Interview With Ganesh Sharma, Principal, GIIS, Noida

Careers360 recently interacted with Ganesh Sharma, principal, GIIS School, Noida. Here are a few excerpts from the conversation.

Careers360 | Could you throw some light on the history of GIIS School, Noida?

Sharma | GIIS, Noida, school started in 2012 with initially 250 students and classes up to primary. The primary school is under state board authorisation and we run under their guidelines. Two years after we began, we opened up till Class 9 and got CBSE affiliation. We do plan to begin offering an international curriculum along with CBSE that is being offered now. So, for pre-primary, we offer the Global Montessori Plus (GMP) curriculum. Class 1 to Class 9 onwards follow CBSE curriculum and we have our nine gems - which is a complete, holistic education framework. At the moment, we have almost 1800 + students.

Careers360 | Is the school based on the K-12 learning paradigm?

Sharma | Yes, K-12.

Careers360 | What is the student-teacher ratio in the school?

Sharma | It depends, varies with segment. Typically, in KG the ratio is 1:15, i.e. one teacher for 15 students. Primary classes onwards the ratio is 1:25.

Careers360 | Are there any significant aspects of the school's academic offerings that you would want to highlight?

Sharma | In academics, we follow a nine-gems approach with different aspects that support our nine gems philosophy. But yes, apart from classroom teaching, students are taught through project-based and inquiry-based learning. Primary classes are learning a lot with the clubs that we’ve initiated. All these academic approaches are aligned with the National Education Policy.

Careers360 | Does the school offer any opportunities for exchange programmes to students or are you planning to introduce something like that?

Sharma | Being an international chain of schools with presence in more than 10 countries, we have a lot of opportunity and scope within the GIIS family for exchange programmes. Apart from this, we do facilitate exchange programmes with other schools. For example, we have done a student-exchange program with Sweden Education, Sweden Government School, and also a teacher-exchange program wherein our teachers went there and worked with them on a project. Likewise, their teachers and students came to India and we worked on some joint projects.

Careers360 | What kind of co-curricular opportunities does GIIS offer its students?

Sharma | As we said, co-curricular activities are important and the whole nine- gems approach is a holistic approach. We give an equal weightage to curricular and co-curricular offerings. Apart from this, we organise different events like assemblies, competitions, cultural events, and more throughout the year.

Careers360 | How have been the school's results in Class 12 board examinations in the last few years?

Sharma | Next will be our fourth batch of Class 12 and sixth batch of Class 10. So far, we have given great results, and only improve with every passing year. We have been doing very well in a few subjects like those in Humanities, Commerce, and IT. Our students have been getting admissions in reputed colleges.

Careers360 | Could you please elaborate on the infrastructure at GIIS, Noida?

Sharma | The school has a total area of almost three acres, which is well- designed and appropriately designated for classrooms and other activity areas. We have dedicated professional studios for the students where different co- curricular activities are conducted. Since we have a lot of intra GIIS interaction, be it with the campuses in India, Japan, Singapore, or Malaysia, we have a separate conference room to facilitate such virtual interactions. We call it the “Global Exchange Room”.