Quality education is the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations. It aims to provide inclusive and equitable quality education and facilitate lifelong learning opportunities for all. How is quality education measured? While various factors such as curriculum design, qualified teachers, and teaching methods matter, the school environment, including the facilities and infrastructure, directly impacts students’ learning, progress, performance, and well-being.
Let’s explore this topic in detail today so you can make an informed decision while finalising a school to educate your child.
Four benefits of top-notch school facilities and infrastructure for students
Schools with adequate resources ensure proper growth and development of children and teens. Here are four benefits you should know:
- Enhances learning: A well-equipped, distraction-free, and relaxed learning environment helps students maintain their focus, participate in class, get creative, and retain knowledge. Over time, these positive classroom experiences motivate students to attend school every day and study sincerely.
- Supports practical skills: World-class schools prioritise practical learning alongside theoretical knowledge. They incorporate advanced technological resources, establish state-of-the-art laboratories, and provide modern facilities to enhance hands-on learning and deepen students’ understanding of concepts.
- All-round development: Facilities and infrastructure such as music rooms, meditation halls, sports playgrounds, and libraries help students go beyond the classroom environment and develop their physical health, mental health, social skills, and overall growth. This holistic development during their formative years equips them for success in life after school.
- Safety, security, and well-being: Basic amenities such as clean toilets, drinking water, and medical facilities ensure complete student care during school hours. Additionally, student safety and security are prioritised with fire safety measures, security systems, and emergency exits.
How Somaiya Vidyamandir, Sakarwadi supports quality education
Somaiya Vidyamandir believes every child has a right to learn and deserves the best education. To achieve this goal, the Marathi-medium school offers free education for 5th to 10th-grade students. It also provides school uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks to students with poor economic backgrounds.
Somaiya Vidyamandir understands the importance of students’ holistic development and ensures the school facilities and infrastructure cater to their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive aspects in addition to traditional academics. Here is a brief overview of the world-class amenities available for students:
Academic Infrastructure
- Classrooms: The classrooms are spacious and have an adequate number of benches to comfortably accommodate students. The large windows ensure proper cross-ventilation and ample natural lighting to maintain a favourable environment for distraction-free learning. Furthermore, they are well-equipped with large blackboards and attractive knowledge charts for an uninterrupted and effective teaching-learning experience.
- Movie hall: Recognising the many benefits of audiovisual learning, such as quick learning and better information retention, the school has set up a movie hall with a projector, audio system, and educational AV material.
- Science laboratory: The science laboratory has various tools, equipment, and materials for performing experiments, helping students think critically, apply their theoretical knowledge, and gain practical skills.
- Computer laboratory: Computer theory and practicals occur in the fully furnished computer lab, ensuring students are well-prepared for the modern digital age.
Basic amenities
- Toilet blocks: Separate washrooms for girls and boys ensure students never compromise their health and well-being. They are well-equipped with flushing facilities, tap water, and soaps to promote good hygiene practices. In addition, the maintenance staff regularly cleans the toilets to make them welcoming to all.
- Drinking water: Access to clean, safe, and pure drinking water is a basic need, and the school fulfils this need through ample water filters throughout the campus. It encourages students to remain well-hydrated throughout school hours.
- Mid-day meal: Nutritious food is another essential human need. The school provides free lunches to children under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, currently known as the PM-POSHAN Scheme by the Government of India, motivating students to attend school regularly. Meals such as mugdal, varan bhat, vatana, usalbhat, harbhara, and mugdal khichadi ensure students’ nutritional needs of carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, fibre, vitamins, and minerals get fulfilled. It improves their concentration, energy levels, and cognitive function, all crucial for good academic performance. Besides, sharing meals with peers promotes social equality.
Extracurricular facilities
- Sports: The school has a vast playground, facilities, and gear for various sports and games, such as badminton, cricket, football, handball, kho-kho, and kabaddi. The PT teachers encourage students to participate in inter-school competitions at the taluka, district, and state levels. Routine physical activity helps students stay healthy and happy.
- School library: The Somaiya Vidyamandir school library has over 6000 multilingual books in Marathi, Hindi, English, Sanskrit, and Gujarati. The reading collection includes academic books, children’s story books, general knowledge books, biographies, novels, poetry, and more. Teachers encourage students to visit the library, choose books that interest them, and develop reading habits to understand the world better.
- Music hall: Music education promotes mental well-being, creativity, and self-confidence among children. The music teacher imparts music theory and trains students to play various musical instruments like harmonium, tabla, violin, triple, casio, and more. Students also prepare and appear for the yearly Sangeet Visharad Exam.
- Sky gazing programme: The school has an astronomical telescope to educate students on stars, planets, moon, and other celestial bodies. Every year, Dr. J.J. Rawal, President of Nehru Planetarium, organises a Sky Gazing Programme for Somaiya Vidyamandir students.
- Yoga and meditation hall: Introducing Yoga and meditation to the youth can benefit their overall development. It can help them build flexibility and strength, enhance sleep quality, cope with stress, improve self-awareness, and boost cognitive abilities. Building healthy habits at a younger age increases the possibility of students continuing them for life. The school has dedicated quiet, intimate spaces for students to enjoy their Yoga asanas and meditation practice.
- Vocational courses: Somaiya Vidyamandir also facilitates vocational learning for students, taking forward the “learning by doing” approach. They offer technical courses in basic engineering, energy and environment, agronomy and hard sciences (food process, medicine).
- Atal Tinkering Lab (ATAL): ATAL provides a workspace with DIY kits and equipment, such as open-source microcontroller boards, sensors, 3D printers and computers to help students understand the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). It helps students hone their critical thinking, innovation, and creativity skills.
Conclusion
Quality education is the right of every child—they deserve to learn, think, play, and be exposed to the world around them. According to the UN, it is the only way to end poverty and ensure everyone enjoys a good quality of life. Well-equipped schools allow students to achieve all-round development, laying a strong foundation for their future success.
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