just the combination of some skills and factors which ultimately lead a person to the zenith of success.

To achieve academic excellence, always build concrete strategies and plans. The goals must be positive, personal, present, speci c and must not be contradictory to other goals. Set goals really high, so that they can force and stretch you to do better.

Factors important for achieving academic excellence are :

Organization: Be it a matter of keeping track of latest research material or bringing home a lunchbox, students need to be organized to get success.

Motivation: The reason is often motivation -be it on the level of parents or on academic facilitators, tapping into your childs interests is a great way to get him/her geared to do well in academics. Always congratulate the child, encourage him/her and celebrate all his/her successes, no matter how small they are

Time Management: The next tool that helps a student in achieving academic excellence is time management. Time is such an important factor that one can never ignore. If you feel like that your study schedule is not allowing you to make your dreams true then obviously change your study style.

Prioritization: Sometimes students fall behind academically only because of the reason that simply they dont know from where to begin. Prioritizing tasks is a skill that a student will need throughout his life. So its never too late to get started. Always have a hunger for excellence and focus your efforts.

Concentration: Whether its a matter of practicing second grade spelling words or studying for a Trigonometry test, its very important that one must concentrate on his/her studies with limited distractions and interruptions. In this hi-tech world, parents responsibility increases multifold when it comes to turn off access to the areas that is not suitable for our loved ones.

Learn from the best: Hook up with the people who are the best in their eld and try to emulate them. Insights and tips which will be extremely valuable in the pursuit of excellence.

Be adaptable: Dont be over attached to plans. Always be prepared to alter them wherever and whenever needed. If there are certain things which are non-effective in the path to excellence, be ready to improvise.

In achieving academic excellence, we cannot underestimate the role of parents, teachers as well as the school. In school, we should provide environment that is motivating, challenging and full of positive energy.

Goals for Excellence




As an Academic Facilitator, we should keep in mind that every child is unique and we as parents and teachers should facilitate them in making right choices in the highly competent world of today, so that when they grow up as adults, they can look back to us with reverence and take pride in values and education they received under our stewardship. To excel in academics, its very important to provide children an environment of moral courage, spiritual realization and steady intellectual enlightenment.

Achieving academic excellence in such a cut-throat competitive world is such a challenging task that doesnt allow us to take anything for granted. To get through one should have in-depth knowledge of subjects, a well prepared timetable, sincere concentration and sweated hardwork.

We as educators with our futuristic vision have to develop challenging strategies that can help children to excel in academics. Till now, we have discussed all the factors which contribute towards achieving academic excellence. Last but not the least, everything is the result of perseverance, dedication, unconditional hardwork and sincerity on the part of students. They must recognize their strengths and weaknesses and seek help when needed. Finally, dont forget the value of surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who motivate you to reach to your full potential. So, yes If I can do it, so can you.

"We are what we repeatedly do.Excellence, then, is not an act,

but a habit."-Aristotle




* Principal, D.A.V. Public School, Khera Khurd, Delhi

Devika Dutt *

APJ Abdul Kalam says_When learning is purposeful Creativity Blossoms

When Creativity BlossomsThinking Emanates

When Thinking EmanatesKnowledge is Lit

When Knowledge is LitThe Nation Progresses

Education in todays perspective lies in books and beyond books. Understanding that Mother Nature is an excellent teacher, observing relevantly from one's surrounding grooms an individual into a holistic identity, which is the need of an hour.

Achieving academic excellence needs devotion, commitment, a plan, time management and skills to be outstanding. The person needs to know right from day one that Success is possible only when we have a commitment to action.

Academic excellence may be de ned as the demonstrated ability to perform, achieve, and/or excel in scholastic activities. Although excellence in the eld of academics has increasingly become synonymous with achieving high grades, cut throat competition among the countrys youth urges us to view the term in a holistic manner, encouraging them to appreciate and strive for academic excellence, in the true sense of the word.

While the role of formal education in achieving success cannot be stressed enough, it cannot be mistaken to form the core of academic excellence in its entirety. Achieving academic excellence is undeniably a process of both formal and informal education.

It is important to not lose sight of the bigger picture - to remember what we want to accomplish eventually. However, it is equally important to encourage students to set short-term targets and commend them on meeting those targets successfully. Doing so raises the students con dence and gradually infuses in them the habit of focusing on one task at a time and enjoying the learning process.

