National Public School, Chennai
Like its highly rated counterparts in Bangalore, NPS Chennai, promoted in 1970, has also acquired an excellent reputation for providing high quality education to its 1,350 students
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| NPS Chennai students: unique admixture of application pedagogies and life skills |
One of the first schools in Chennai to be granted affiliation with the Delhi-based Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the National Public School, Chennai (NPSC) founded in 1970 by the Bangalore-based Dr. K.P. Gopalkrishna has come a long way since its humble beginnings in a rented building in Lloyds Road, Gopalapuram. Today, the co-educational school administered by the city’s Citizens Education Society has its own compact 24,000 sq ft campus in the Gopalapuram area and boasts an enrollment of 1,350 students and 70 teachers.
Like its highly rated counterparts in Bangalore which hosts three CBSE-affiliated NPS schools and two international schools (National Academy For Learning (NAFL) and the showpiece The International School, Bangalore) headed by founder-chairman Gopal-krishna, NPS Chennai, has acquired an excellent reputation for providing high quality education though it does not possess infrastructure comparable to the Bangalore academies. Nevertheless, the (pre-Kg-class XII) school, with its carefully monitored average tutor-pupil ratio of 1:19 has provided well for its students. There are two air-conditioned computer laboratories with the latest software, internet facility and multimedia kits; spacious, well equipped science laboratories; a well-stocked library with over 5,000 books on all subjects and 10 journal subscriptions; a Silver Jubilee hall that can accommodate 300 people at school functions, and a play pen for the pre-Kg section. Most importantly during the past three decades, the school has consistently produced excellent results in the all-India CBSE examination and is justifiably proud of its alumni who have excelled in numerous professions and fields of endeavour.
"Our main objective has always been to promote all-round development of our students through scholastic and non-scholastic programmes aimed at inculcating leadership qualities, and building confidence and moral values. In this school we are well aware that academics is only a part of the education process. Therefore we pay almost equal attention to the personality development of students based on their aptitude and encourage them to develop their emotional intelligences. Great emphasis is also accorded to building character through value-based education," says Dr. Nalini Ravindran, principal of NPSC. An English postgraduate of the University of Madras who also has an education degree from Madurai University, Ravindran pressed on to acquire her M.Phil and doctorate from Madras University. Subsequently she taught for two decades in Chennai’s high-profile Padma Seshadri Senior Secondary School before taking charge as principal of NPS in June 2000, after she received the national Best Teacher award from President A.P.J Abdul Kalam.
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| Nalini Ravindran |
According to Ravindran, over the past three decades the school has developed several innovative pedagogies to provide enjoyable classroom learning experiences to its students. "Our teaching methodology is application oriented and project based; competitive quizzing is encouraged to create enthusiasm for learning, and children are expected to make project presentations in class. Moreover to promote clearer conceptual understanding of subjects, worksheets are given out to students after every lesson and the school follows a continuous system of evaluation through monthly tests and terminal exams," says Ravindran. Slow learners are provided remedial coaching after school hours and NPSC teachers provide special tuition to IIT and other professional programme aspirants. The school has also hopped aboard the information technology bandwagon with enthusiasm. "All our teachers are trained in Intel’s Teach to the Future programme and every year they prepare two project reports through Power Point presentations," adds Ravindran.
The outcome of the school management’s unique admixture of application pedagogies and life skills development programmes is that NPSC students are invariably zonal toppers in the social sciences, mathematics, Sanskrit, Tamil and Hindi in the all-India CBSE examinations. For instance of the 72 students of the school who wrote CBSE’s class X examination last year, 50 percent obtained distinction (above 90 percentile). Likewise of the 25 who wrote the class XII examinations most were graded A1 and secured merit certificates awarded only to the top 1 percent of A1 scorers at the national level.
