Pramod Sharma, director and principal of Genesis Global School (GSS) Noida, Delhi NCR, which has an enrolment of 229 students.
Newspeg. GSS, a K-12 state-of-the-art day-cum-residential CBSE-affiliated school promoted by liquor baron Gurdeep Singh on a 30-acre estate in Noida will complete its first year of operations on April 1.
Direct Talk. “It’s a new school, a new beginning and an exciting new challenge, which prompted me to accept this responsibility. Noida’s first truly global school has won the confidence of parents and vindicated their decision to enrol their children in GSS,” says Sharma who began his teaching career in the Doon School in 1972 and moved on to teach in Kabul, Nigeria and also served as principal of several highly reputed primary-secondaries including Tashi Namgyal Academy, Gangtok; Yadavindra Public School, Patiala and Mayo College, Ajmer where he officiated as principal for 12 years (1996-2009) before assuming charge as the founder director of the Genesis Global School in July 2009.
According to Sharma, the objective behind the promotion of GSS is to take K-12 schooling to the next level. “Since we don’t wish to deny parents Indian certification options we have affiliated with CBSE. But we shall also offer the IGCSE and IB diploma at an appropriate time to make GSS a truly global school. Our integrated sports and games complex, headed by hockey Olympian Gurbir Singh, offers the entire range of sports facilities including martial arts, squash, tennis, fencing, horse riding and swimming,” adds Sharma.
Tuition fees. Rs.2.03-2.52 lakh per year for day scholars and Rs.3.53-4.52 lakh for boarders.
Future plans. “Parents have a strong belief that by doing away with exams, education quality will be diluted. The challenge is to get rid of exam fixation and restore the childhood of our children. In the long run, parents and children will gain. The better option is to give children greater exposure to the people and cultures of other countries. To this end we will soon start hosting students from the Asia Pacific region and China. GSS has already concluded collaboration and best practices exchange agreements with Clifton College, UK and the L’Ermitage International School, France and will evolve into a truly international institution in the near future,” says Sharma confidently.
Autar Nehru (Delhi)