It is equally imperative to inculcate in students the habit of raising questions without fearing mockery

Holistic Learning




from their fellow mates. For this, encouraging students to help each other, allowing them to solve questions in groups, facilitates a healthy competition between them.

Students should learn to use the library and use it often. The saying, books are a mans best friend is not in vain. The library offers a wealth of historical as well as current information which can greatly enhance their classroom experience.

The object of Education is to prepare young mind to indicate themselves throughout their lives.

When we inculcate the spirit of success in the heart of our students purely on the basis of marks percentage and distinctions, they automatically enter this endless maze, with no end in sight, on the other hand, if we relate success in the school to the extent to which all children are empowered to take a charge of their life once they leave and are able to live a life at peace with themselves then we have a much more convincing story to advertise. With the launch of CCE, the whole scenario to curricula is in different face, the motive of education is empowerment. Identifying the true potential in children, empowering them to gain con dence in that area so that they develop a passion, a zeal and a determination to carry it forward, developing a dream a vision for realizing it and allowing their conscience to take charge, so that a spirit of good for society takes birth within them and the seeds of nobility are sown right here. Aggression, depression and a race hacking in the environment needs to be in bounds to ultimately create a healthy spirit, thought and notion in turn to have a sustainable community society and nation.

The belief- what is neglected in childhood can never be compensated throughout the life, so nourish their present to ourish their future.

A single step is always taken to cover thousands miles. Lets pledge and join hands to pull our generation back to know their worth away from materialism. I know and I am aware, a number of seminars, workshops and training courses have been held, several booklets and books have been published and many serious attempts are being made by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, State governments, NCERT, and other bodies, still its high time to rejuvenate the students. Education is the process of living through a continuous reconstruction of experience, it is the development of all those capacities in the individual.

It must always be remembered, The worlds great men have not commonly been great scholars, nor great scholars great men. (Oliver Wendell Holmes), thereby implying that while academic success is worth being applauded, nothing is lost in its absence.




* Principal, Veda Vyasa DAV Public School, Vikaspuri, New Delhi

Chitra Nakra *

As has been rightly said " We need to take the student out of the classroom and at the same time bring the outside world into the classroom". This is imperative for Excellence. The concept of modular learing, performance oriented leading, knowledge oriented learning, well based curriculum, interactive learning, peer learning, multimedia based learning etc. provide a variety of opportunities situations for academic excellence. The curriculum should also facilitate ample opportunities for acquiring the latest skills. Another aspect that deserves our attention is the use of educational technology for providing online student support systems. The students should be taught the assimilation, quanti cation, production, use and management of knowledge for excellence.

It is not the brains that matter the most but the character, the heart, the positive qualities and prograssive ideas that actually help students. Teachers should encourage the concept of Multiple Intelligence besides giving adequate importance to cognitive hearing. Academic excellence also calls for the physical and emotional well-being of the individual, the ethical use of technology, right perceptions, attitudes and the values. The teacher should understand that learing is a personal journey and the child's positive attitude and their ability to actually make learning progressives and permanent really matters. The students can be given extrapolatory notes and study material outside the parameters of the curriculum. The students should be provided a democratic atmosphere which should be able to boost the con dence of the learner. In a knowledge driven world there is rich ow of information where technology plays a vital role. The learner has to become tech savvy and always be a continuous learner. The teachers must ensure the optimum use of laboratories, use of activity orented methods, judicious use of educational technology, globalization in education, empowerment in life skills, use of projects, extension lectures, research, utilization of media centres, use of libraries, interdisciplinary learning enable the students to have a broad based view of the subject. The students should be undated about the techniques of paper setting and evaluation assessment systems, periodical tests and the qualities of systematic hard work and self study.

Education must aim at the harmony of hand, lead and heart thereby enabling excellence in physical academic and the humane front. Students should be encouraged to have a balance between the Spiritual Quotient, Intelligence Quotient and Emotional Quotient. As teachers we need to understand that creativity and excellence are both means and ends.

Learing is not attained - by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligance.

Progressive and Permanent Learning




* Principal, B.B.P.S, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

Dr. Neeru Joshi *

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other.

World is running with a supersonic speed and education system has witnessed a number of changes with a sole purpose to make student globalized and competitive. Every school, educator, educational experts are showing their concern and giving students the platform to achieve academic excellence.

