Compassionate Education & Healing Touch Need of the Hour – Fr.Sunil Cletus Fernandes, Principal, St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School

Educators must be adapted to the emerging Challenges arising out of Covid 19 Pandemic, Students & Teachers deep connect & discipline are key to deal in virtual education system – Fr.Sunil Cletus Fernandes, Principal, St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School

St Joseph’s Boys’ High School is all prepared to embrace the academic session with significant changes in the very fabrics of the learning, teachings & adapting to the new situations arising out of the COVID 19 pandemic. In an exclusive interview to Satya Brahma, Editor-in-Chief of Network 7 Media Group, Fr.Sunil Cletus Fernandes Principal, St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School, the dynamic & visionary educator stressed the need to foster innovations in the education sector with wider & deep connect between the students & teachers. While the physical offline classes are yet to make its imprints in the near future, we are well prepared & devised unique strategies to keep our tradition of imparting quality educations to our students. Extensive training have been given to the teaching faculty to deal with ever evolving situations following the Covid 19 pandemic, St Joseph’s Boys’ High School are step ahead of others while teaching to our students in the virtual classes using the state-of-the-art IT technologies. We are focused & our objective is to empower both educators & students” said  Fr.Sunil Cletus Fernandes Principal, St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School.

Fr.Sunil Cletus Fernandes stressed on the seven C’s of Jesuit ethos – Compassion, Commitment, Confidence, Competence, Creativity, Character and Care/Concern for the Cosmos. Father advised the students to excel in academics as well as in co-curricular activities. We are actively involved in various charitable activities to render our helping hands to the remotest parts of the country as we understand, it is our noble & key responsibility to reach out to the marginalized & under privileged  sections of the society.

New Age Education in High School at St Joseph’s Boys’ High School

While elaborating on the challenges & opportunities in this critical & unprecedented pandemic situations, Fr.Sunil Cletus Fernandes said  “St Joseph’s Boys’ High School understand that coping up with the new system will be a challenge & further risks children’s education, mental health, so a detailed & meticulously planned activities are in place for the smooth operations of the school education. This pandemic has already had a severe impact on the well-being of children over the past year & St Joseph’s Boys’ High School is making no stones unturned to imbibe the culture of disciple, model of teaching & making our students comfortable to excel”.

India harbors one of the largest student population of 315 million and nearly half of them are girls. The pandemic-induced lockdowns and curfews have led to the closure of all schools in India that eventually affected the students, both physically and mentally According to the UNICEF, over 1.5 million schools were closed due to COVID-19 across India that directly impacted the students and teachers. The World Bank estimates that the sudden closure of schools to control the pandemic could cost India nearly USD 400 billion, which is an enormous economic loss.  

School closures have been a common tool in the battle against COVID-19. Yet, their costs and benefits remain insufficiently known. Suspension of face-to-face instruction in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to concerns about consequences for students’ learning. So far, data to study this question have been limited. Teachers will face a pressing issue: How can they help students recover and stay on track throughout the year even as their lives are likely to continue to be disrupted by the pandemic?.New research provides insights about the scope of the problem—as well as potential solutions. A new study suggests that the corona virus will undo months of academic gains, leaving many students behind. The study authors project that students will start the new school year with an average of 66 percent of the learning gains in reading and 44 percent of the learning gains in math, relative to the gains for a typical school year. But the situation is worse on the reading front, as the researchers also predict that the top third of students will make gains, possibly because they’re likely to continue reading with their families while schools are closed, thus widening the achievement gap. The Covid-19 pandemic may worsen existing mental health problems and lead to more cases among children and adolescents because of the unique combination of the public health crisis, social isolation, and economic recession

It is pertinent here to note that WHO in a release said “so far, data suggests that children under the age of 18 years represent about 8.5% of reported cases, with relatively few deaths compared to other age groups and usually mild disease. However, cases of critical illness have been reported. As with adults, pre-existing medical conditions have been suggested as a risk factor for severe disease and intensive care admission in children”. Further studies are underway to assess the risk of infection in children and to better understand transmission in this age group.

ST. JOSEPH’S BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL – An Overview

We are a Jesuit school, following the principles of education laid down by Jesuit fathers and reflected in the school motto of ‘Fide et Labore’ (faith and toil). The school is set in a large eight acre campus right in the heart of central Bangalore. In the last decade, the old blue and grey stone buildings have given way to a taller structure to house the growing number of levels offered in the school – from Kindergarten to Std 12. The school strength is a little over 3,500 students and they are supported and cared for by the 150 qualified and experienced teachers and other support staff, many of whom have been with the school for most of their career. We hold regular training workshops and seminars for our teachers to better equip them in their role. In keeping with the growing needs of society, we have on board, three qualified counsellors who meet with children through the day as well as a resource room for children with specific learning difficulties and an infirmary with a trained nurse. We are affiliated to the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). We offer at the Std 10 level, the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) and at the Std 12 level, the ISC (Indian School Certificate), both the Science and Commerce streams of study.