Macademia Soft Corner, White Leaf, Neo Art Vaish, Panacea National, Happy Harvest, Divine Happy, Commerical, Astro Play House.
Wondering what these are? I am certain that you wouldn’t have the faintest idea. So I will be nice enough to enlighten you. Just add ‘High School’ or ‘Public School’ after the names and viola! You have the names of schools in the Capital!
I found them while browsing the net one afternoon. Actually it was not a random search but a deliberate one, after one of our friends told me that his son was going to a school called I Discover I and that it was very good. No it is not a spiritual school where one goes to find one’s inner self or some such lofty stuff. It is a play school. In this day and age when children and adults alike are becoming so self-centred, one wonders what effect such names will have on young minds. Of course the names are given to lure and sometimes dazzle parents.
Come to think of it, what do parents look for when they want to admit their children to a good school? Is it a catchy name or the quality of education that a school provides? That had set me off on a quest of school names that were…well…different, shall we say? After all, I am a connoisseur (if I can be called that) of anything unusual.
Here I am reminded of the nursery school which my nephew attended in Mumbai in the late 70s. It was called Doctor’s Academy and was run by a retired Army doctor. The uniform consisted of mini replicas of army fatigues and the kids had to give a military salute to the Doctor when they entered the school and had to be punctual and well groomed. Fortunately, the curriculum was very relaxed and easy on them and they had a good teacher.
Frankly, I think those who set up schools should give some thought to what they want to call their institutions instead of settling for the first name that strikes their fancy or they think sounds good. Some are so different that I wonder how the kids studying in, say Macademia Soft Corner would feel (incidentally, there is no suffix of School or Public School to the name). If it means the macadamia nut, would the children know it? And what is soft about macadamia? Frankly it sounds like the name of some skincare product than a school name to me. The spelling is changed – perhaps to make it sound like ‘Academia’, maybe?
And Panacea National School? What kind of name for a school is that one? And White Leaf? It sounds like some blight affected thing sans chlorophyll. Some names are very apt though. The Commercial Sr.Secondary School, for instance. With schools becoming nothing short of commercial propositions, it is a very honest name, don’t you think? What would Rich Harvest School call it when they have a 100% passes in the Boards – Bumper Harvest, perhaps?
And then there are the ‘convent’ schools, regardless of who owns and runs them. There are so many of them around that I got serious doubts about my understanding of the word and looked it up in the Oxford online dictionary. According to it, the word convent means:
— a Christian community of nuns living together under monastic vows.
— (also convent school)a school attached to and run by a convent.
— the building or buildings occupied by a convent.
Now take a look at these names: M N Convent Sec School, Kapila’s Convent, Saviour Convent, Neo Convent (!!?), Kataria Convent, City Convent, Indraprastha Convent, Lancers’ Convent, Holy Convent, Delhi Convent, A.J.Convent….I think none of the schools mentioned are run by Christian missionaries. If I am wrong, please correct me.
I asked a staff of one of these ‘convents’ about the name and she looked dumbstruck — at my ignorance of course.
‘Convent ka matlab badhia school hota hai na?’ (Convent means a good school, doesn’t it?)
‘???!!!’
The best part was that she had no doubts about it at all, only about my level of intelligence!
The same thing goes for the prefix St. There is a St. Angel’s which is doubly blessed since it has a saint as an angel. Will you believe me if I say there is a St. Girls High School? If an angel can be a saint, why not girls? In fact they have every right to be sainted in a country like India. There is a St. Prayag Public School too. The prefix is obviously to lure parents into believing that they are run by the Church and so boast of a certain standard of education. I used to wonder about the name St.Soldier Public School, till I realised that Sikh saints were also soldiers and so that makes sense.
I genuinely don’t understand why the spellings of words are distorted. It might be fashionable and the ‘in thing’ to misspell a word as in koffee or donuts, especially in an ad, but carrying that to school names is stretching things a little too far, don’t you think? This probably is done to avoid copyright issues, but at a time when youngsters don’t know actual spellings thanks to the sms language that is in vogue, this can pose serious language issues later in life. There is a play school called Your Kids “R” Our Kids, complete with the double quotes for the letter R. What are these schools trying to prove? That they are ‘with it’ or that they don’t care about what they call their schools as long as it sounds attractive enough to lure the parents?