Given the NPSC management’s commitment to holistic education, it’s unsurprising that co-curricular activities are accorded top priority in the school curriculum. An intra school assembly is held two days every week for conducting competitions between different classes and a talent book is maintained in every class. Thus empowered and equipped, NPSC students regularly win laurels in music, dance, drama, shloka, bhajans, drawing, painting and chess competitions at the state and national levels. In 2002, an NPSC class X student won the coveted ‘Talk your way to the UK’ prize. Teachers are also encouraged to participate in inter-school paper presentation contests and have won prizes for NPSC. Other non-scholastic activities of the school include an inter-school cultural programme — Blossom 2K hosted at the city level, a school newsletter — NPS Panorama, project work and service-oriented programmes as part of Interact Club activities, educational field trips and tours, leisure activities like gardening, cookery and handicrafts, road safety patrol and value oriented programmes.
On the playgrounds the emphasis is on team spirit. The school avails of the municipal corporation playground nearby for sports activities, and games like cricket, throwball, volleyball, football, kho-kho and badminton are encouraged.
NPSC caters mainly to middle and upper middle class households and prides itself for not soliciting donations as a condition of admission. Nor is admission restricted only to bright students — average students are also admitted and nurtured to excel. "Securing good marks is not the most important thing at NPSC. We want our children to learn to think creatively, develop good communication skills and exude confidence when they step out of our school gates," says Ravindran whose extensive association with the CBSE is an added asset to the school. A CBSE-ELT team member and teacher trainer since 1990, Ravindran has conducted 35-40 workshops across the country in teaching and evaluating the English language, and has authored the Impact series of English textbooks for classes VI-VIII.
Ravindran plans to take NPSC to greater heights in future. Given her scholarly background in English, under the auspices of the British Council, she plans to launch a Young Learners English (YLE) course certified by Cambridge University, UK. Other initiatives include setting up an IIT-JEE coaching centre in the school premises with three veteran professors reputed for their tutorial expertise as instructors; promoting audio-visual education using LCD projectors, and adding an extra section to class XI to meet the huge demand.
Quite clearly this is an academy which appreciates that continuous innovation and upgradation of teaching-learning standards is the way to go in the new millennium.
Admission & fees
New admissions begin in January. Application forms are issued in November.
Tuition fees
Pre-Kg/ LKg: Rs.1,000 (per month)
Classes UKg-class V: Rs.750
Classes VI-XII: Rs.800
For further details contact National Public School (Senior Secondary) 228, Avvai Shanmugam Road, Chennai 600 086. Tel: 28351973. E-mail: npschennai@yahoo.com.
Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)
Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand
Spread across three campuses in Dunedin, New Zealand’s oldest poly (estb. 1890) offers highly application oriented study programmes to students from 27 countries
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| Otago Poly: application oriented curriculums |
Otago, New Zealand’s oldest polytechnic (estb.1890), is internationally recognised as a higher education institution which offers job-focused, on-the-ball professional education programmes. This government-funded polytechnic offers postgraduate and undergraduate degrees, diplomas and certificates as well as pathway programmes across the faculties of art, technology, business and tourism and health and community welfare. These study programmes are highly application-oriented and train students for business and industry workplaces. The degrees offered at Otago Polytechnic enjoy the same status as degrees offered by any university in New Zealand.
Otago Polytechnic is spread across three campuses in Dunedin, an attractive city on the east coast of New Zealand’s picturesque South island. The main campus is in downtown Dunedin while the other two are located in Cromwell and Queenstown. The outlying campuses serve as a base for students studying horticulture, viticulture, tourism, adventure, and skiing.
"There is no doubt that Otago Polytechnic offers something very special in terms of tertiary study. The polytechnic has a proud reputation for providing high quality professional education, leading students to successful careers in some of the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic economies. Moreover Dunedin is a beautiful, safe and interesting city and students from around the world come here to enjoy a unique lifestyle they remember for the rest of their lives," says Mike Waddell, marketing manager, International Office.
Otago Poly has an aggregate enrollment of 3,650 students. Of them approximately 230 are international students from 27 countries including Argentina, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Dunedin. The fourth largest city in New Zealand, Dunedin (pop.120,000) is a coastal city with a natural harbour and open beaches. To the west the rolling countryside stretches to the Southern Alps. Essentially a university town endowed with sandy white beaches, bush clad hills, tidal inlets and volcanic landforms, it is reputedly one of the best-preserved Victorian/ Edwardian cities in the southern hemisphere. The city’s strong cultural bias is evident in its modern art gallery which houses New Zealand’s finest international art collection, its strong professional theatre, and museums and libraries which rank among the country’s best.
