Educational opportunities open up

Coming up all over in Dwarka are schools, be it primary, secondary, higher secondary, day school or residential, local or international, Dwarka is emerging as the preferred destination for opening schools in West Delhi. This education hub presently is a home of some 25 odd schools besides umpteen number of play-schools and professional colleges.
The modern education is not limited to the traditional three `R’s - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.Education today goes way beyond academics. The emphasis is on all round development of the child. No wonder schools are luring parents with catchy brochures promising among others sprawling playgrounds and lush green fields, activity rooms for creative ventures, counsellor consultations, swimming pool and innovative teaching aids. The school’s success depends on the number of facilities and extra curricular activities the school provides.
Take for instance, the ITL Public School in Sector-9 Dwarka, where the set up is on the solid foundation of integrity, truth and learning. The emphasis here is on the holistic development of the child. The school has fully air-conditioned educational environment as well as AC transport facility with mobile phones. It is the first school with reverse osmosis (RO) plant for ultra filtered water in the swimming pool. The campus of 4-acre has been ingeniously laid out and includes a 200 m track, a riding and a football/ hockey field. In addition, there is a semi-Olympic size swimming pool, indoor multipurpose hall for gymnastics, badminton, table tennis and basketball courts. The school provides ample opportunities for budding talents to thrive. There is a computerised library and hi-tech IT centre with multi-media facilities. The ITL Public School, which is running IX class, believes in small class size of 25 students.
The Delhi Public School is a well-established name recognised nationwide. Hence DPS in Sector-3 Dwarka under the guidance of principal Usha Ummat has become one of the most sought after schools in West Delhi. There is a four-bedded medical room with a mini operation theatre to cater to any unforeseen emergency. The RO water treatment plant and the ramp constructed for students to walk through easily without any mis-happening are the testimony that the safety of students is the central concern of the school. The school curriculum gives ample scope to develop diverse activities but also ensures that academics is not compromised. DPS Dwarka achieved 100% result in class X in the last session. The school’s average aggregate percentage was 83.2%, and the students who got distinction was 92.5%. A laudable feat indeed.
Mount Carmel School in Sector-22 that started functioning from April 2002 has already carved a niche amongst upcoming schools in Dwarka. The classrooms are quite spacious and much more techno advanced than the mother branch of the school at Anand Niketan. The well designed school building with stained glass painting provides an environment focussing on joyful learning and creativity. The school at present is running till IX class and has a total strength of 1,500 students. The school owns its own transport facility and is well connected to nearby areas. V.K. Williams and Neena Williams, the pioneers of the school, believe in strong foundation in education and inculcating a sense of responsibility.
For those who don’t mind spending on quality education, Venkateshwar International School in Sector-10 is an option. The school has an elegant and elite campus with a swimming pool. VIS principal Mrinalini Kaura believes, “The main aim of education is to prepare the students for tackling life. Today most schools are making followers and not leaders. We lay stress on inculcating spirit of decision making and logical thinking.�
The schools which have succeeded in building their brand are St Mary’s School in Sector-19 which is running till class X, the fully air conditioned Indraprastha International School in Sector-10 and Bal Bharati Public School in Sector-12. There are other big names like RD Rajpal Public School in Sector-9, N.K. Bagrodia Public School and Modern Convent School in Sector-4, Vishwa Bharti in Sector-6 and Pragati Public School in Sector-13. The list is long. All schools, including the ones left out of this list, have an impressive modern and aesthetically built buildings with latest infrastructure. All claim of having teaching staff with high pedagogue skills.
Model school
Though the school boom is only in the private sector in Dwarka, a government model school named Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas school in Sector-10 has recently been inaugurated by chief minister Shiela Dixit. The school has an excellent infrastructure with auditorium, computer lab and disabled friendly construction. The classes running at present are 6th, 9th and 11th. The admission is through entrance examination and is given to students who have studied in a government school for two consecutive years.
Campus and colleges
In order to make Dwarka a complete scholastic hub, land has been earmarked for opening various colleges. The Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT) in Dwarka Sector-3 with a 140 acre residential campus is a distinguished engineering college which shifted to Dwarka in 1997. NSIT got the best college award last year from Indian Society for Technical Education. At present it is an autonomous college which is going to become deemed university. Then there is Apeejay School of Management and Information Technology in Sector-8. It provides diverse courses in management. This year Bhaskaracharya College for Applied Science was inaugurated by Shiela Dixit. Besides Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University will soon start building its main campus in Sector-16 Dwarka.
But won’t concentration of so many schools create a situation of saturation? The enthusiastic administrators disagree with this. The schools are getting students from all parts of West Delhi. In fact, there are less students from Dwarka as the locality is not fully occupied. In the last session, VIS received 1200 applications out of which they had to fill 200 seats. So the VIS had the best pick. The DPS got applications in thousands out of which they had to choose some 300 odd students. ITL Public School projected 100 vacancies in October and around 70% got filled immediately that too in mid-term. The schools thus have no options but to take `rejection rounds’ of interviews in order to select. So although there is no dearth of schools in Dwarka, parents can’t be choosers. The new generation of upwardly mobile parents want to give their child the best. And as long as there is demand for schools, there is a scope for the supply.