And guess what? There is a Harward Academy in Delhi! Now one doesn’t have to go abroad to become a Harvard scholar but can get a certificate right here in Delhi! And who is going to look at the spelling of your school name, that is if they know the right spelling at all?
Much like in branding of merchandise, one can also see a lot of ‘sound alike’ names in schools. There is a Spring Days School, a Holy Convent and so on. With so many schools coming up every year, perhaps the founders are running out of ideas and names. Narcissism could prove the solution, with the founders naming their schools after themselves.
I couldn’t help wondering how the students of these schools would feel as adults while remembering their alma mater – proud or embarrassed?
Whatever it might be, I have some doubts regarding some school names I came across. Can anyone help me find the answers?
- We have all heard of Tiny Tots, but Junior Tiny Tots? There are several schools named that in Delhi. Do babies in diapers go to these schools!
- And please! This one is urgent. Will someone enlighten me about the name Shemrock? This is a well known school with many branches. Why, oh why, is the name spelt so? I googled for an hour trying to find out if there is indeed a shemrock that I have not heard of, but got zilch for my efforts. Was it a deliberate distortion of Shamrock or did someone misspell the word and it stuck?
- Do the teachers teach a child how to plan a career in Career Public School?
- Do kids learn how to become an astronaut in Astro Play house or maybe they play with space toys?
- Is the word Modal a surname or is it a case of misspelling of the word Model, in Shiv Modal School?
I am sure there are similar school names in other cities too. How about sharing them?
Disclaimer: This post is just about school names and does not in any way denigrate the educational or other credentials of the schools mentioned.
Image courtesy: fabulouslybroke.com
The Cybernag 
I finally got around to reading this post, Zephyr. I was laughing of course at most of the names that you found. I mean really, what were the founders of some of these schools thinking when coming up with names like these? Happy Harvest school sounds like a place where souls are harvested by evangelists, no? Which sane parents would want to send their children to such a place, unless they are in the business of harvesting souls 🙂 And I Discover I…loved the way you analysed that one. And that St. Angel – doubly blessed…you can be seriously hilarious, Zephyr 😀 A highly enjoyable piece!
PS – my first school was named Little Flower Convent School…nothing convent about it, and thankfully I only went there for first 1.5 years of my schooling of which I hardly remember anything except for the school rickshaw in which we used to commute.
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Ha ha Beloo! Laughing at your comment about Happy Harvest school. I had thought of saying what you have about evangelists, but didn’t – the politically correct me 🙂 But if you ask me, many of the parents sending their kids to the school might not even make the connection! I am shocked that you didn’t know the meaning of convent, then and now! Why, as that teacher had pointed out to me it means a good school 😀 😀
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I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. It’s true that names have gotten weird over a period of time and I see the trend just continuing in future. It seems only a matter of time that you wil have names like ‘Little junior tiny tots’ (haha)
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Thank you for visiting and reading the post. Glad you enjoyed it. Do visit again 🙂
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Almost all of them cracked me up…Jr tiny tots means pre-k and KG. Woh bhi pata nahi, aapko? The school I studied had a weird name too…not done on purpose though. V.V.C.P.S – Vankayalapati Venkaiah Central Public school. So, that was the last name and first name of one of the founders or whoever. However, kids from other schools made fun of it as Vankayala means brinjal in Telugu. We would grunt sometimes but we were very proud to mention to be VVC students 🙂 Both my kids’ schools are named after people. Rushi goes to Fowler Middle school and Ammu’s is Taylor Elementary. 🙂 One school name that intrigued me was 7th Day Adventist..Had been in India, I think I would have been in the same boat like you 😀
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Ha ha! Vankayalu sounds so funny! But Maharashtrian last names are funnier and mean the weirdest things. There are many articles and papers about them. Junior tiny tots can’t be pre-KG but even younger than that. So maybe they have schools for babies? Ask around in the US or do some research. You will find some bloopers there too.
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Still chuckling about this.
Just noticed that it’s from a few years back – yet holds so good today too.
The names just get weirder and weirder.
Junior Tiny Tots had me in splits!
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I wanted to add more names from the intervening years, but thought that these were sufficient to drive home the point, as you have pointed out. Of all the names Shemrock really riles me for the simple reason that it has a wrong spelling and also because many of the parents, students and perhaps even teachers pronounce it as ‘Shamerock’ 🙂
What is the name of your little one’s school?
