Vandana Arora is founder-principal of the CAIE (UK)-affiliated Nahar International School, Powai, Mumbai (estb. 2014). An alumna of Lucknow University with over 20 years of teaching and administrative experience, she was former joint secretary of Members of the International Schools Association (MISA), which has a membership of 76 top-ranked international schools. 

Are you satisfied with the Union Budget 2018-19 allocation of Rs.85,010 crore for education?

I am pleased that the Union Budget has announced introduction of an integrated B.Ed programme, an investment of Rs.1 lakh crore over the next four years to boost research and development, and a shift from black to digital boards.

What are your Top 5 suggestions for reforming K-12 education?

Teacher training. It’s very important that we invest in training our educators as they are responsible for moulding future generations.

Holistic education. Education must become holistic to influence children positively and make them aware of their social and ecological environments.

Assessment. The assessment system needs to be improved drastically. Greater emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving is the need of the hour.

Emotional/social intelligence. Teachers must be familiarised with the need for psychological and emotional understanding of their students. It’s also imperative that teachers are aware of the pedagogical requirements of students at various stages of their growth, to be able to cater to their learning needs effectively.

Curriculum. To ensure our K-12 education system in on a par with global standards, our curriculums must be backed by extensive research and aligned with the world’s best.