Dr. Suresh Reddy Chairperson, Candor International School, Bangalore Dr. Suresh Reddy is founder-chairperson of the Saketh Educational Trust and the Cambridge International (UK) and IB (Geneva)-affiliated Candor International School, Bangalore (estb.2010), ranked among India’s Top 15 day-cum-boarding international schools by EducationWorld. He is also director, LearnBeyond, an affordable, cloud-based eLearning solution and Sai Srushti Group, a strategic investments company. Candor International’s Covid-19 response. Candor was an early mover in switching to online learning in virtual classrooms. For over three months, our teachers have been actively engaging students with high-quality interactive content as well as video messages about health and safety precautions. Our parents community has also actively supported our efforts to continue the teaching-learning process. We have also taken the admission process for the new academic year online. Also read: Candor International School, Bangalore online learning success story Major challenges confronting Indian K-12 education in the Covid era. The pandemic has exposed the inequities of the country’s education system with millions of children from socio-economically disadvantaged households unable to access virtual learning. And with schools closed for over three months, all children are deprived of peer interaction and physical/sports education. Top 3 proposals for reforming K-12 education. There’s too much emphasis on academics in Indian K-12 education. School curriculums should promote a balance between academic rigour and co-curricular and sports education. Government should focus on bridging the digital divide and ensuring online education reaches all children, especially in rural India. Our education system needs new pedagogies and 21st century curriculums to prepare children for a constantly changing world. I am inspired by the words of Michael Chui of the McKinsey Global Institute: “Prepare today’s young people for a world of constant uncertainty.” Future plans… Next year, we are starting a new day-cum-boarding campus in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh in association with the National Public School, Bangalore.
