Neeharika Singh: A Legacy of Education and Vision

Neeharika Singh, Educationist, Owner and Principal of The Vedanta Academy, with an experience of more than 25 years. She believes in “Do Your Best, And Leave The Rest To God”. She always listened to her inner self, and it was years back when she felt that our society was demanding educational support at a different level. She believes that there is no substitute for hard work and she always followed her dreams. This article tells about her education journey and what inspired her to open her school.

Introduction:

Neeharika Singh was born into a household of educationists, where her mother was a teacher and her father was a principal. She says “Both my parents were my role model and my upbringing was under their strict and loving guidance”.

Stepping into the role of a teacher, she possesses all the good qualities of her teachers whom she admired and the positive approach of her parents. Soon Neeharika could connect to her students as well as the parents. She realized that she had to do something more for the growing children and slowly she started planning for The Vedanta Academy. She wanted to help the children in dreaming high and grow with respect and confidence. She added, “English medium education is very important for all children and the fee is very high, along with my husband planned to support the education of children with minimal fee structure and best quality education”. They plan to provide digital education and make the learning process more child-friendly. In the year 2015, this start was new for society and got a positive response from parents and students.

Challenges and Achievements:

Opening the academy is not an easy task, Neeharika faces lots of challenges, but her biggest challenge happened in 2020, during the COVID pandemic. The institution was new and at the initial step, the pandemic was a big blow. Most parents were not in a situation to the fee, but education should not stop. She says “The school was struggling with the salary of staff members, but the hope was high and with the Blessings of our guardians and teacher’s we came through the dreadful situation”. As the digital system was already in place, they switched to the online mode overnight and the education of children continued smoothly. Parents were also able to witness classroom teaching from their homes. She added “This led to a very good response from other parents as well and we got good recognition and support during that hour of crisis. The management also supported the parents who were struggling with finances”.

Neeharika’s hard work and dedication led to awards: as a student, she was awarded for Recitation beating 100 schools in Kolkata, and she was nominated twice as the best speaker in the Eastern Zone, In the year 2020, she was awarded as the Best Teacher by Sanmarg, Recently was invited for the ED Talk and Received The Principal's award from The Shiksha Sagar and National Education Forum. She was also selected by the GWIA -24 for the Prestigious Woman's Award. Despite these awards, she believes her most important achievement is the trust she gained, she says “My most significant achievement is the trust of my parents and the success of my students. Every parent is assured that their child will get proper guidance and support from school at every step and situation”.

Personal Insights:

Neeharika believes both personal and professional life is important and equally demanding. She added “Being a mother is like balancing your Heart and Brain. I try to give my 100% to both the sides, like living your life 200%. When I am in the office I only stay focused on work and forget my home, and once I reach home, I pay full attention to my family”.

Her motivation is the smile on her children's faces, she says “The smile on every child's face keeps me motivated. I want my children to experience an enjoyable childhood and learn to lead their life with love and respect”.

Impact and Vision:

Talking about her future goals, Neeharika says “My future goals and aspirations are the growth of my institution in various areas where we could spread the light of knowledge among children with minimal fee structure and serve the society in the best possible way”.

Currently, Neeharika is focused on planning for a larger infrastructure where higher education with more job-oriented subjects could be introduced, according to the New Education Policy, they want to set up more practical Classes that will create interest in children for future job options.

Conclusion:

Neeharika’s advice to young women is, “Problems are a part and truth of life, but we should always focus on solutions. Every problem comes with a solution in itself, and bigger problems have small and easy solutions. Our positive approach towards life will always open the door to a new solution of life and also a better learning and inner wisdom”.