IPDA India National Seminar views School as a Miniature Society

This events was organized by Vivekan and Vidya Niketan School, Sadhupul, Solan, H.P. in Collaboration with International Professional Development Association, India and Partap College of Education, Ludhiana on 29 April, 2017.

Background

According to educationist, John Dewey, the school is the society itself. Each classroom is a community in which the members must comply with the norms of the society. The students in a school represent a wide cross-section of the society at large, cutting across barriers of economy, class, religion, colour or creed. In the school, socialization takes place for the first time. That is, the child starts learning to live with others, share their sorrows and happiness; take the qualities of cooperation, tolerance, love, friendship and sympathy which is very necessary in a society; so the school represents a mini society. And this is how the theme of the seminar, ‘School as a Miniature Society’, was chosen after a focussed deliberation.

The Seminar

The lush-green, never ending forests, the mesmerising milieu of high mountains, the rain-washed valleys of Kandaghat and Sadhupul in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh (H.P.) provided a perfect backdrop to an impeccably satisfying experience of being amongst scholars from various places around for a national seminar on the topic ‘School as a miniature society’ organized by IPDA (India) under the able guidance of Dr. Balwant Singh, Chairperson, IPDA India and Principal, Partap College of Education, Ludhiana. Dr.Chaman Lal Banga, Assistant Professor, Department of Education, ICDEOL, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla and Co Vice Chair, IPDA, India was the convenor of the seminar and Sh. Ravi Mehta, Chairman, Vivek Society, Sadhupul, Solan was the organizer. The venue of this august gathering was Vivekan and VidyaNiketan School. The school is located in the Himalayas, near the Sadhupul river between Solan and Chail in the state of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India.

Inaugural Session

The day began with cheerful faces greeting the delegates – students of the school with much enthusiasm guided the visitors down the valley towards the venue of the seminar. The function formally began with the lamp-lighting by Swami Shiva Sevananda, President, Dev Bhoomi Trust, Sadhupul. While addressing the audience he made a reference to the earlier Gurukul system and how the world of education and teaching has changed now. But the matter of the fact is that school is still the breeding ground of the final products to be readied for society.

Dr. Chaman Lal Banga welcomed the esteemed guests and also introduced the theme of the seminar. He introduced the resource persons of the seminar: Dr.Manpreet Kaur, Vice-Principal, Partap College of Education, Ludhiana and Secretary, IPDA, India; Dr. Ramesh Sandhu, Associate Professor, CR College of Education, Hissar; Dr. Rakesh Sandhu, Principal, DAV College of Education for Women, Karnal, Haryana and Dr.Rampal Singh, Associate Professor, Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Karnal.

Keynote Address

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Balwant Singh. In his address he made it a point to emphasize on the fact that the students being the centre of the education sector, should be carried all along to facilitate the process of teaching-learning. The inaugural session was followed by a tea-break of fifteen minutes, after which the technical session was held.

Technical Session

In all, thirty-five delegates presented their research papers on the sub-themes of the seminar:

• Healthy Teacher Taught Relationship,
• Teacher as a Social Reformer,
• Role of SMCs in School Development,
• Preparing Teachers to Teach in Rural Schools, and
• Role of Village Schools in the Development of Rural Areas.

The Chairpersons of the technical session Dr. Manpreet Kaur, Dr. Ramesh Sandhu, Dr. Rakesh Sandhu and Dr.Rampal Singh, gave their inputs about the presentations and also discussed at length how each one could contribute towards nurturing schools and school students so that the society developing in those four walls adds constructively to a nation’s progress in the true sense of the term. The seminar was indeed a step forward in the direction to get acquainted with the latest issues, challenges and perspective in the field of education and society in state as well as nation.

The session was followed by Lunch, the menu of which also included a few of the traditional recipes to give the delegates a taste of the local flavours.

Valedictory Session   

In the Valedictory session, the organizer, Sh. Ravi Mehta, shared his dreams and visions about how he looks forward to take the concept of school education to new heights so that the students from even remote areas are able to reach the zenith of being informed in all possible ways. The session was presided over by Prof. Shashi Dhiman, Ex-VC, Himachal Pradesh Technical University, Hamirpur.

Certificates were awarded to the paper presenters by Dr. Balwant Singh.

The book on ‘Language Across Curriculum’ written by Dr.Chaman Lal Banga, published by Pasricha Publishers was released by Dr. Balwant Singh. The students of the school presented cultural dance items and regional Himachali songs with such aplomb and poise that they mesmerized the audience with their melodious voices and deft dance moves. Mr. Ravi Mehta proposed the vote of thanks.

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