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Totally bizarre! What were they thinking, or wait a minute, were they even thinking before registering these names? Like you mentioned, folks are not even aware what convent means. The way schools, especially play schools are mushrooming in every nook and corner, I guess people are running short of names, atleast sensible ones!
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The play schools have the most bizarre names of the lot. Like Doctor’s Academy, which my nephew had attended. You are right, they seem to be running out of names for schools and don’t seem to care that they sound so terrible.
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Healthcare, education, Food and water are the new goldmine sectors in India.
Branding of school is vital as the management has to make the parents (suckers.. pardon me) feel that they are given value for money. i think we grew up quite OK without the smart classes …. lol. I heard one of my colleagues say that the fee he is paying for his kindergarten child in one year is more than all his college expenses (including booze, movies, dating expenses etc.)
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Sadly all the sectors which you have listed are the fundamental sectors which need to be open to the poorest of the poor but here too, branding and money play their dirty parts and they are limited to the privileged ones with the middle class trying to benefit from them somehow. In our time, schooling was free and college cost me less than Rs 400 for a degree in Arts in the 70s. (the entire fees for three years!)
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You pointed at the exact problem. Within last 10 years the levels of commercialization in every sector has skyrocketed. Although this has created a lot of jobs the masses and raised the standards of living for many.
With both the parents working to sustain themselves in expensive metro cities, the kids end up in Preschools (creches re-branded) way early than they would have.
I will experience this myself in the next few years.
‘Convent ka matlab badhia school hota hai na?’ hahahhaha
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lol!!! lovely post! am still laughing! esp at the ‘convent’ part!!! hadnt heard of any of the convents u speak of, but once, when i was talking about the nuns in my school, another lady did ask me who were nuns and why they were in my school? when i said that i studied in a convent, she replied, ‘toh kya hua, convent matlab school accha hoga, par wahan pe yeh nuns ya sisters kahan se aaye?” i was stunned to see the ignorance, but thought it was only that woman didnt know what a convent was,, now i know better!
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If nothing at least the original convents have set a benchmark for good education, never mind that the wannabe ones can’t think of ever matching them! the ignorance is really appalling. But I guess like some brands which have become generic names, convents have also become generic names for a good school 🙂
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I am sorry about your inability to post the comment, Manju!
We don’t remember any freedom fighters. What freedom? What did they fight for? As for academics, it is more of rote learning and every school does it. Some do it better, that’s all! 😀
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This comment was mailed to me by Manju Joglekar who was unable to post it due to some problem known only to WP. I am sorry Manju! I am posting it here:
I’m not able to post my comment on your blog- don’t know why- but enjoyed your post very much!
Gone are the days when schools were named after freedom fighters or any other great personalities.
I think the name of one of the schools you mention- The Commercial Sr.Secondary School- would be apt for most schools today. They certainly stress the ‘commercial’ angle instead of the ‘academic’ one!
Manju
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amazing post..!! thanks for sharing the same..even feedback comments are wonderful full of info..
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Thank you Vinod. Some of my blogger friends concur with you on the comments too!
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Thanks for giving me a good time. I know, I have heard many weird and crazy school names. May be they just want to sound different. And, St. Girls actually stands out!
In Hyderabad, you have Oakridge (They probably forgot to put a space) Even if we consider ‘Oak Ridge’, are they trying to inculcate atomic qualities in students? And there is Chirec, Silver Oaks… and many.
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I am glad you agree that St.Girls is outstanding 😀 At least if they named the schools after trees in our country instead of having a British hangover, it might be better, or would it? Imagine a Sheesham High School, or a Bargad Public School…. 😛
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About time someone posted about the spawning school business. I couldn’t stop laughing after reading “St Girls”…I’ve also come across some weird names of schools. Presenting to you, Kid Bee (they are probably trying to cash in on Kid Zee’s popularity ), Mother Junior School and Dancing Daisies Convent 😀
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Kid Bee sounds great as does Mother Junior 😀 Maybe they tried to sound like ‘Mother Superior’ we have in convents 🙂 Much as we need a lot of schools to accommodate the children, there should be some kind of regulatory authority to control such names for schools, don’t you think?