Various domains/key elements are seriously to be pondered upon like:-

Relevance and rigor framework: A teacher who relies only on lecturing does not provide students with optimal learning opportunities. A teacher should plan the lesson using the rigor and relevance framework. It is of chief importance to design instruction and develop assessments that measure adaptation skills. This enables students not only to gain knowledge, but also to develop skills such as inquiry, investigation and experimentation.

Prioritization: Priority must be clear to students to reach to the decided goal. To excel in academic s/he needs to devote time to studies and set out the right priority.

The less time you give to your goal, the less you desire it; the less you desire your goal, the farther it becomes to achieve and in time it is lost and never found.

Discipline: Discipline plays a pivotal role in achieving excellence in any of the desired eld. A student should cultivate in himself the will to follow rules and regulations. Teacher must act as a friend, philosopher, mentor, and a guide for the student.

Time Management: To achieve academic excellence, teachers and student fraternity must manage the time adequately.

Focused Approach: Conditioning the mind for a determinate goal is also imperative to excel in academics. Know what you aspire and go for it with all determination.

Selection of right company: For a student it is very important to identify good friends.

Adequate preparation: Students are always advised not to start studying too close to their exams.

SWOT: To achieve academic excellence one should understand the importance of SWOT: strength, weakness, opportunity and threat.

In short, achieving academic excellence is a lot of hard work, there is no way around it and even no short cut. Last but not the least, students should surround themselves with like-minded individuals who motivate them to reach to their full potential to excel in academics.

Planning for Success




* Principal, Lala Jagat Narain D.A.V. Model School, Jalandhar, Punjab

Ms. Anita Nanda *

Academic excellence has paramount importance in a student's life. Its literal meaning is to demonstrate the abilities to perform, achieve or excel in scholastic activities.

Teachers play a vital role in a students life who can inculcate necessary mentioned traits in students. Students who want to perform academically well must be a voracious reader. Apart from reading books of their curriculum they should have the habit of visiting library. They must also consult reference books related to their subject. Even at school level they can consult reference books, encyclopedias etc. It is highly pertinent these days to develope competence in the English Language to achieve academic excellence. The students can consult grammar books from the library and attempt various worksheets at school with the help of their teachers.

A student who wants to achieve academic excellence must be self-con dent also. The self-con dence can be maintained if the person has a grasp of the concepts and puts in consistent effort to learn them. Students who do not update their knowledge cannot achieve academic excellence. So, students must be able to surf the internet to get latest information about concepts. Another point is that the person must attend seminars and workshops and must take part in all activities as students get exposure by doing so and come to know about the work of others.

Apart from all this the child must attend lectures, concerts, art exhibits, theatrical performances and other cultural activities whenever possible. They must get involved in a club or actively discuss points with their peer group, faculty and professionals in their study area. The child must assume leadership roles as a committee member, chairperson, or of cer to develop qualities for success in future career endeavors. The child must seek opportunities to work with professors on special projects in a research or teaching area of interest. A student who wants to excel academically must also keep the company of good students as peer-learning is very important.

The academic excellence should be achieved because it makes us unique with an edge over others because of knowledge, con dence and command over the language. They receive scholarships because of their academic excellence and are able to serve higher education and pursue research, gain admission in good institutions and given preference for good posts. By achieving academic excellence the student will be an asset to the nation and can contribute to the betterment of society.

Multi-Disciplinary Exposure




* Principal, Bhavan's SL Public School, Amritsar, Punjab

Dr. Anita Bhalla *

Academic Excellence is not a trait, hence it cannot be inherited but can be achieved by deliberate actions. It is not an effort of an individual but many things collaborate together to enable one to achieve academic excellence. The rst role is played by parents. They not only guide a child but also mould and shape his/her personality by providing a congenial and favorable environment. Can we imagine a child getting full grades if s/he is not supported by his/her parents. The parents are the guiding force behind every successful child. After parents, comes the role of school and teachers. Overall personality of a child cannot be groomed until or unless s/he is in a school where not only his/her academic skills are nurtured and nourished but s/he is morally, spiritually and ethically uplifted to become a responsible citizen of society .The stress here is not only getting grades, receiving scholarships or make him/her competitive in the job market but to prepare him/her in such a way that s/he proves to be a fruitful contribution to society throughout his/her life and also be in a position to be in service to those with whom s/he interacts or come in contact with.In this context the role of teachers cannot be left behind. The teacher not only guides a child about what to study but also how to study in order to be academically excellent. Students academic excellence depends on attitude of educational team.

