Education Stalwarts 2021 | Mr. A.R. Razi Faquih, President of Orbis Education Society | Leaders in Education

Mr. A.R. Razi Faquih, President of Orbis Education Society‌, one of the top Leaders in Education is with EducationToday sharing his experience.

I was born in Mumbai and did my schooling from St. Peter’s School, Panchgani- a renowned Anglo-Indian School. At school, I was an all-rounder, and used to excel in academics as well as various sports disciplines. I then completed my higher studies from Burhani College, Mumbai. As a student, I used to represent my school and college at various inter-institutional tournaments. 

My wife, Shahnaaz, is a postgraduate in Environmental Science, a graduate in Microbiology from the University of Pune, and holds a B.Ed in English and Science. She has worked as a lecturer in an institute in Pune and by the grace of the Almighty, we are blessed with two lovely children- Shahrukh and Hiba.

While I was studying in college, I used to manage my family business of Salt Works at Vasai, and further developed and expanded the family business by way of two new Salt Works at Vangaon and Dahanu. However, the creative and entrepreneurial instincts in me made me launch Captions Outdoor Advertising, which commenced operations in 1989, as an outdoor space vendor of electronic media. Captions started setting up sites across the city of Pune. Despite obstacles, with the grace of the Almighty, the firm progressed and is today recognised as a key player in the outdoor advertising industry, with operations spread across Pune and other parts of Maharashtra. 

Captions is a member of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), The Maharashtra Outdoor Advertising Association (MOAA), The Pune Outdoor Advertising Association (POAA), Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA).  A key mover for the regulation of outdoor advertising was nominated on the committee for drafting rules and regulations for outdoor advertising by the Ministry of Urban Development, Maharashtra State.

I am currently the President of the Maharashtra Outdoor Advertising Association and have also been instrumental in its functioning earlier as an advisor and mentor. 

I am a member of the Anjuman – I – Islam and was the Executive Chairman of its very reputed Anjuman-I-Islam Public School- a co-educational boarding school in Panchgani, where I guided and implemented ways to improve and upgrade the school.

I am also the founder member of Exploring New Avenues (ENA) Foundation and have served in the capacity of its Treasurer. ENA Foundation aims to make a difference to the community by providing education to the less privileged.

In 2009, I, along with my brother Mr. Haseeb Faquih set out on our most dear journey and established the Orbis Education Society, which runs the very prestigious Orbis Schools that are co-educational day schools of much repute affiliated with the CBSE at Keshav Nagar and Mundhwa in Pune. These schools have excelled profusely over the years and have received numerous awards.

Pune is among the cities with the largest youth population. There has been a tremendous expansion in the city. Peripherally, due to the rise in the IT industry, residential projects spurted in no time. There were hardly any CBSE schools in Mundhwa. So, we did a survey and decided to come up with a school in this area so as to enable people to have easy access to world class education.

As very rightly said by Colin Powell, ‘A dream does not become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work’, I too believe that when you undertake something, there has to be a lot of preparation, and it can only be accomplished by sheer hard work and determination. When we began the Orbis journey way back in 2009, we were determined to create an institute where children would come to celebrate learning, and where every other stakeholder, and parents and teachers would be the driving force and a part of this celebration, and the school would put together all that is needed for this celebration! We had our dream carefully chalked out, and we worked tirelessly to make it possible. Our hard work is bearing fruit, as The Orbis School, Keshav Nagar and The Orbis School, Mundhwa are considered amongst the top CBSE schools in Pune. With over 7500 students having been groomed at theses schools, and being the recipient of over a hundred awards, and with over 80% students scoring above 71% in board exams, the schools are on the path we set out to be on! 

Every journey comes with a number of obstacles. The more established a domain, the lesser the scope for innovation. Schooling has over millenniums evolved to a very strict delivery style. Into such an environment we envisaged The Orbis School and its Core Practices of Peer Teaching, Buddy System, Self-Invigilation, Open Book Assessment, Theme Based Assemblies, Where The Mind Is Without Fear, Leadership and Each One Teach One; which have now been designed to make our students emerge as confident global citizens, who are a source of pride and joy to their parents and their alma mater. As they go on to shouldering greater responsibilities, they shall be nation builders and global leaders. The curation of an education delivery system with the challenges and hurdles of traditionality and the desire to blend modernity and flexibility has been a pleasant journey for me.

I am very honoured to have received the prestigious Dr.  A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Excellence Award, at New Delhi in September 2017.

My family and all those who started off on this journey with me have been my constant pillars of support, and all those who eventually joined the caravan have been the support I needed to come this far!

I would like to tell the upcoming professionals in the field of education  to invest in good teaching staff and teacher training programs, as well as to adopt innovative teaching methods. Ensure that each and every student takes part in sports and cultural activities. I would like to have professionals to foster interest in fine arts, music and theatre. Harness the skills of parents and involve them as partners in the student’s intellectual and emotional development. I would like to have them build a good culture of the school by cultivating good relationships with the management, teaching and non-teaching staff, students, parents and all the stakeholders in the domain.

Do check out experiences shared by our top 50 leaders in education. All of the Leaders in education who have shared their experience with us have been motivating and life changing.

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