The past few weeks have been extremely anxious moments spent by those in the education industry – be it owners of schools, principals, parents and teachers as everything they attempted to channelise landing up as a discussion points in courts – well, in some states!! Waiting for verdicts, contesting them and getting decision makers to value the work of experts when they were recommending in my opinion took time away from what was really critical and the need of the hour – which is to optimise with the variables that confronted us. Yes, we have to ensure that every child learns but the discussions went into proving evils of excessive screen time, lack of IT capabilities, to fee waivers, the private/public debate but what we really needed to focus on was the child’s seamless learning and how to ensure that we added value. This is the innovation required, and given the rising numbers, the reality is extensions of lockdown times for our children.
Those states that remained mindful of engagements, and valued the virtual world, allowed stake holders the ability to optimise and adjust, and in my mind, these children are finding their feet and adapting because there was time spent sharing feedback and adjusting.
There is no denying the fact that these extra ordinary times have challenged many, and for many parents who for most parts believed that schools would start at some point were hopeful that the world would normalise then, and everything would be fixed – virtual world be something they dealt with for some time, and these ‘problems’ would disappear when things became ‘normal’.
This isn’t about blame game, because the one strong fact emerges that this year which about ‘stops’ and ‘starts’ and coping with C virus has no clear predictions. It is a wait and watch directive, and adjust as trends emerge which is why coping mechanisms need to be the focus so that every family moves ahead.
Educators recognised these signs quickly and invested heavily in skilling their teachers, and building capabilities. Plenty of lessons learnt and as this is work in progress, they continue to scale up. Many parents have recognised that virtual engagements presents a valuable alternative to learning, and have starting reaching out and skilling up themselves. Academic boards like CBSE have led the way with their reduction in course content and decided that non negotiable content that builds foundation is the focus area. International boards like Cambridge are extending their services and enabling schools to plan the year with resources and use their internal network to deliver on quality benchmarks which should be hugely motivating for parents.
Those responsible for the student’s learning journey have been reactive and providing solutions. It is now upto the schools and their set of parents and children empowered by teachers who need to focus on the road ahead. What can we do to support each other, what can we do to contribute, what can we do as research to share ideas or what can we do to ensure that ‘our’ school remains the ‘go-to’ place that we valued in March.
This change in narrative, away from arguments about screen time and shared devices or lack of connectivity will generate solutions as they have been – books being couriered to parents, handouts sent home, pre-corded sessions that can be viewed again, smaller group sizes, enforcement and enrichment times, one on one discussions, to mentoring and buddy systems, flexibility in home work submissions, assessments that are blended etc. The collective effort focused on mobilising is surely the way forward as this year appears to be one where even when we open up, and children come to school, a spike in cases may warrant a closure and at that time, the shift to virtual learning will be a welcome alternative.
In these early days, the belief that ‘gap’ years will be solution is simply based on 3 weeks of online work, and unlockdown times news. As the year moves ahead and we are faced with school closure till October or even December, this will lead to the panic again and then hindsight will document that we were hasty in passing verdicts about virtual learning and instead of skilling up, we wasted time resisting it.
Wish law makers would put the onus on schools and their expert teams and allow them to manage their quantum of asynchronous or synchronous classes basis of their demographics and capabilities and allow the progression to take place. Some schools will creatively plan, create value and think laterally.
This will equip us to learn from each other, and embrace best practices and that is the collaboration we hope this industry can focus on, instead of submitting reports on what different research organisations believe is ideal screen time.
None of this research was conducted when the world was in lock down. Dont you think statistics be adjusted from ‘recreational’ time spent on line to ‘learning’ when you bring the variable of pandemic. It is also time, parents partner this process with a lot more open mindedness. For me, it is simple, those resisting may be the ones left out. And in that only your child’s learning is compromised. The world will move on!
Time to reflect, and adjust our energies on what really is important.
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Fatema Agarkar, Founder , Agarkar Centre of Excellence (ACE)
Veteran of 3 educational start-ups , she is Founder of the Agarkar Centre of Excellence and an early years kindergarten centre, ACE Juniors launched in South Mumbai. Fatema’s passion for teaching-learning and children defines the different roles she has crafted in 25 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. 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. She has won the National icon award in education in 2026.
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, Finland International School, Mumbai, Fatema has now close to 50 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.
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. In 2026, Fatema expanded her vision for education by launching ACE Juniors, a bespoke early-years school at Kemps Corner, Mumbai. Built on her 25+ years of experience in education, ACE Juniors is the first step towards a larger, long-term vision of creating a continuum of education—from the early years through primary and high school. With a vision to take the ACE Juniors model to more cities through strategic expansion and franchise partnerships, Fatema continues to build an education ecosystem that is rooted in strong foundations, innovation and a deep understanding of every child’s journey. She is also authoring books on skills, taking her place in the sea of children’s literature.
Her vision also 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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