Kinjal Gajera
Trustee, Gajera Group, Surat

Kinjal Gajera is the trustee of the Surat-based Gajera Trust. The trust manages 18 schools including the flagship Gajera Global School, Surat, three undergrad colleges, and an orphanage.

• Practical, hands-on learning which develops children’s knowledge application, collaboration and problem-solving skills, is a blindspot of K-12 education. I hope NCFSE will advise schools and teachers across the country to supplement textbook learning with environment, exploration and experiential education. It’s in the national interest that all children become self-directed learners.
• The national curriculum framework is a guideline. Within it, state governments and exam boards are free to teach the values, culture and history of local communities. Therefore, it should be accepted by all state governments so that K-12 education in all 1.5 million schools is standardised. This is necessary for children to mature into responsible national citizens.
• There’s more to education than academic learning. I am looking forward to the NCFSE advising all educators to accord high importance to physical fitness, sports education and healthy lifestyles. The new NCF should highlight the interconnectedness of academic excellence with physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
• New digital technologies have revolutionised teaching-learning worldwide. Our children shouldn’t be left behind. I am expecting the new NCFSE to be a charter for educators to develop digitally enriched pedagogies that will improve the learning outcomes of all children countrywide and ready them for success in the 21st century. I hope the new NCF will provide flexibility to teachers to adapt and personalise the curriculum to meet the diverse needs and capabilities of our 260 million in-school children.