DPS marks 10 years in S'pore

SINGAPORE - In the early years of 2000, as the number of Indian expatriates in Singapore grew, the Economic Development Board invited the Delhi Public School (DPS) of India to set up a campus here.

The aim was to cater to the educational aspirations that Indian expats had for their children and the school opened its doors on April 19, 2004 with 250 students.

"DPS was an obvious choice, given its good reputation in India," explained the principal of DPS, Colonel (Ret) Charanjit Gill.

Mr Gill, who has 30 years' experience in the education industry, before which he served 25 years in the Indian army, took over as principal of the school seven years ago.

"The school was founded in 1949 in Delhi and currently has 150 schools around the world," he added. DPS now has 1,700 students enrolled from kindergarten to senior secondary (Classes XI and XII) levels.

The man who set up DPS here was Mr Chandra Prakash Kabra, currently chairman of the international school's Singapore campus.

A chartered accountant and company secretary with 26 years of work experience, he came to Singapore in 1994. His professional background, varied work experience and entrepreneurial abilities drove him to set up his own processing plant and a successful business enterprise in granite and dimensional stones.

With his family here with him, it was his desire to provide a good education for his children that inspired him to become an educational entrepreneur as well.

"We strive to provide holistic development for our students. Our 240,000 sq ft campus has many facilities that keep us on a par with other international and local schools. All our classrooms are air-conditioned and we have 24 extra-curricular and co-curricular activities clubs to cater to the varying interests of our students," said Mr Kabra.

Mr Gill added: "DPS' unique trait is our personal touch. Our teachers take more personal responsibility for each of their students and they make the effort to know every student's personal details."

The school has students of 13 different nationalities. Said Mr Kabra: "We are like an extended family. And we consider ourselves borderless."

Mr Gill, who says he enjoys working with children, added: "Five to 7 per cent of our students are non-Indian international students from China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Korea, the US, the UK, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, just to name a few."

To maintain relevance internationally, DPS follows the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ICSE) curriculum and the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) curriculum.

The Cambridge IGCSE is a high-profile qualification, which is equivalent in standard to the UK GCSE and Cambridge International GCE O-level examinations. It is recognised by universities and institutes of higher education internationally.

"Most of our students do exceptionally well in their exams. This year, more than 90 per cent of our students scored outstanding results," said Mr Gill.

To give recognition to the hard work and dedication of students who perform well academically, the management has started handing out scholarships to students who have done well in their examinations. This was started in conjunction with DPS' 10th anniversary and scholarships were handed out to students on March 15.

Said Mr Kabra: "It is also to encourage students to excel at academics. We conduct weekly tests to ensure they're on track as well as to instil healthy competition among students."

Also part of the 10th anniversary was the formation of a student council made up of six students who have shown leadership traits as well as performed consistently well academically, and are captains in different capacities.

They are: School captain Anamika Rajiv, school co-captain Arsha Aggarwal, cultural and co-curricular activities captain Rajalakshmi Nageswaran, entrepreneur association captain Vibhavi Kachroo, literary society captain Vithiya Ragu and sports captain Arman Kukreja.

"They have different responsibilities, and we have given them full freedom to express themselves and plan activities in school. They can approach teachers to be mentors and we encourage them to follow their hearts and take risks.

"One of the challenges students of this generation face is that their future is uncertain. We have to prepare them to handle roles in society that are not even in existence now. We hope to empower leadership in children to groom the leaders of tomorrow," explained Mr Gill.

The first activity organised by the student council was a literary quiz for Classes 7 to 11, which took place on May 28.

Apart from that, they also revamped the concept of the parent-teacher meeting which was held on May 31. This year there were six parent-child activities as part of the session and parents were given the option of choosing one activity beforehand and they were required to participate in the chosen activity with their child.

Community involvement programmes (CIP) are also an important part of the students' learning journey with DPS.

Explained Mr Kabra: "We don't only teach our students to find good jobs in future and be financially successfull, but also focus on social values and responsibilities. We teach them humility and CIP plays a big role in that."

He added that DPS organises visits to homes for the aged and children's homes as well as work with organisations like the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore. The school also organised a successfull blood donation drive.

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