In the five years he has been principal of Daly College, Indore (estb.1882), Sumer Singh, widely regarded as among the country’s most respected and experienced principals, has helped the CBSE-affiliated co-educational boarding school regain its reputation as a centre of excellence, embrace contemporary pedagogies and benefit from international best practices in school education. Appointed principal of the (K-XII) college in 2003, one of Singh’s first initiatives was to enlist Daly College as a member of the Round Square, an international associ-ation of 62 schools in several countries including the US, Canada, Australia, Peru, Japan, Thailand, among others.
“Since Daly became a member of Round Square, we have participated in numerous student and faculty exchange programmes with international schools worldwide. Last October our school hosted the Round Square Conference 2007 attended by over 500 delegates from 20 countries worldwide. This conference was very successful and won Daly prominence and appreciation for encouraging international coope-ration in school education. As our inter-national programme gains momentum, opportunities for students and faculty will grow proportionately,” says Singh, who is an executive board member of the UK-based Round Square headed by King Constantine II of Greece.
An alumnus of Doon School, Dehradun and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, during his 33- year career in primary-secondary education, Singh has acquired valuable teaching and administrative experience. He taught for a decade at the Doon School, graduating to teach at some of the best public schools in the UK including St. Annes & Boxhill in England, Gordonstoun (Scotland) and the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales. In 1988 he took charge as principal of India’s oldest public school, The Lawrence School, Sanawar (estb.1847).
After seven years at Sanawar, Singh accepted a position as advisor (education) to the Punjab state government (1997-2000). Subsequently for the next three years he worked as a Dehra Dun-based education consultant offering curriculum development and management advice to several greenfield schools including Pathways International, Sohna; Sansakaar Valley, Bhopal and the Asian School, Dehra Dun, prior to signing up with Daly College in June 2003.
Apart from serving as principal of Daly College, Singh is also director of the Daly College Business School. Sited on the 118-acre Daly College campus, the B-school offers an honours degree in business administration in partnership with De Montfort University, UK to undergraduate students.
Last December Daly College celebrated its 125th anniversary with much fanfare. “This is one of India’s most respected boarding schools and our alumni have contributed significantly to national development. It’s a school which combines tradition and modernity, offers a rigorous academic curriculum, generous sports facilities, excellent pastoral care and well-developed student support systems. My objective is to put Daly College on the world school education map as an institution which imparts excellent holistic education and committed to producing citizens of the world,” says Singh, also the author of three books — Doon: The Story of a School (1984); Unity in Diversity: Comparative Religions (2001) and A History of The Daly College (2007).
Summiya Yasmeen (Bangalore)