The very rst thing is setting up schedules as well as mini-schedules which give students a sense of time as well as predictability. Classroom learning should also be exible, interesting and interactive .There should not be any threat of any type of punishment, torture or embarrassment. The relationship between a teacher and a student should be based on trust. The teacher should help a student to set goals at a speci ed period of time. In academics, goals are necessary to guide and direct a person because without them a student becomes rudderless in his/her daily routine. The goal must be speci c and attainable. It should be direct, precise and easily understood, possible and achievable. After setting a goal, proper planning is required because if a person is well prepared, half the battle is won. A child can achieve excellence but s/he needs to believe in himself/herself rst and for that purpose continuous efforts are needed.

An optimistic approach and positive attitude plays a vital role. There should be avision not only a wish. Dreams and wishes can only be achieved with diligent and tireless efforts, productivity, and conscientiousness. Enthusiasm and a positive outlook are also needed. If a person or a student fears failures s/he cannot achieve anything. To achieve academic excellence s/he needs to be fully equipped by keeping in mind that s/he may have to ght a battle more than once to win.

Setting Academic Goals




* Principal, India International School, Sharjah, UAE

Dr. Haleema Sadia *

As Hurst has clearly stated that innovation is a change in behavior or practice. All innovation involves at least one of four key elements: change, development, novelty or improvement. Our experiment involved change, novelty as well as improvement.

Importance of Innovation in Teaching to achieve academic excellence:

The goal of innovative teaching is to translate the enthusiasm of teaching to students. In this age of knowledge overdrive, it is important to break the monotony of the whole learning process with the aid of innovation.

Methodology: A very innovative technique was experimented, involving the students in the whole process of teaching and learning. This method might serve as a vehicle to Achieve Academic Excellence in other institutions as well in the future. The technique adopted was Learning by Teaching involving the students in the role of teachers in a real classroom situation.

The experiment was carried out with two different groups involving both the girls and the boys. A mixed ability group was short listed for the process. All the students belonged to Grade IX. The subjects chosen were English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Social Studies. Each student was assigned one subject and a particular unit. She/He was responsible for planning, preparing and teaching his/her part to peers. The whole process was closely monitored by the concerned subject teachers and wherever necessary, the student teachers were provided with guidance and encouragement.

Observation, Interview and Questionnaire methods were applied to assess the whole process. The Academic Heads of the school and the Coordinators observed the classes.

Interpretation of the results after Interviewing the Student Teachers: The responses of the teachers were very encouraging. Their enthusiasm clearly revealed the success of the whole process.

When queried about her feelings after the class, the Chemistry teacher responded very positively. She thought that the whole process was a great idea; it was a very refreshing approach to learning and should be done more often.

Technique of Learning by Teaching




To the question whether this system will be effective if practiced more often, the English Teacher, had this to say. Yes, it would be very interesting. The students interacted freely in my class. Since I am one among them, the students understood the concepts with ease and felt comfortable asking questions whenever they had doubts.

The general view of the students was that they felt more comfortable and the various explanations smoothly tted with their own broader life experiences. The Student Teachers held the view that this method made them learn their lessons thoroughly and they did not consider it a burden. Rather, they enjoyed doing so and went the extra mile keeping in view the contingencies that may arise during the teaching process.

Interpretation of the results after observation: Some observations were drawn at the completion of the whole experiment. The results were interpreted as follows:

(i) Student Involvement: The class interaction was exceptionally high. The novelty brought more life to the class.

(ii) Student Teacher talk/behavior: Very encouraging. This technique has great potential. The students participated enthusiastically. They used the digital applications very con dently and the overall demeanor was excellent.

(iii) Classroom climate: Very friendly and focused towards learning. The Student Teacher effortlessly used a level easily comprehended by their peers.

(iv) Post-experiment change: The Student Teachers showed a marked change in their behavior towards their teachers as well as their peers. They improved in their communication and tried to continue with their serious and respectable attitude towards their peers as well. They showed more enthusiasm towards their lessons.

Conclusion: On the basis of this experiment conducted in the school, I am con dent that this technique can bring a revolutionary change in academics. It can serve as an excellent tool in Achieving Academic Excellence as it helps students learn the desired course content and is able to develop achievable goals in the future. Through meaningful teaching reforms, the above mentioned being one of them, I believe we can improve teaching quality and hence achieve excellence in academics.