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The names are not that much of a nuisance as the way people opening schools treat them. It’s like they are running a shop. Especially the new schools spawning up in every other corner of the neighbourhood. And if the people were truly dedicated to providing good education to kids, they wouldn’t come up with such dumb names in the first place. People are opening pre-schools in unused rooms in their homes and apartments. That’s ridiculous.
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Firstly, you reminded me of the days when I was sent to creche as my momma was completing her masters… Next, I know some bizarre school names like, City Montessori School (my bro is in it), Career Convent School, Daisy Day School (:P) etc!
Cyber Nag, You really do nag and write well… 🙂
Love,
Indie 🙂
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Thank you so much for acknowledging my nagging prowess 😀 Daisy Day sounds really great, doesn’t it? And Career Convent is doubly great because it has career AND Convent added to it 😀
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Well written piece. Earlier I had written on the ordeal called school admissions. (http://sibi-cyberdiary.blogspot.com/2010/02/ordeal-called-school-admission.html)
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Thank you Sibi. I will surely take a look at your post. 🙂
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The spelling is just a starter to get more money I think. Add in a Christian sounding or a weird english word anywhere in the name meant to befuddle non-thinking hapless parents who want the very bessht for their kids and voila!, they can charge more fees!. I liked the idea of adding the word ‘convent’ to the name…after all being ‘convent educated’ is always so much better naa.
btw, nice new look to your blog. Only, I wish you could change the font..it feels very tiny.
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No one seems to have noticed the name St.Girls’ High School. It is perhaps the weirdest of all school names. I mean to what extent can someone go to make a school sound like a Christian institution?
I will relay the complaint about the font to the blog manager! 🙂
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I like the Macademia bit..Probably they give Macademia chocolate everyday after school..I hope they live up to their names.
P:S: I love the new look.I wanted say that first.
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Macadamia chocolates? Trust you to come up with something like that 😀
Thank you for the compliment on the new look. I am nervous about posting images. Just when I finally learnt how to deal with it! Now the lessons start all over….
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Private sector Colleges & Univs have been equally innovative. Ee already have Lovely and Beautiful Professional Universities. I hope we soon have something like Chintu Singh University for Arts & Science. Unfortunately our government does not want to learn anything from its creative mango man and is hell bent on naming every univ in India as either IIT or IIM ….
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We have universities that have more weird sounding names than mere Chintu Singh university. It would indeed be the day when the Govt. joins in the fun and starts renaming the institutions. But then we will have so many of them named after the Gandhi family that it will be confusing. Do read my post on this at — https://cybernag.in/2011/08/in-the-name-of%e2%80%a6/
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That was seriously funny, But then Shakespeare himself said ‘What’s in a name’. The problem is that these funny sounding schools also have dubious educational credentials.
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The sad part as you have mentioned is that the schools only have novelty and grandeur and sometimes subterfuge in their names. The rest is all the same — rote and more more rote, leading to some kind of rot 😦
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I studied in ‘Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya’ followed by ‘Modern College’ – happy to have the integration 🙂
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Truly happy integration 🙂
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First time on your blog. I studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya also known as Central School. 🙂 What got me intrigued was a DPS in Faridabad. Why would someone open a Delhi Public School in Faridabad? But, that’s because it sells and the kids do not need to travel to Delhi to attend the schools!
The education these days is super fuckery and nothing else. It is time, when education be barred.
#_#
1955-2011
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Welcome here Chintan. Those were the good old days when we didn’t have too many schools and simple names sufficed. Today we need brand names even in education, which is why we have absurd names and children commuting even more absurd distances to attend the brand schools.
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The issues with schools go beyond curriculum. Its the rote learning/ Mugging up culture that these schools are encouraging and obviously the students grow up to become software engineers. What else can they do? Without any skills, I mean…
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Curriculum is a pandora’s box, which I have not touched here at all. Schools specialise in the rote trick! You can expect another nagging post on that sometime later 😀 Why this rant against poor software engineers though?
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This one was brimming with chutzpah and CN puts forth some pertinent questions.
As if having a phoren sounding name is half the battle won and parents will come rushing to get their kids, who will now be their kids, admitted.
And you forgot to mention Convent of Rani Jhansi 😀
Cyber Nag gets a makeover?
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Yes! Image Makeover was in progress when you checked in!
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Where is the convent of Rani Jhansi? The great warrior would be turning in her grave, the poor thing! My favourite is Macademia Soft Corner though. No one can guess in a million years what it stands for 😀
Why is no one answering all the questions I have put in the post? Can’t you see I am dying to know the answers? 😦
How is the makeover? The brat did it as a surprise gift. I hope I will be able to navigate in this new template.
