Education Stalwarts 2022 | Dr. Neelam Malik, Arya Gurukul | Leaders in Education

Dr. Neelam Malik is a trained and seasoned educationist who has been working in the area of child development and learning for over three decades. A Teacher herself, her love for children and dedication to healthy upbringing of children has given shape to many educational institutions in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Being at the helm of an educational institution involves working with multiple teams, with unique skillsets and work profiles. It becomes even more dynamic in a scenario such as ours which houses 2 CBSE board schools (Arya Gurukul- Nandivali and Ambernath), 1 SSC Board School (St. Mary’s High School) and a chain of Preschools (Little Aryans Pre-K), that are multi-locational and catering to a different strata of society.

St. Mary’s High School is recognised as the No.1 Budget School in India by Education Today and India’s No.1 State Board School in Digital Advancement. Similarly, Arya Gurukul, Ambernath, ranks No.1 in the “Top City Wise CBSE schools” category at the EducationToday India School Merit Awards. Arya Gurukul, Nandivali was awarded the ‘Most Effective Learning School, Kalyan’ byEducationToday at the India School Merit Awards. Little Aryans Pre-K is Ranked No.1 in India under the Top Preschool–Parameter Wise for ‘Future-Proof Learning Infrastructure’ in a survey conducted by EducationToday.

A well-functional organization must be able to strike a balance between large teams with many members and having highly skilled and dedicated members, with a zest for learning. It is also important to provide members opportunities to expand their horizons and to grow to be able to give their optimum to the organization.

Any educational institution replicates complex machinery with multiple nodes of communication with a vast base of stakeholders. Often the roles of staff members run the risk of getting blurred and the excitement of doing multiple things at once often becomes overwhelming.

My suggestion to all the leaders in the organization has been to strategize on systems and processes, constantly evaluate them and find new opportunities for empowering each employee.

In our institutions, training needs are constantly assessed to create Edurichment Programs for all teachers and staff members. We also focus on regular LT (Leadership Training) series as a part of capacity building initiative, which is even extended to our parents as they are crucial stakeholders in our system. We organize Parent Edurichment Programs that aim to empower them in various aspects and create a feeling of oneness with the school.

My journey from a Teacher to a Principal to the Management of a school and a Board Member of many organizations that foster the best educational practices has been exciting and filled with many experiences. However, at the crux of it all, lies my love for teaching, especially in creating vivid experiences for early learners. Therefore, I am most involved and engaged in developing high functioning systems for AryaGlobal’s preschool enterprise – Little Aryans Pre-K.

I strongly advocate an open, constant and transparent style of communication, which resonates among all the members of AryaGlobal.

A major lesson learnt during the pandemic was to channelize the right sources and allow members with specific and unique skills to contribute positively towards creating processes. Technology helped in equipping us with essential tools that will hold us up in every situation.

The biggest role that a member of management can play at this time is to take quick decisions, create believable and dependable long-term communication and take support from the right sources to overcome temporary glitches.

Eventually, the role expands into strategic, where visions need to be carefully charted out and communicated. Future plans need to be worked upon to create sustainable and workable solutions. Handing over the reins to new, emerging leaders for technology implementation, creating work groups with the help of the HR team helped me re-evaluate my own leadership skills.

The most important task is to constantly assess ongoing systems and gauge the impact of ongoing practices. The pandemic highlighted the importance of this activity further with a deeper impact of meticulous planning.

Two things become imperative in creating a great brand – a clear vision and a strong value system. At AryaGlobal, we involve all our staff members in assessing and articulating our vision and our goals. We organize an Annual Review and Planning Meet (ARPM) which is a 2-day outstation program involving brainstorming, ice- reaking activities, mentorship, and planning activities that leave everyone energized and with a renewed zest.

Similarly, our value system reflects in all our activities. Our adherence to the Chinmaya Vision Program provides a strong value base for our operations.

During our Teacher Edurichment Programs various skill-based and planning programs are conducted which encourage teachers to align concepts such as Integrated learning, Technology-based teaching, Project-based and experiential learning into workable teaching processes.

Today, all our teachers are MIE (Microsoft Innovative Educators) and have set standards of best-practices in tech integration into learning. The energy of any organization is defined by multiple sources of inspiration. Drawing inspiration from colleagues is the best indicator of a healthy workplace. I personally believe that to be a good educationist, one needs to deep dive and engage in some self- learning.

A way to create a world full of endless opportunities for young leaders is by offering support and grooming. One such example was of Vedant Kaneri from Arya Gurukul, Nandivali who found his expression in writing a book titled “The Thriving Three and other stories” that was launched and made available on various e-commerce platforms.
Invest time in learning, analyse your strengths and weaknesses regularly and work on them, create empowered teams and impactful communication channels. These are some of the important ways in which one can unleash leadership skills and create teams that give rise to new leaders.

I believe that we should be open to change and embrace progressive thinking so as to remain close to the next generation.

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