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Ed Leader – Raghunath Mukherjee, Delhi Public School, Raipur

Education is an integral part of a child’s upbringing. We, at Curious Times, have made it our aim to ensure that we also play an active role in imparting the right knowledge to all the Curious children. As such, we also try to ensure that we are always in touch with the leaders in education today and learning from them. After all, it is important to learn from the best.

So, today, we present to you a one-on-one conversation with Raghunath Mukherjee. He is the Principal of Delhi Public School, Raipur. The school provides good quality, modern education, including a strong component of culture and inculcation of values.

Here is a short edited excerpt of the one-on-one conversation of Raghunath Mukherjee with Deepti Beri, Director at Curious Times. Also, watch the full video of the conversation at the end of this excerpt.

When did you decide to step into the world of education? What motivated you to become an Educator? In 1987, I had studied Masters in Electronics and was looking for a job to help support my family. While I got a good offer in Mumbai, my father did not agree. So, instead, I got a job teaching at a convent school and to my surprise, I absolutely loved it and wanted to pursue it. According to me, teachers are born not made.

Let me tell you about an incident from my life. I was not from a well-off family. When I was about 3 years old, one day, I followed other kids to school, without really knowing about the concept of school. I did not have many resources, not even a tiffin. There, a teacher was really kind to me and this has really stayed in my mind and inspired me too.

Share some of the challenges you have faced in your career journey. How did you convert those challenges into the pillars of success? Whenever you start anything, if you fail or you find it difficult, that’s actually good. Because failures make us better learners. When I first started, the school where I taught was 20 km away, plus i had my M.Phil coursework and coaching too. So, it was quite tiring. But the teachers at the school really supported me. The school schedule was really heavy and people said I should quit but i saw it as an opportunity for learning. This opportunity was what helped me get a job in another school, where I worked for 16 wonderful years. That’s where I met my wife too and, now I have a wonderful family. So, without all my difficulties, I feel that I would not have all the success that I do now and I’m grateful for it.

Changing the system. In the Indian education system, principals build an aura around them and there is a heirarchy. And that’s what I was used to. But later I got the chance to teach at a school in England where things were very different. They had a sense of equality and I was really inspired by it. I thought that when I become a principal, I will build a family, and not focus on heirarchy. That is what I’m happy to be doing at DPS Raipur.

There are many changes in education today due to technology. What is the role of the teacher now? Today, there is much more technology in use in schools. This is a good change. Technology helps give more children the opportunity to succeed. Of course, change is hard and teachers also had reservations. But now, they are masters at using technology and it is making education that much better. Teachers now need to guide children to use technology in the right way. I feel that teachers’ responsibility has increased too.

Share your message for your and Curious Times students. We are in the 21st century and the mode of education has changed as per the need of the age. So, students need to learn 21st century skills to succeed. But they must also keep Indian culture and ethos. Become a successful person with human values. Compete with yourself, not others. Moreover, physical and emotional stability is also important.

Raghunath Mukherjee, Principal

Delhi Public School, Raipur

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