The heart of the city is lined with restaurants and sidewalk cafes. Modern shopping complexes trade alongside boutiques, galleries and weekly craft markets. Nature has endowed Dunedin with coastal colonies of shy yellow-eyed penguins, and the world’s only mainland breeding colony of the Royal Albatross. The Kiwi passion for water sports is met by Dunedin’s natural harbour — ideal for wind surfing, yachting, kayaking, canoeing, rowing and fishing. The climate is temperate, the rainfall moderate and humidity low.
Campus facilities. Otago Polytechnic’s main campus is situated in north Dunedin, contiguous to the University of Otago and the Dunedin College of Education, and is just a five minute walk from the town centre. The polytechnic also has campuses in central Otago where it offers specialised programmes in adventure tourism, hospitality, horticulture and viticulture.
On its main campus it offers a wide range of learning, health and recreational facilities for students. Academic support is provided by the Learning Centre and the Bill Robertson Library which is shared between Otago Polytechnic and the Dunedin College of Education and houses over 800,000 books, 550 periodicals, and an electronic database. Sports facilities include the Unipol Sports Centre, complete with a gym and fitness centre. The centre provides for a wide range of sporting and fitness activities including weight training, aerobics, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and badminton. There is also a health clinic on campus.
Moreover clubs and societies provide opportunities for students to learn new skills like photography, yoga, or car maintenance. The Otago Polytechnic Students Association also hosts several cultural and social events round the year.
Admission. The minimum eligibility criterion for admission into Otago Polytechnic’s diploma and certificate programmes is Plus Two. Students who have not completed their secondary education in the English medium have to submit IELTS and TOEFL scores. Moreover international students who don’t qualify for admission into Otago’s academic programmes have the option of enrolling in the polytechnic’s Foundation Studies programme. This one semester course prepares students to pursue tertiary education not just in Otago but in any Kiwi university.
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| Otago Poly classroom scene |
There are no admission deadlines. Applications for admission are accepted round the year. The academic term begins in February, although some programmes offer an additional July intake. For further information write to The International Office, Otago Polytechnic, Private Bag 1910, Dunedin, New Zealand. Tel: 64 3 479 6029; Fax: 64 3 471 6872; e-mail: international@tekotago.ac.nz; website: www.tekotago.ac.nz.
Accommodation. Housing is guaranteed to all international students. The options include halls of residence, supervised flatting and homestay. The two halls of residence (City College and Salmond Hall) provide fully supervised and catered accommodation. Each student is assigned a single room, although double rooms are also available. Otago also offers a selection of supervised flatting complexes. Each apartment has a fully furnished spacious living area, a kitchen, bathroom and laundry and five or six bedrooms. Linen and four dinners per week are provided. Homestay requires students to live with a local family. Full board (breakfast and dinner), own bedroom and study facilities are provided.
Degree programmes. Otago Polytechnic offers a wide range of diploma, certificate, bachelors and postgraduate degrees across the faculties of art, technology, business and tourism and health and community (see box). These qualifications are highly applied and train students for real workplaces. Scholastic options at Otago Polytechnic
Otago Polytechnic offers programmes at all levels from certificates and diplomas to bachelor’s degrees and postgraduate programmes. The programme areas include:
Art and technology. Art, architecture, building and civil engineering, engineering, fashion, natural resources, science and veterinary nursing
Business and tourism. Business, hospitality and service sector management, languages, travel and tourism
Health and community. Maori, community studies, nursing, midwifery, information technology and electrotechnology, hairdressing, adventure, Sports Institute of Otago, occupational therapy
For a detailed list of academic programmes offered visit www.tekotago.ac.nz.
Tuition fees range from NZ$13,500-31,000 per year.
Living expenses: NZ$10,150
NB: NZ$=Rs.31
Summiya Yasmeen