Exclusive interview with Dr Aishwarya Pandit
Q1. What are the qualities you look for in the students while selecting them for Super 30?
Ans. Well, I look for talent, which school do they come from, what is their background, in many cases we check their family background as we really want to help students from underprivileged backgrounds, students from government schools who don’t have access to coaching but have talent and zeal.
Q2. What would you say to students who want to become something in life?
Ans2. I would like to tell the students that they must have tremendous zeal and thirst to grow and succeed and of course a positive thinking even when things don’t go their way, not to be disappointed by small failures as they are learning experiences before we achieve success. Consistency and continuous hard labour is equally important as there may be times when things don’t go as per plan but yet students must have confidence that they will achieve their goal.
Q3. Do you think it is possible for anyone to be successful?
Ans. Yes, any student can be successful if they are given the right platform, like in Super 30, we give students a platform to excel.
Q4. You belong to Bihar. You have prepared hundreds for competitive exams? What are the changes you see important to change the face of Bihar and how the world perceives it?
Ans4. Most importantly, the mentality of people of Bihar has to change. Caste is a major factor in everything and an obstacle hampering the growth of Bihar. People have to get out of the caste-based mentality and think about self-employment and not only look towards government jobs as an option. Government jobs have a limitation. They cannot accommodate everyone so people from Bihar must take their destiny into their own hands.
Q5. What are your suggestions for improvement in the country’s education system?
Ans-I think the most important factor is that we need to train our teachers. How and why must be a part of a concept based learning approach with greater use of practical examples.
Q6. What is your view on edutech which came to prominence during covid but now has become a gamechanger for some and for others it is still not?
Ans- Edutech is a reality and more and more are needed. It has become a great equalizer in the sense that girls who cannot leave their homes in rural areas can still gain education and it can benefit poorer children also who have access to the same education, pedagogy and methods as students in urban areas. Edutech is responsible for ending the urban and rural divide and more students can take advantage of it.
Q7. Can AI change how we view the education system? How important it is for the future of education in India?
Ans- AI is very important for this country. It should not be ignored. Earlier, there was a feeling that computers will change everything and there was some insecurity that it will take away jobs and lead to unemployment. But that is not the case, we have to adopt AI wholeheartedly as it is the future.
Q8. Can India become the education hub of the world?
Ans- India has always been the hub of education and culture in the past. We had great institutions like Nalanda which were on par if not better than oxford and Cambridge. India has the capacity to become a vishwaguru and take the lead as the leader in world education.