Education Stalwarts 2021|Ms. Swarnima Luthra, Principal of ASN Senior Secondary School |Leaders in Education

Swarnima Luthra, Principal of ASN Senior Secondary School, one of the top Leaders in Education is with EducationToday sharing her experience.

Great Leaders don’t set out to be a leader… they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role- Always about the Goal.

Ms. Swarnima Luthra

I am a mirror reflection of my parents who focused on personality enrichment and always encouraged independent decisions. In the process, my siblings and I developed strong decision making skills; the skill which is now my greatest strength. My father has been my role model who, through his beliefs, ethics, values, simplicity and an unshakable commitment to serve the society, helped me inculcate the foundational lessons of life – to aim high, work hard, value and cherish relationships, and give back to the society. I also deduced the fact that competence comes from the ability to identify individual challenging tasks and extend one’s skills to adapt to complex and changing environments.

I was a bright and hardworking student with a keen desire to learn. My passion was always for Mathematics which propelled me to acquire a Masters Degree in Mathematics. As a student, I always believed in giving my best and set the bar higher in all my endeavors. My motto has been to seize every situation as an opportunity thereby making most of the present moment.

The passion for stretching oneself and sticking to it, even when things are not going well has held steadfast throughout my life. I continue to empower and expand the horizon of the teachers and the young learners. My school is committed to delivering education that is multi-faceted; following an approach driven by experience, creativity, and a far-reaching global outlook.

In my experience of 3 decades as a Principal, I have worked to bring about creative edutech solutions, novel pedagogical strategies, and innovative curriculum in my school to shape students’ learning whilst creating a safe and conducive environment for all the stakeholders.

I must say that the support of my dedicated team was crucial in achieving the set targets.

I firmly believe that learning is eternal and with the changing landscape in the education field, it is now a necessity for all of us to adapt, evolve and innovate. I believe that in the recent times, the most important aim of education is equipping children with the skill set necessary for successfully navigating through the challenges of the 21^st Century and to emerge victorious as global citizens with sustainable mindsets. Hence, my team of teachers under my guidance have successfully integrated 17 UNSD goals in the school curriculum since its launch in 2015 and since then we have been steadfastly working on them. The extensive work by my students culminated in bagging the coveted title of first SDG lab by United Nation Information Centre for India and Bhutan. I have also ensured SEL (Socio-Emotional learning) as part of life skills training for my students through immersive activities.

The four core values of my school– environment consciousness, social responsibility, cultural consciousness and global citizenship have been the guiding principles for my staff and students, and together we forge our way ahead in realizing and imbibing each one in letter and spirit.

My school is a learning hub, facilitating opportunities in an inquiry-based environment. I believe that the school environment–physical, natural and socio cultural, plays a pivotal role in creating the foundations of environmental ethics among students making them ecologically literate.

The eco club under my guidance provides ample opportunities for the students to not only explore and appreciate the environment but also develop a sustainable mindset and empower them to take positive environmental actions in their daily life.

Enriching the lives of the underprivileged often taken as a favour, is a notion absorbed to its true depth by my students. They take up activities to experience the rewards of serving others through an action-based Community Club. Ample opportunities pioneered by me inculcate values and develop the life skills for community development.

As a Principal, one faces a lot of challenges as the saying goes, ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’. A major area of responsibility and a challenge I face is to provide the kind of education to my students which ensures they perform to the best of their ability. I tell my students that life is full of opportunities and chances for everyone, so, value it, fashion it beautifully and celebrate it in your terms by being a good human being with humane values of compassion, tolerance, resilience and contentment. 

My strong belief is that values are our guidelines for our success- our paradigm about what is acceptable. I am of the firm opinion that an individual’s interest, ability and passion should be valued and promoted so that they flourish and excel in their profession. Having said that, I will be elated to see my students take up the noble teaching profession as this is the profession that creates all professions. 

My message to the teachers of now and the future is – Always remember that as a teacher you are an enabler, an awakener and most importantly a Nation builder.

In my journey as an education leader, my efforts and endeavors have been recognized and duly awarded by leading national and international organizations, which has inspired me to move ahead with conviction and determination. Some of them include the Best Teacher State awarded by Federation of Public School, State Award by Directorate of Education, Delhi, CBSE National Teachers Award, and Leadership Award for being an exemplary educational leader by Scholard, London, UK.

The school has been awarded the International Schools Award by British Council thrice in succession, Global Innovative School Award by BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus. We were applauded for our green endeavours and ranked in India’s Top 50 Prestigious Jury Awards 2020- Eco School Project of the Year by Education Today, IGBC Green Schools under existing school category by Indian Green Building Council, Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar by Directorate of Education, to name a few.

My Vision and Mission is to ‘Create Good human beings who uphold values, morals and the cultural legacy’.

ASN is the ‘THE POTTER’S WHEEL’ where each child DEVELOPS, NUTURES AND GROWS.

I would like to quote-“Windows are for looking through, not at! Our lives are like windows. We can look through our challenges and see the glory and feel the joy of winning. 

Do check out experiences shared by our top 50 leaders in education.

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