Strangely many of the older schools remain to be evolving, coasting along and changing at their own pace through the soc–called rapidly changing times with reasonable ease and confidence. How do the heritage schools become so much stronger than other schools? What is the base of their strength?

Based on the association with a forty year old, widely coveted day school in north India, it seems that the founding vision of the earlier times used to be more education and value oriented than the intent of the schools of the present times. The stronger and deeper intent had led to certain institutional ethos and practices which were more inclined towards education in a truer sense, with economic considerations being merely incidental.

The forty plus schools have obviously influenced the educational and cultural ethos of their towns and shaped generations of students. Many of their Alumni feel proud to have graduated from such schools because of the strengths of different kinds they imbibed by being in the school. It is the aspiration of many parents of such places to see their children educated in these schools because of a deep sense of security which the school provides to the staff and students. One wonders how students of many of the recent schools would view their alma mater later on in their lives.

It is not just the quality of academic training that the children receive in the heritage schools that draws parents to the school but the emphasis they place on all–round character development, the values that are inculcated in students. The urge to see their wards educated here seems to be similar to the craving one has to stand in the shade of an old, large, canopied tree for shelter, comfort and protection from the heat and dust of the long road! Under the majesty of such a tree, the parents expect their children to learn and gather the required life skills and wherewithal to excel in the world of ever increasing and competitive demands.

An “old” school has seen widespread changes in the society from the eyes of its experience and longer vision. The aims and objectives of education, the methods employed to achieve them, and the contexts have all undergone paradigm shifts and tried to alter schools. The newer schools seem more vulnerable and amenable to the movements of society then the older ones.

The changes in the environment surrounding the school compel many an institution to restrict their educational goals to fulfilling academic requirements and demands. There are very few institutions that aspire, let alone apply wholeheartedly, to follow a more holistic approach to education. The older schools appear to have remained more committed to the larger aims of our founders, while exploring ways to keep pace with the times. The long years of experience gives such schools a unique advantage to meet newer challenges posed by changing values and lifestyles without being perturbed. The time–tested academic practices, the warm and stable environs provide the stability and enrichment essential for sustained nurturing of children.

The attempt of some of the heritage schools is liberal and empowering. It can be said that the educational ideas and objectives manifest broadly at three levels. As the foundation stands the timeless and eternal humanistic values which throb at the heart of the educational culture and heritage of this country. On this base, schools attempt to build an ethos of learning rooted in scientific temper and objective inquiry. Lastly, academic skills and knowledge emerge from this spirit of inquiry, exploration, and experiment. The student is encouraged to cultivate the right attitude by learning about the world and one’s relationship with it, and to develop the necessary capacities to meet diverse challenges in life.

These indications need to be explored further and newer schools should attempt to study this phenomena, it seems to us, for being to work towards a stability of an enriching and enjoyable kind. Can we learn from the senior schools to establish schools of a better kind with larger goals? Do we have the attitude and mind to do this?