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Ha ha….. Hilarious ! Trust you to come up with a post on ‘unique’ names of schools !
To add to the list, we have here..Tiny Feet Play school, Edify School, World County School, Raindrops Preschool, Dazzling School, Wonderland School…
Billabong is chain of school with it’s main branch being in Australia. My friend teaches there !:))
Starting a school today is the best commercial option I guess !! An unusual name makes it stand out and grab people’s attention….no matter the quality of education it imparts !!
Lovely post !
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Look at what happens when we have a Harward and a St.Girls high school! The actual brand schools get branded as being fake 😀 By the way, I hope it is the real Billabong of Australia and not one of the ‘world famous in India’ schools, like the World County School of Nagpur 😀 😀
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The general concept is that schools with English sounding names are THE BEST rest are for not so ‘hep’ society. Having spent most of my childhood days in small villages and towns of Madhya Pradesh, I have to be contented with studying in ‘Gram Panchayat School’, ‘Government School’ and ‘Jain Higher secondary school'(Nothing to boost of!) but ‘St. Aloysius College’ name gives a feeling of proud!
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Yes, SRA. Didn’t that lady tell me that convent means badhia? LOL about your sarkari school names and your pride at being a student of St.Aloysius 🙂 The L&M studied for a year there too before joining engineering college, since he was underage for the course.
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What a topic you chose for posting this time. Amazing. Yes, I did know a few names that made me go all dizzy thinking what are they trying to say. But, then there are some famous / genuine schools too which have names just like crazy or let me say just non-sense as per me.
Now, Green Fields, what are they trying to tell? Are they going to teach students in open ‘Green Fields’ or what?
Talking about Shemrock, though I can’t say what they meant to do while naming their schools with such a name, but what I can tell you is that they too aren’t much at a level where they can be called – A Good Kindergarten.
Well, I’ll stop my horses here, but a good topic you started here. At least ignorant people like me now know at least one factor which I’ll take care of while admitting my children! 😉
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That’s exactly the point. The names might be crazy sounding but sometimes the schools become popular and attain stature. But most of the ‘convents’ and St. somethings that sprout all over the place can’t boast of any standing except give admission to children of desperate parents. All the best for your school hunting 🙂
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Hi, first of all thanks for reading my blog (http://pkperception.blogspot.com/2011/10/life-is-beautiful.html) and commenting on it. Otherwise, I would not come across your wonderful blog. Yet to read your other blogs. But till now whatever I have read, it was great. Sorry, no offence meant, but took some time to determine that zephyr was a female blogger…:P. Well with respect to school names, will surely tell you some from Bangalore…:)
Keep blogging,
Prashanth.
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You are welcome Prashanth. I liked your profile picture and the title of the blogpost, which is why I commented on it. After you saw my profile picture, you must have realised what a formidable old woman I am 😀 Do visit again!
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Phew it’s scary the people who are allowed to “open” schools. There was this guy at work, who was literally asked to leave, who could barely speak english, was not the smartest guy around who opened a school which i hear is doing pretty well!
ANyway on funny names- in mumbai i know of Billabong!!!
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Nuts, you are putting me on, aren’t you? I simply refuse to believe a Billabong school exists 😀 😀 btw, is it a play school or High School? Poor kids 😀
What is the name of the school your ex-staff started?
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my mistake it is actually billabong high international school 🙂 oooh and i just checked it has branches – including one in noida 🙂
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This one is surely for the record books. ‘High International’? Wow! The doubly poor kids 😀
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Well, you cannot blame them if they have given fancy names. All names have got exhausted and the poor things who start new school would like some name which would attract people. Many of us are illiterate and would be wondering if the names mean something which is beyond our small brain. Also, we would be afraid to ask lest we expose our ignorance!!! By the way how did you conclude St. stands for Saint? We can call even a street as St. They can denote,
ST State
ST Street
ST Saint
ST Star Trek
ST Stanza
ST Spring Training (baseball)
ST Start
ST Standard Time
ST Store (IBM)
A lot more. Do not think I am very intelligent. I just googled and got these. To tell the truth, internet has made us use our brain to the least possible extent. I am not sure how many would agree. The same thing with calculator. I was used to Log tables and slide rule later but the generations after mine use calculators and you will not believe if we ask an engineer what is 10+5, he would ask for ‘Calc”. For many days I was wondering what Calc means. Later it dawned on me when the person took a Calculator to add 5 to 6! Great is it not? So, we have to pity the present generation
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I think that is the reason why we have such stupid names. But tell me, how can a St.Girls school stand for anything but Saint. I tried prefixing the others suggested by you and had a really rollicking time 🙂 btw., I don’t have to think you are intelligent. I KNOW it. I am your sister, remember? I have seen college students and engineers looking for a ‘calc’ to add the simplest numbers too. This generation needs to be pitied because they are being taught by these men and women who need a calc 🙂
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I was nodding my head in agreement after each line…I have a Pumpkin House near my residence.
