Like all parents, I too get panicked when it comes to schooling of my sons. Yes, even after shifting eight schools between my two sons, I am still daring to look into new options.

Well, my sons’ friends moved from ICSE board to CBSE in class 8. Nearly 2 sections of 28 kids per class gone! Now that is an exodus that must have made ISC board chief sit up and wake up. High time ugh! Read more here

https://madhuriesingh.com/index.php/2016/as-predicted-isc-board-changing-to-cbse-board/

So the first time I went with a friend, we were disappointed! It was a Saturday and as per their website, all admission related inquiries could be made till 1pm. But when we reached the school gate, we were told the school office is closed due to some pest control procedure that was due in an hours time.  I hate it when schools drive away parents without informing on their websites about such sudden changes in theor office timings. Anyways, I found that the watchman was from my state, UP. So a bit of UP talk and he called the office again. We were then allowed to enter the premise to check the infrastructure till the play area.

As we went ahead and forayed into the corridor, a few more steps ahead, we saw parents!

Now, we went straight into the office and demanded the reason for not meeting us. We were given the same pesty excuse. But, they agreed to let up check out the infrastructure.

So we were escorted to all the classrooms, canteen, bathroom and sports room.

Did you read anything else till now! That because , infrastructure is the major plus point that Kalyani school is currently playing on as nearby there are not any school that can compete with the space.

I loved the classrooms, canteen and art room. But there were no students and teachers to interact with.

We got a few basic information and decided to visit again soon.

The next time I dragged along my husband too. The reason, my older son was keen to shift as many of his class mates have shifted to this school in class 7 and 8. He would be going to class 8. (Remember, he was in Playgroup in Kangaroo Kids when there was an incident that led me to start writing about schools. Read here: Kangaroo Kids Pune India

So before we paid for the re-admission in his current school, we all decided to visit the school. Meanwhile, I had read and done a lot of research and realized that his current school was much better to continue. But as you all must have experienced, now-a-days kids would rather experience everything on their own than believe parents blindly, it made my job easier to either convince him or get convinced.

Again my entire family loved the infrastructure of the school. They have plans to build a few more building in future. As of now there is one section only for class 8, 7, 6.

They also have a very renowned Football coaching association that is an attraction to kids who want to pursue football.

Then came the test for my sons which they cleared v easily. In fact, the essay in Hindi written by my older son was so impressive that they loved it and were all praising his thoughts. The fee was not an issue as it was a bit lower than that of the current school. While the boys wrote their test, we decided to check the course material. I was disappointed to see poor quality text books. But then that is how NCERT books are. All classes use NCERT books which is pretty congested, with tiny fonts, boring pictures in comparison to the course material designed by experts in their current school. The current school content is so interesting and full of anecdotes that many topics seem so interesting to me while browsing through their books, that I end up reading again! A few pages actually in Kalyani’s course material has blurred printing! I think it was class 6 books. You know, when you have tasted something better, rest of the stuff is not easy to digest. Plus, I would want my younger son to study from the interesting curriculum  than boring ones. I was not very put off still and was open to the change if the teachers were up to my standard. (After changing 8 schools for my sons, within Pune, one tiny conversation with teachers, I can gather immense understanding of their quality in no time.

So when my sons were done with the test, we visited the class rooms and talked to a few primary school teachers. They were very uninterested and looked very tired! A few teachers in the staff room sat looking out of the window, through us, in a very disinterested way. The body language did not tell me if they would do justice to my sons. I agree it’s a very tiring job, but when parents are watching you dear teachers, present your better side.  The language was also not a fluent English as expected of an English medium school teachers. But, may be I just met the wrong ones.

I was keen to talk with the class 7 children who would be the future classmates of my son, if he joined them. Met around 7-8 girls and found them to be really cool and talking very fluently in English. Two had come from US, one from UK and the rest who spoke well were from Vibgyor! While my hubby and I were getting excited, my son frowned and started to walk out of the room. We later found out from him that many who were from Vibgyor were not very good in academics and had decided to shift from ICSE to CBSE.

I really wanted to meet the Principal and the founder.

I loved the founder of the Kalyani school. Very down to earth lady. She is the daughter in law of the Kalyani Baba of Bharat Forge fame. She seemed verry passionate and honest. But the Principal came across as a non-friendly and not willing to share information. I wanted to meet the class teachers of class 8 but she refused to allow me. Then, we found out that they are still recruiting new teachers for class 8 as that is their highest class as of now in 2016-17.  I really was not keen to let my older one be experimented upon each new year, till he reached class 12! So when the principal refused to allow us meeting with any on the class 8 teachers, I knew they were not good enough. They made sure they first things parents do is to go around and check out their infrastructure, which is awesome. But, hiding the teachers, tells just the opposite about the teachers.

My older son was already put off, my younger one was not keen anyways, with the teachers quality clear to us, we had no reason to hang on more. As we were leaving the office, the founder too was leaving the office. She asked us, what will convince us to stay. I told her now nothing as I would not to send my kids to a school where the basic need of meeting the teachers was not entertained.

Now, who is this school good for currently as its less than 5 yrs old?

All pre primary and primary classes upto class 5 should be cool here. The younger class kids can learn from NCERT books under CBSE board and get used to the rigmaroll of the tests and exams. The children upto class 5 will have ample time to reach class 8 where all schools of CBSE or ICSE have to use books recommended by the board.

The students in class 6 or 7 may also take chance but not when in class 8, 9 or 10. The school is yet to have teachers who have the experience of teaching higher classes in this school, so you definitely would not want to take any chance, unless, the teachers are excellent and have the track record of teaching higher classes in their previous schools with great reviews.

To read the details of Fee, infrastructure, classes, teachers in detail, click this link and register as parent.

CLick to read the details of fee, infrastructure etc of The Kalyani School, Manjri, Pune.