* Head Teacher (Primary Section), Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Tripunithura, Kochi, Kerala

Radhika Varma K. *

Excellence is a quality of being outstanding. It is not a trait and hence, it cannot be inherited. Academic excellence is the demonstrated ability to perform, achieve and excel in scholastic activity. Academic excellence is more than just making good grades.

Why academic excellence?

a) Make meaningful contribution to society through ones life,

b) Admission to professional schools.

c) Being competitive in the job market.

For achieving academic excellence one should be hard working, dedicated and determined.

Ef ciency is the capacity to bring pro ciency into expression. The intelligent preparedness or competency should be expressed as ones ef ciency.

So bend ones mind and body to the work that lives now, right in front.

A positive approach is more effective and more quick to get good results. It is the right attitude that gives us the right directions, right decisions and right actions.

Let us not fear failures. Failure is the best way to reinvent yourself. Failing, making mistakes and taking risks can create magic. Achievers take reasonable care to avoid repetitions of their past mistakes and learn from their errors. They never allow themselves to be blinded with tears of regret or fears.

In certain cases, you need to adapt and change your plans, change for improvisation.

This can be achieved by the following guidelines:

Practice makes student perfect. Solving as many question papers as possible, checking the answers and if doing corrections. Assessing your progress after every examination and approach the teacher for clari cations. Training and guidance from experts can be sought for betterment.

Listening carefully and noting down points when the teacher takes classes can save hours of reading, marking the important points.

Why Academic Excellence?




Participating in enrichment programmes like workshops, debates and seminars. Keep the right company. The more they share their knowledge, the more they study. Combined studies are very effective as it enrich your knowledge while sharing and exchanging ideas.

Focusing on ones goals with determination, enthusiasm and optimism, to achieve excellence, one has to sacri ce many of ones likes.

Being self disciplined is a conscious control over ones life style and commitment to study.

A sound mind requires a sound body which can be achieved only through regular exercise. Planning ones studies well in advance and at the same time avoiding sleepless nights and fastings before and during examinations is important too.

Being ambitious and always aspiring to remain the best, needs faith in oneself.

Having a hunger for excellence, and enthusiasm is the fuel for all great achievements. One has no choice, but to work hard, diligently and consistently.

In order to thrive in life, academic excellence should lead to the understading of life with all its extraordinary beauty, sorrows and joys. Knowledge makes a person honest, virtuous and endearing.

Academic excellence and global skills and knowledge are essential to navigate the world. Attributes such as problem solving, curiosity, creativity, innovation, communication, interpersonal and intrapersonal relationship, global literacy, ethics and technological expertise are important in persuit if excellence.

The main hope of anation lies in the

proper education ofits youth

-Erasmus




* TGT (English), St. Anne's Convent School, Chandigarh, Punjab

Deepika Bhandari *

In the present scenario, when government emphasizes on the projects like RTE, SARV SHIKSHA ABHIYAN for developing literacy in the country, the question comes how to achieve excellence in the eld of education. Every State, respective School Boards, Principals, teachers are trying their best to formulate rules and policies where no child should be deprived of the Right to Education.

According to William R. Dagget The goal of helping each child to attain academic pro ciency has geared classroom instruction to the sole purpose of passing them. As students move from class to class and progress to the next grade they are restricted to only content-speci c knowledge. They are unable to correlate one class to another and how to apply the acquired knowledge in the world outside school.

The need of the hour is a change of attitude and willingness to restructure education so that it prepares students for life. No doubt, introduction of CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) helps to assess the growth of the child without waiting for a so called annual examination. However, we have the scope for better perspectives which can lead us to academic excellence.

When a child spends 10-12 years in an academic institution, it becomes the responsibility of the institution frame his/her future, personality, and life as ones values, beliefs, principles etc., are shaped in ones earlier years of life. However, the knowledge imparted, the kind of training given in an academic institution etc., are directly dependent on the kind of curriculum followed, the subjects taught and so on.

The entire syllabus should be framed in such a manner that right from the lower to the higher classes, the child is able to analyze what s/he is learning, s/he should be able to correlate the topics taught in the previous class and their relevance in the next class.

