National, August 23, 2024: Pioneering the education landscape, Orchids The International School, a leading K12 school chain in India today announced the infusion of IIT talent into its schools across the country. This could be the development that will bring change in accelerating further STEM education in India. Recently, Orchids recruited around 200 IITians as teaching faculties to expand its Orchids Career Foundation Programme for the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics pertaining to grades 6 through 12. These IITians are alumni of leading IITs like IIT Kanpur, IIT Mandi, IIT Bhubaneswar. These IIT teachers shall not only be teaching but guiding the students in personal and professional development relating to the choice of proper careers, research, or entrepreneurship. Combining academic rigor with practical application and inculcating holistic development, Orchids believes these young IIT educators will help lay the foundation for a brighter future of the nation.
The OCFP program at Orchids acts as a catalyst for the gap between lovers and non-lovers of subjects in STEM, and instills life-long interest in learning, unlocking the full potential of every child. The program uniquely offers innovative teaching methods and application-based learning. The faculty engages in various activities and demonstrations, helping the students apply theoretical knowledge in real life. The method allows most students to also succeed in school and pursue effective careers in STEM. Presently, OCFP has close to 100+ faculty members across India. This expansion is a clear sign of the program’s success and the growing need for quality STEM education.
Shlok Srivastava, Head of the Orchids Career Foundation Program, explains: “IIT graduates bring a different dimension to the classroom. The deep-understanding and practicality of these STEM subjects, makes them furnish the students with more comprehensive and nuanced learning of complex subjects. This comes in handy, perhaps now more than ever, in schools, for these teachers equip the students with not just learning the content but also mentoring them toward building a culture of thinking and problem-solving—mentors who build mindsets of rigor, perseverance, and resilience within each student. Their presence is also prompting a transition towards an interactive, student-centered learning environment. IITians will set new standards of quality in education and prepare the next generation of innovators and leaders in the field of science and technology.”
Adding further Shlok, who is also an IIT alumni, said, “”IITians bring that uniqueness in teaching apart from subject knowledge. Their exposure to an intense academic environment with a research-led culture enables them to develop a love for inquiry and exploration of knowledge in the students. As a faculty, IITians can hence bridge the gap between theoretical understandings and practical applications, making STEM learning more engaging and relevant.”
As Orchids The International School continues to grow with the OCFP program, it holds firmly to its holistic approach of raising champions with activities outside of the classroom. This is one such very novel initiative that has enthused the chain of schools to build young talent for bigger platforms of success.