Three Delhi Schools Top the List of Best Government Schools

School –Private or Government, is an institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the guidance of teachers. The classrooms, where teachers teach and students learn, are of central importance that may be specialized for certain subjects.

When we think of School, the walls of the entryway of the school encourage everything from sustainable development and ‘Swachh Bharat’ to ‘happiness goals’ and exam schedules whereby the cream-white floor glows and the sun shines from the clouds behind the rows of students — dupattas pinned, well dressed students, shirts tucked in, not a hair out of place, sitting quietly for morning assembly.  But the Delhi School Dwarka Sector 10 Government School looks a bit different. Principal, Mr. T.P.Singh quotes “Government schools in India get a bad rap, but with RPVV, we try to do better.”  We can see the results that The Dwarka branch of Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV), along with its counterparts in Lajpat Nagar and Rohini Sector 11, are the three schools from Delhi that have made it to the nationwide list of top 12 government schools that’s been compiled by Education World portal as part of its India School Rankings 2017-18. In fact, the Dwarka School tops the list, with the Lajpat Nagar and Rohini schools at No. 6 and No. 12, respectively. In 1997, Delhi government took an initiative to provide quality education to marginalised sections, with one each in Rohini, Paschim Vihar and Surajmal Vihar. The progress is marvellous as 22 schools in last 21 years were launched, with five of them launched last year. These schools have language labs, magnificent auditoriums and well-stocked libraries with a class of 35 students managed by a teacher. Classes VI to XII students, with minimum 2 years of prior experience of studying in a government school, can be admitted to the school through an entrance test. Neerja Lamba, one of the school teachers since 2003, claims that initially RPVVs had the shortcomings as other government schools like poor infrastructure, undefined learning outcomes, outdated teaching methods but in the last four to five years a lot of positive changes has been recognised. The schools have a stress-free learning and teaching environment now along with great cultural activities and exchange programmes which is good for student progress. This progress has been feasible with an intense support of the Delhi government. Over the past four years, the Delhi government has steadily increased funding for education, from 20% budgetary allocation in 2015 to 23.5% in 2017 and 26% in 2018. The schools’ have improved infrastructure,  fully air-conditioned auditorium, water purifiers on all floors, a conference hall open to both teachers and students, and a spanking new running track along with the latest equipment in the labs and a ‘project development’ room where students are recycling paper. We can proudly say that Class X student Prashant Kumar from the Rohini Sector 11 school, halfway across the city, have half-built a drone by working after school hours in what the school calls the ‘Atal Tinkering Lab’. He says “I’m pretty sure I can get it to fly in a day or two; I just need to stabilise the gyro sensor”.  On the second hand, close by, a Class XII student Pratham Chopra, has made a robot dancing to ‘Gangnam Style’. The progress has led to bring in more girl students which a matter of pride for India. Earlier student dropout was a common problem of government schools as the students come from poor families who cannot afford to study or have to take up work to support families and worse results are in municipal corporation schools. The RPVVs don’t have any dropouts as they provide the students with all the required neccesstiies including books, purified water, nutritious food and sanitary napkins etc. The Cluster Leadership Development Programme, running now in all schools under the Directorate of Education in Delhi, selects 10 principals, area-wise who work with facilitator-trainer leading to less teacher-student conflict and better communication skills among students. The clubs and extra-curricular activities are also an integral part of the RPVV schools. If you happen to visit these schools and walk in Class X, you will notice the class full of our future scientists, teachers, doctors and more.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.thehindu.com/society/three-schools-from-delhi-have-made-it-to-the-nationwide-list-of-top-12-government-schools/article25399922.ece