The written examinations should not be the ultimate tool for testing the childs acquisition of the topic, rather they should be a part of the analyses of what they have learnt in that particular year. Moreover the format of the question papers and other means of testing the childs knowledge can be made in more friendly way. CCE has de nitely revolutionized the way of evaluating the childs knowledge. Examinations should not create the anxieties and tensions among the children rather it should be able to create a spirit of competition among them so that the apprehensions of getting less marks should be replaced with participation with whatever one possesses in ones personality and getting best scores should be replaced with the demonstrations of ones best capability. It is rightly said by Elbert Hubbard, Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

Schools Nurturing Excellence




Aptitude is the ability to do something well or to learn something quickly. Every child is blessed with different kinds of aptitude. Instead of making them learn all the things throughout their life, which may not help them later, we should frame a curriculum that helps in nding their areas of potential at an early stage and then they should be taught accordingly. Moreover, the different streams or the combinations of the subjects offered should be considered again so that a child can make comprehensive choice for his/her career.

Everyone in the society wants that his/her child should be a doctor or an engineer and the time has arrived when we are forcibly asking our kids to acquire the degrees whether they have the potential or not. The attitude of achieving only what is thought to be superior in the society should be changed. We should motivate our children in their eld of interest and caliber. We should accept the fact that not everyone can be a good doctor or a successful administrator.

In the end, we can conclude that we should be very clear and determined in choosing the right set of goals leading to excellence. Striving at our best and competing to get even more, widening our horizon and searching the scope of extraordinary goals can de nitely lead us to the academic excellence. Keeping in mind the crucial role of education in the holistic development of a child and at the same time endeavouring to take him towards excellence, we require to put forth an extra effort which can channelize our education system as per the need of the society.

Education is notpreparation for

life; education islife itself.

-John Dewey




* Teacher, R. D. Rajpal School, Dwarka, New Delhi

Neeta Tewari *

Learning is a continuous process. A person learns in a variety of ways throughout life. Education is the most important aspect of learning. It provides a medium through which an individual is able to come up as a unique person and also enhances ones vision in life. Education helps in achieving excellence in academics.

Academics is a wide term as it caters to all aspects of learning, be it scholastic or co-scholastic. In a students life academics play a pivotal role. It serves as a backbone for their future. The correct approach and the right path to reach the ultimate goal in life can be achieved only if one strives to achieve academic excellence.

Firstly, we need to have very strong basics. It is very important that the concept of rote learning is done away with and we open up to the thought process which is positive and precise. The need is to develop thinking skills that leads to basic conceptual knowledge from the very early years of learning.

Secondly, academics should be designed in a way to be in tune with the students interest with high level of interest generating techniques. If the curriculum is so designed that it keeps the students involved it always lead to desired outputs.

Thirdly, stress should always be given to empower the students with practice sessions. Practice and practise till you can, is one of the key mantra for any aspect of learning. In academics the vision becomes more and more clearer if we are able to give our 100% through practice.

Then we also need to cover a very important aspect of learning, that is proper time management. Time is very precious, if we understand the importance of time we can solve more than half of the hurdles that fall in our way. The best utilization of the 24 hours can lead to excelling in any aspect. It is always seen that the successful people have mastered the art of time management.

Next we need to have our goals in life very clear. If we have a target in mind and concentrate on it then achieving it is not a very dif cult task. Concentration on the goals leads to success. We need to be more focused and learn to achieve our desired goals with a positive approach.

Organisational skill is one of the keys to becoming a successful individual. The students need to understand the importance of organizing their learning with precision. If we learn this art of organising things we can easily do away with any hurdle that comes in our way.

One should have belief in oneself, as self-con dence is a must in order to achieve excellence.

Criteria for Excellence




* PGT (English) and School Coordinator, D.A.V. Public School, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Mamta Banerjee *

Universality has become everyday term. So, the student should target his/her learning at the universal level. S/he should have the standard to stand abreast in knowledge worldwide. Goals must be set from the nascent phase. The responsibility lies with the schools to prepare the students accordingly. Bookish learning must be put aside and the practical aspect of learning must be introduced.

Even Hitler in his book Mein Kemp has stated that, When the young lad leaves school, at the age of fourteen it would be dif cult to say what are the most striking features of his character, incredible ignorance in so far as the real knowledge is concerned

Academic achievement should not trickle down to grades and scores. Students do secure a perfect 10 CGPA, but are unable to fare well in their higher studies. May be the concept of academic achievement is grossly misunderstood. Excellence is slowly but surely limiting our young peoples chances of experiencing any semblance of success in life that we expect for them and that they believe school will provide for them. A score on a test will not help the student when he or she is competing for a job with someone from China or Germany. What is important is that students enter the global economy with the ability to apply what they learned in school to a variety of ever-changing situations before graduating. That is the mark of a quality education and a true indication of academic excellence.