The prefix ‘St’ is fast disappearing and Macademia, Investiture Academies are thriving as if they have classes in space..Education needs an overhaul at each step. Unfortunately no one is listening.
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Investiture Academy? Do you have a school named that in Gurgaon? The students and parents alike must be pretty kicked about it, I am sure 🙂 Education HAS been overhauled. Ask Sibal.
(I’m sorry your comment was held for moderation this time because your display name seems to have changed. It will be fine from next time.)
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funny names and funny post! Not only are school names getting weird but also the names of kids. I heard a name Vyakta for a girl and was dumbfounded. The more bizarre, the more preferred. Perhaps, the same logic is applicable to schools! Hep sounding English names might give a certain status — I guess. So, we find many schools adding High to the school name just like the American schools. We have a Gear International School and Maruti Magnolia schools too. The first one sounds like a place where maybe information about automobiles is given. The second one — I don’t know a weird combination of a flower with a car name or inspired by Hanuman? I only care about the school’s proximity to where I stay and a decent reputation.
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Maruti Magnolia gets my vote for the school with the funkiest name 😀 I pity the kids who come out of such schools. At least I would be embarrassed and I have the younger brat’s word that he would be too, had he been put in any such named schools.
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rotfl !! Astute observation – we all have shaken our heads over these peculiar names and moved on.Gwalior has Rising Academy ,Kiddie Korner High School , Chanchal Academy ,
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Rising Academy? Makes me imagine the idli batter rising 😀 How i wish the schools paid some attention to what they teach instead of giving such bombastic names to their institutions!
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LOL, Maami this phenomena is not restricted to the capital alone. Vizag and Mangalore too have their share.
This post reminded me of the time when my parents were looking after alliances for me, one of the questions commonly asked was- did she attend a ‘convent’ 😀 As if attending a convent would have made me a better human.
I guess weird names for schools are chosen to show that they are elite. And then so many schools have mushroomed that choosing a name must be difficult.
As for me I would rather send my child to a school which is the nearest to my home than to send to a ‘kaun’ went which is far off.
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You are right about schools running out of names 🙂 And whether or not a convent education would have made you a better human, it might have made you speak good English, but not if it is one of the ‘convents’ mentioned in my post. 😀 Neighbourhood schools are the best for small children and you are perfectly right in your choice.
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Haha! Do you remember “Blume” Public School? Of course that was my mistake; but Bloom public school? I’m glad you didn’t put me into any of those schools! Aren’t I glad not to be an alumnus of St. Harpreet School!
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There was no way I would have put you there! But the school people kept calling me for weeks to get you admitted there. 🙂 You made the name sound really like Blume too 😀
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Amusing! Quite funny it is how names are distorted and used to attract parents and children alike. At the same time, it is also sad to read about such gimmicky things going on but I wonder if these actually pay off and also how effective they are, especially in the long run.
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They are totally ineffective in the long run. Did you read what Vinni has written? That he was glad I didn’t put him in the school named Bloom 🙂 After one grows up and goes into the world, one would like to say the name of the school with pride, wouldn’t one?
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That is one unique way to attract people. We might think what’s in a name but the first impression is always the best impression.
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Yes, if the name is attractive enough and other things being equal, I guess your suggestion could be right. But do you really think that an educated parent will be taken in by the name of the school? I can understand someone who is not so knowledgeable or someone who is intimidated by highfalutin English words being impressed.
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Could see you bristling with rage all the while dripping acidic sarcasm!
