REJOICE, relief and a sense of achievement prevailed among all during the school annual day function of Miles Bronson Residential School at its Azara campus on December 19. Celebrated along with the Parents’ Day, it was a day for resolutions towards excellence with dreams of success. It was also an occasion for evaluation and a moment for introspection of their respective performances, as principal NK Dutta and the teachers pledged to rededicate themselves to the education and nurturing of the students to keep the faith of parents alive for ever. It was also a day to motivate the students to attain newer heights of excellence through devotion, dedication and discipline. The day also saw inauguration of the science block by minister Bharat Chandra Narah. The science block has been dedicated to the revered memory of scientist Charles Robert Darwin.

During the parents’ day function, the school, represented by founder principal NK Dutta, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Global classrooms by becoming an affiliate of International Nurture under Council of Global Education, USA, represented by Council co-founder Dr Sunita Gandhi, who was the guest of honour. The school is poised for a quantum leap as far as overall development of the students is concerned, said Dutta. In her speech, Dr Gandhi dwelt at length on the various elements of Nurture and the principles of universal values, global learning, excellence in all things, service to humanity and the concept of GEMS (Global Educational Model of Schools).

Chairperson of the session, career counsellor Pervin Malhotra in her speech urged the students to take advantage of the new and emerging opportunities and work hard for success. In her characteristic elan, Malhotra presented a very detailed and enlightening picture of the available career options in the present scenario. Shattering the myth of hot careers, she cautioned students not to follow the herd but pursue a career according to their individual choice. Recalling the story of Acres of Diamonds and its real life significance in a career, Malhotra called upon the students to explore their hidden potential. She provided a rich and fascinating insight on careers like ‘window cleaning’, graphology (handwriting analysis) food styling based on the real life career choices of girls who were featured on the CNBC TV programme.

In the highly responsive interactive session with students, teachers and parents, she replied to a number of queries including the parameters to be adopted in opting for a particular institution and the importance of the terminal degree at the post graduate level to excel in any profession. She rued the present educational system where specialization tends to prevail even before mastering the fundamentals of any knowledge stream. She answered to questions on a diverse range of career options including biomedical engineering, mechatronics, biogenetics, gaming technology, the civil services, visual (combination of science & stats), aesthetic dentistry, etc. Her presentation had moments of comic relief as she recounted and shared her experiences of being techno phobic and how she could be at ease with numerous personal anecdotes. Malhotra ended her presentation by wishing everyone present the very best of luck and an inspirational one-liner “if it is to be it is up to you” to remember while going for career process.

The celebrations concluded with a colourful cultural function. It was pleasure talking to principal Dutta, who has toiled hard enough since 1988 amidst thick and thin to bring the school to its present exulted position. Dutta appears focussed enough to make the school a sought after destination for parents for their children’s studies and allround growth as a complete personality.

Simanta Bhagawati