“Can I watch iPad for 10 minutes?” Its either iPad or TV. But this is the case with most of the kids nowadays. This was the situation I faced when my son was a toddler and screens were a fascination. Being an avid and voracious reader, I had hoped to inculcate the same love for books in my son. I bought books of various types like interactive, colorful, animal etc. initially he showed an interest but eventually that waned off. While I don’t condone of screens, I prefer them in moderation. When I was a kid, I had 2 options when I was bored: play with friends or read books. My mother was and is still an ardent reader. She introduced me to the world of books and the massive knowledge to be gained from them. Children have never-ending options for entertainment today, like TV, internet (iPad, laptops, etc.). I faced this with my child. He loved watching cartoons, playing games on the iPad. But ask him to take a break and read a book, there would be a massive tantrum. Forcing a reluctant reader to grab a book is the biggest blunder one can make. As a parent and an educator, I knew I had to ease him towards a new routine which involved moderate screen time and introduction to books. So, as he grew up and started understanding, I decided to have a talk about what he likes on screen and why does he not like books. According to him, “Mumma if I make a mistake while reading then you will shout at me.” And the main reason was out. Fear!!! I knew I had my job cut out. First and foremost was to make him realize that I will not shout at him. Secondly, to find out from where he got the notion that if he commits an error, he gets a shouting. After a lot of to & fro discussion, we came to a truce.
We will set a routine for the school days and for the holidays. He can watch screen provided he reads a story or anything that he likes (he loves books on animals & dinosaurs) every day. We started with 15 minutes of reading a day and have reached a point of reading 1 hour a day. As of now, I think I have achieved 10% of introducing reading my child’s life and I know slowly and steadily this will help him in future. Currently with the lockdown in place, the question about the iPad is still asked but not as frequently.
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Fatema Agarkar, Founder and Chairperson , Agarkar Centre of Excellence (ACE)
Veteran of 3 educational start-ups , now Founder of the Agarkar Centre of Excellence, Fatema’s passion for teaching-learning and children defines the different roles she has crafted in 20 years – as an edupreneur, educator and mentor.
Fatema who is a State and University topper as part of the prestigious Mumbai based Sydenham College of Commerce & Economics, holds a degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Birmingham (UK), apart from her B.ED and ECCE degrees amassed when she decided education was her calling. Having kick-started her career in the corporate world and working with premier organizations like Commerzbank, Times of India and Egon Zehnder International, she always had an inner urge to bring about an enhancement in the sphere of education..
As an educationist and life-long learner, she has come a long way to intertwine modern methods of learning, teaching and customizing education as per the student’s intellectual requisites thus eradicating stress that stems from the education system. She has been sedulous in making comprehensive alterations in the education field in India. Being a risk-taker, Fatema has been focusing on the generation of innovative educational modules and her in-depth academic know-how, nothing but truly defines her ceaseless passion. Her name is synonymous with successful education models of the country and she is adjudged as Education World’s top 50 Educators in the year 2020. Adding more feathers to her hat, she has also been the recipient of several prestigious awards for her outstanding contribution to the field of education in the years 2013 and 2015.
Fatema has been awarded by Giants Group for her outstanding contribution to the field of education in 2012, the Young Achiever’s Award in the year 2017, Singapore based, Best of Asia’s, ‘Enterprising Educator in the year 2018 and as an entrepreneur ‘Best Edupreneur 2019 and Best Leadership’ by Progressive Academic Excellence India (Maharashtra 2019) and one of the 10th finest inspirational educators in 2019 by TKR, India . Her name is synonymous with successful education models of the country and she is adjudged as Education World’s top 50 Educators in the year 2020. Adding more feathers to her hat With close to 2 decades of experience in education, Fatema is the recipient of several honours including the Indian Achiever’s Award 2021. In July 2023, Fatema was also awarded the ‘Mumbai’s top Women Leader’ award by the CMO Asia National Awards’ (10th edition). Fatema is also a Jury Member for Cambridge School Recognition Awards 2025.
Having being associated with leading high school brands like DRS International, Hyderabad, NSS Hill Spring International, Mumbai, The Gera School, Goa, D Y Patil High School, Talegaon (Pune), SVM, Ratnagiri by the Gadre family, The Excellere World School, Gurgaon, JBCN International Schools, Mumbai, Fatema has now close to 40 pre-schools and high schools that she has set up from the grassroot level including a school for special needs’.
Fatema is on the Advisory Board of several Trusts including EduTech India, Wockhardft Foundation as well as a jury member, Education World Awards, a platform that recognizes the efforts of educators pan India. Fatema is also the Vice President for Early Childhood Association (ECA) and the Mumbai Territory Head for Association for Primary Education & Research (APER) in India. Fatema has been appointed as the global ambassador of the Commonwealth Entrepreneurs Club. . Fatema is on the advisory board of the All-India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and currently appointed as the National Council Member for Financial Literacy & Management by WICCI. Given her access to parents and her ability to provide age appropriate strategies to enable them to make more informed choices, Fatema’s passion remains counselling in the hope that effective parenting will enable children to benefit the most.
Fatema is also the special advisor of the Child Chapter Association (CCA), a non-governmental organisation registered as a Section 8. company under the Companies Act, 2013 whose mission is to spread awareness and eliminate child abuse, including child sexual abuse. Her role as a special advisor of CCA includes providing advice and guidance for their special outreach programs for Schools and teachers that tap into the child psyche and help them raise their voice against abuse. Fatema also played an instrumental role in the development of the CCA comic books and characters for their global campaign for child abuse awareness and prevention.
Currently, Fatema is the Advisor & Mentor to Finland International School, Race Course and on course to start her own school in 2026. As a TedX speaker, and a avid blogger, Fatema is passionate about sharing her knowledge amassed and inspiring stakeholders be it teachers, parents or students.
Her vision includes set up up of Soup Kitchens, Foster Homes and a community centre for the elderly under the Agarkar Foundation in time.
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