It is indeed a sad day when education has become a marketable consumable wherein the package has become more important and relevant than the content.*sigh*
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The package is becoming sleeker and more expensive by the day. some of the new schools that have come up in Delhi are nothing short of a 5 star hotel with door sensors and marble floors among other things. But the quality of teaching and students is nothing to write home about, that is, if one is only talking about the intelligence levels. 🙂
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oh we have an oxford public school which is nothing oxfordy and of course the Pawar Public School which apparantly belongs to the pawars..and then some weird named playgroups like ‘playzone tiny tots’ and stuff….
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Play schools take the cake and the ale when it comes to outlandish names. My brats went to a playschool run in a garage called Happy Hours and they really spent some happy time there.
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LOL! That was hilarious! Apparently the naming is very important:) If ‘St’ adds credibility to schools, then why not 🙂 No wonder I get asked by people, if I am ‘convent-educated’ or not 🙂
As for the other names – I wish someone would find out how they got the names, I am sure it would fun! Once a lady who owned a beauty parlour called ‘Silhouette’, because it sounded cool 🙂 She had no idea what it meant 🙂 That might have been the case with ‘Modal’ schools 🙂
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I can perfectly understand the woman’s penchant for a ‘cool sounding’ name 🙂 Did you read Pratibha’s comment about a school becoming popular after it got a name change with St. prefixed? I am appalled at the ignorance level of people and also sad that they have to choose from such schools due to lack of seats in good ones.
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Pawar is indeed The Pawar. Ofcourse as everything else in life and universe it belongs to some trust run by her daughter.
On another note, iDiscoveri, has some connection with me. I know the founder members. These guys earlier used to do this Dicovery camps for the kids (now called Eureka i think), till they figured they are treading thin ice – trademark violations.Thus was it named so, they do some very interesting work in area of primary education, teacher training and corporate training. Gosh i am PRing (my sms lingo contribution) them for free.
On another note reminded me of our Maths Guruji : Sabhee convent wale students ka Kaan Went kar denge. 🙂
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Loved your maths teacher’s threat of kaan went karna 😀 I remember being cowed down by all the convent educated students in the first year of college, till they opened their mouths (or kept it closed) in class. It was then that we realised that we were in no way inferior 🙂
I was right about copyright issues in the naming of schools, wasn’t I? That was quite an unintentional bit of PR for sure 🙂
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Well you can sell everything by branding it the way people lap it up and this is true for schools( sigh! business centers) as well
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True. And like branding where duplicate stuff is bought by a gullible public, so are school names duping them. After all, if we can buy Nike and Reebok on the pavements, why not a Harward Academy in our own Dilli?
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Of all the institutions of our society, nothing has had a fiercer plunge than education. It has sadly become an instrument of commerce and extortion. Many schools and colleges are being run by thugs, crooks, and criminals. What is most unfortunate of all, these have abysmally low class teachers. Are the future Indian generations irrevocably doomed, then?
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So right. Look at the way these institutions are being run. They give more importance to ambience and other external trappings than to the actual need — of educating. Btw. what is the name of your girls’ school? Maybe Mumbai has more sedate names 🙂
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O, its name after a living legend: Pawar Public School!
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LOL not THE PAWAR or is it?
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I confirm your fears!
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Hurray! I am the first one to comment.
You cannot beat this story;
One gentleman started a school somewhere in Janakpuri, N. Delhi and named it after his name – Satpal’s School. The school did not pick up ‘business’ for 2 years. After much deliberation, he named it St. Paul’s School. Voila! it picked up. I believe it is now doing well for itself.
And Shakespeare said “What’s in a name’.
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Hey that was fast, Pratibha! See, the staff of the ‘convent’ was right, wasn’t she? A convent stands for ‘badhia school!’ 😀
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I wish to start a good (not ‘badhia’) school after I retire. Shall come to you, before deciding the name.
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That would be a wonderful thing — I mean your starting a school. And it would be badhia even it is not named a ‘convent’ 😀 I would love to help you give it a name 🙂
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Oh! I couldn’t agree more with you here! A big same pinch there! At one point of time, the names of the schools were supposed to be ‘the’ important factor, speaking loads about the reputation of the institution. And now, it’s on the lines of being a joke! And then the fact that there are schools in every gali-nukkad nowadays…
Loved this one!
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Hey Niru, how about sharing some names from Hyd? I am sure you can find plenty such.
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