GHAZIABAD: FORMER judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice (Mrs) Gyan Sudha Misra yesterday stressed the need for ‘value-based education’ in educational institutions all over the country and said that it can’t be possible without reducing the percentage of school drop-outs, especially the girls. She lamented tha over 12.97 million children are out of school in the country.
Speaking at a function to mark the 25th year St. Thomas School here in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, the former judge of the Apex Court reiterated that ‘there is a huge potential in the educational system in the country to make it a value-based’, and said ‘we can’t achieve our targets without educating the girl children from remote villages of country to Raisina Hill in the national capital. She was the chief guest on the valedictory function of St. Thomas School, Indirapuram.
Justice Mishra, while commending the performance of St. Thomas School, said, “The school’s performance is excellent, even compared to world-class schools. Eeducation here is imparted on a balanced basis of high quality, discipline, human values, and practicality.”
She said that while many schools are struggling to improve the education system, St. Thomas School is doing excellent and inspiring work, adopting all the necessary parameters. He praised the school’s quality, results, and balanced development in values.
Mr. Abhinav Gopal, a senior officer of Ghaziabad Development Authority and the Metropolitan of the Delhi Diocese of the Orthodox Church, His Grace Dr. Youhanon Mar Demetrios also graced the occasion.
Most of the former Chairmen, Principals, Office Bearers were felicitated besides the toppers of the CBSE Board examinations and the best NCC cadets and National Sports achievers. Nearly 600 students from 3-12 performed in the Cultural fiesta Concertina The Silver Scroll.
Misra enrolled as an advocate in the Bihar State Bar Council in 1972 at a time when the legal profession for women in India was rather uncommon. In March 1994, she was appointed a Judge of the Patna High Court. Later she was transferred to the High Court of Rajasthan followed by the Jharkhand High Court as the Chief Justice. Later, She was elevated to the Supreme Court on 30 April 2010.
Authored several landmarks and notable judgments in the apex court including the Delhi Uphaar fire tragedy, in which 59 persons, including children and women were charred to death and over 110 critically injured, she held the management liable for colossal loss of human lives and directing them to pay heavy compensation to be used for social causes like building trauma centres.
Justice Mishra was also known for her great judgement – in the case of St. Mary’s School, New Delhi vs Election Commission of India – in which the bench presided over by Justice Misra ruled that the school building and the school buses would not be utilized during the elections on any working day as it upsets the routine studies and also hinders the school’s administrative work.
Meanwhile, a beacon of learning and holistic development in Indirapuram and the Delhi-NCR region, St. Thomas School was established in 2000 under the St. Thomas Orthodox Church Society of the Delhi Diocese, and began as the second branch of St. Thomas School, Sahibabad, offering classes from Nursery to Class V before evolving into a full-fledged Senior Secondary institution.
The foundation for this school was laid in 1999 when the Church Society purchased 2.75 acres of land in Indirapuram. The school, inaugurated by the then Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. The School began functioning in 2000 with a modest number of students, and its growth accelerated with the completion of a four-storey building with 72 classrooms in 2005.
With CBSE affiliation and Senior Secondary status granted in 2006, the school soon emerged as a prominent educational institution in the region. It now caters to nearly 3,000 students and is supported by 280 teaching and non-teaching staff members.
Reflecting on the school’s mission, School Manager Rev. Fr. Bineesh Babu remarked that the institution is committed to imparting value-based education and nurturing responsible, compassionate citizens. It’s to be noted that many alumni have gone on to excel in diverse fields including civil services, engineering, medicine, defence services, entrepreneurship, journalism, and the film and television industry.
Fr. Bineesh Babu said that the School has recently undergone major infrastructural enhancements, including the introduction of robotics and AI learning systems, smart classrooms, upgraded playgrounds, and a modernised library. A biometric attendance system has also been installed. These improvements aim to strengthen academic standards and ensure the holistic development of every student.
He said that though the type of education provided in the urban areas and the type of education provided in the rural areas are highly different, it is high time to initiate a standardised form of education in the rural as well as the urban areas for the overall development of education throughout India. And, St. Thomas School, Indirapuram, with the help of teachers and administration, is doing its best in this direction.
According to him, India holds a crucial place in the education system throughout the world. India has around 1.5 million schools in which 260 million students are enrolled. Further, the country has around 35,539 colleges under 751 universities. Hence it can be easily said that one of the biggest and most advanced frameworks of education is present in India. However, there is huge potential for improvement in the Indian education framework. It can be said that the Indian education system may go through significant improvement in the coming years.
Fr. Biju Daniel, chairman of the school said that as India continues to face one of the worst educational crises in the world, over 12.97 million children are out of school. Illiteracy levels are as high as 30% and the foundation to improve these abysmal numbers appears lacking, St. Thomas School Indirapuram is delivering its best to control the drop-out rate and improve the student’s innovative minds as well as the mind of the nation’s youth.
Quoting UNESCO figures, the number of out-of-school children and youth has risen by 6 million since 2021 and now totals 250 million, and many more children who are in school aren’t learning enough, because of the poor conditions for education, Fr. Daniel said that the school spearheads several community outreach programmes aligned with its values. These include Hope School, providing educational support to children from disadvantaged backgrounds; Share If You Care, encouraging students to contribute part of their pocket money to support underprivileged learners; Feed the Hungry, which offers meals to individuals visiting the school gate; and Good Samaritan Week, an annual campaign that collects and distributes essential items to orphanages, service centres, and families in need.