The call of the hour is interdisciplinary interactions among faculty and student. Frequent visits of scholars and researchers from elsewhere must be welcomed. Interacting with these visiting scholars, listening to their seminar talks and learning about their work, rst hand, must be an attractive feature of the academic excellence.

More recently, a serious look at their standards and assessment programs are being taken up. A widespread change in the teaching-learning process is in place. Every school, Principal, and teacher in this country is feeling the pressure to get all students to minimum pro ciency levels. The students ability to apply high-rigor knowledge in a relevant, real-world setting needs to be the true nish line.

Traditionally, instructional planning was divided into three components: curriculum, instruction, and assessment. In many schools, these components are approached as three separate, sequential steps, with assessment being the nish line. The value of state assessments is undeniable, but we cannot view them as the de nition of academic excellence. Unfortunately, many of those in education do. When assessment is viewed as the end goal or nish line, the test itself becomes a barrier to high levels of student achievement.

An Inter-disciplinary Approach to Learning and Assessment




However, if curriculum, instruction and relevant learning becomes the focus, the tests will take care of themselves. Globalization and rapid technological advancements are having dramatic effects on the ways we communicate and conduct business as well as in our personal lives. Education should increase students understanding of the world around them. As students move from class to class and progress to the next grade, they are exposed to isolated bits of content-speci c knowledge, but they are not taught how what they learn in one class relates to another or its application in the world outside the school. Thus they meander in a world of ignorance when they stand to vie with one another.

Incorporating more rigorous and relevant instruction in classrooms is a realistic goal and will yield immediate results in students enthusiasm to learn. When students are engaged in the learning process, real achievement takes place and their chances to excel at what they do increases.

Instead of just scholarly learning students must learn from the applied world. This will bring them close to the reality of things. Students need to be exposed to the practical approach of life. Academically schools vary. They vary in their region, State and outside the State. The serendipity of the students is to vie with their counterparts world over. The standard of the students or the learners should be at par.

It is thus essential to help students achieve the desired level of precision and signi cance. To maximize student-learning, it is important to identify the objectives of the learning experience prior to planning, instruction and assessment. Assessments should be selected to match the desired level of precision and signi cance. At the local level, performance-based assessments are an effective way to monitor whether students are able to understand the content and apply their knowledge. Well-constructed performance tasks help the teacher and students know if they really understand the material or if they are merely following a pattern they have learned for regurgitating information they have memorized. Students become better problem-solvers when they are given the opportunity to nd original solutions to problems and re ect on what worked and what did not.

The recent introduction of the Open Text-Based Assessment (OTBA) is a step taken up by the CBSE in order to stem students' regurgitating information. Students have to read the context and think on the spur of the moment. This would not only enhance the analytical and logical interpretation of the learners but also allow them to check their aptitude level. We may address this as a unique method in preparing our next generation to face the world and achieve academic excellence.




* Administrator and PGT (Chemistry), Oxford English School, Patan, Gujarat

Yogita Nangia *

Excellence includes the quality of being outstanding, distinguished and extra ordinarily good in most aspects of life. As the scenario is changing therefore the crux of study is also changing. Merely academic knowledge is not suf cient to gain excellence. Achieving high grades with superior performance is appropriate de nition of academic excellence in students. Achievement of academic excellence is a key issue for a school.

Academic excellence in a school depends on the (i) framework of the system (school) (ii) quality of teachers as well as students. The framework of the school must incorporate the best ever devised tool of CBSE i.e. the CCE. CCE covers various interesting activities for learning and seeks the attention of the students. It recovers their detraction from hard work in study, moral values and civic senses, social engagements and many other responsibilities. I personally realized that there is no substitute for this programme to strengthen the systems framework.

Academic excellence can also be achieved by inputting the best quality of teachers in terms of their knowledge, their relationship with the students and their dedication to the profession. It enhances the quality of the school. It also helps in achieving the academic excellence among students.

Academic excellence is the rst goal of any student. As we talk about achieving it, there is no substitute for hard work. The mindset of a successful student is to strive to go an extra mile. Sometimes, students keep themselves busy by working on projects and a

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