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
Savneet Chawla
Director of Operations
Millennium World School, Ludhiana, Punjab
Architect of children’s dreams
My first involvement with the school began when I started designing my school building in a way that can touch children’s hearts, aesthetically pleasing, innovative futuristic classroom models, which can train young minds to think out of the box but at the same time a very functional design providing full comfort.
During the school’s construction, I used to design each and every element with a very thoughtful and profound mindset. I eventually fell in love with the idea of imparting education and embark on a beautiful journey watching little kids grow, not realising how integral part we play in their life. I tried to incorporate all activities which can build children’s confidence and make them more connected to their families.
Women multitask with ease
A school director needs to wear several hats that of a planner, the problem-solver, a counsellor to name a few. I think making a connect with the people around is a basic skill which every administrator needs to have. In our school, we were able to build such a team which is passionate and always believes in continuous learning. I am also learning and polishing my skills every day. Also, planning the events well in advance is one of the administration’s crucial skills, which I have learnt in my journey so far.
On women empowerment
A well-educated girl has the ability to educate her entire family. We empower our girls in such a way that we assign them leadership roles in all spheres. Girls are getting equal opportunities like boys. We engage our girls in self-defence activities and sports. To uplift their self-esteem, we keep holding various workshops; not only to nurture their skills but to prepare them for the challenging world ahead. True liberty for a woman comes from the ability to make financial decisions of her life on her own. Parents should not think that the women’s sole purpose is only just to marry and take care of the household.
On gender equality
Kids learn what they see, and they can understand that there is no gender inequality. Raising children is not only a woman’s responsibility but a shared effort by both parents. The idea that men have better business acumen should have been long redundant, vestiges of it are still reflected in the way women are perceived in the society.
While practicing architecture, I used to visit construction sites where the contractors, labour used to be all males. They did not feel comfortable taking commands from a woman. Male subordinates find it uneasy to accept a woman as their boss. Moreover, a lot of politics happens if only a female leads a company of all males whereas vice-versa is not the case. But the females of this generation, like me, have chalked out the ways to deal with the so-called manpower.
