On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we bring you some of the most notable and distinguished women eduleaders from the education industry to share their incredible journey, insights, and experiences. Here are the excerpts from the interview
Dr Raina Jain
Director
Witty Group of Institutions, Mumbai
Many still believe women are the weaker sect and cannot be leaders and are only capable of handling home and kitchen. With the ‘Beti bacchao, beti padao’ abhiyan we are seeing more and more educated girls. They have become more career-oriented. A change is definitely being seen and through the passage of time, we will definitely see more and more women in the work field. At Witty, we give equal opportunities to every child in curricular or co-curricular activities.
Pandemic has taught us that the basic household chores are gender agnostic. We have a special set up in our schools, what we call as Home Economics Lab, where the entire gamut of home management – from basic household chores to how to fill a bank slip or cheque, to budgeting are taught. Earlier there was a very clear bifurcation of roles – women as caregivers and men as providers. We at Witty are trying to bring in some change in mind-set by taking these small but important steps. We intend to change the outlook one step at a time!
Medicine to education
When my daughter was born, my hunt for a good school had begun but in vain. I wanted all-round development for my child and that’s when I changed my profession and started off with a preschool to begin with and gradually with the support and encouragement of my parents’ established a primary, secondary and higher secondary school.
Learning as an edupreneur
Give willingly and wholeheartedly, and one will see that you are able to cultivate the best of fruits and the best of children and young citizens for the country. One needs to be a good listener and orator. Have a discerning attitude and be a decision-maker.
School leadership
Give the best environment to your students and staff. Listen with an open mind to their inputs. Delegate the work so each one is responsible. Establish clear goals and provide regular but constructive feedback for the smooth functioning and try and abide by these.
