Teach Less, Learn More: Punjab Govt Sends Teachers to IIM Ahmedabad For Training

A 50-headmaster delegation from government schools in Punjab were recently sent to IIM Ahmedabad.

"This kind of professional and management skill training can help us keep up with the changing times," said Shally Sharma, headmistress at Government High School, Kheri Musalmania, in Punjab's Patiala, who is currently attending a special training programme at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad.

Organised by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government, a 50-headmaster delegation from government schools in Punjab were sent to one of India's premier B-schools on 30 July.

On the same day, another delegation of teachers returned from Singapore after a similar training – focussed on teaching discipline, emotional well-being, leadership and student engagement through gamification.

Mann, flagging off the delegation to IIM Ahmedabad, told the media, "From Punjab, 50 headmasters are going to IIM Ahmedabad for training today, and 72 principals are returning from Singapore as well today. This programme will carry on because if the coaches are good, the players themselves will become good."

The state's Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains added, "Punjab has already trained 138 principals from prestigious educational institutes."

'Teaching Less, Learning More'

Amit Gagneja, principal of the Government Girls' Senior Secondary School in Punjab's Fazilka district, who returned from Singapore on 30 July, told The Quint that the training programme was an educational leadership development programme that focused on self-discipline, school development plans, monitoring, different teaching methodologies, classroom impact, and understanding how the Singapore education system works.

"It also included improving classroom teaching effectiveness, enhancing leadership skills, and motivating staff," Gagneja added. 

In Singapore, the delegation also visited primary and secondary schools, and At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy to observe students' experiences, curriculum choices, books studied, infrastructure, teaching methods, and collaborative approaches.

Gagneja's takeaway was how they can adopt the "technology and methodology of Singapore" – which is based on TLLM or Teaching Less, Learning More. "This approach streamlines syllabuses and adopts teaching methods that better engage students and prepare them for the real world," he told The Quint.

Sharma from Patiala informed that the training programme in IIM Ahmedabad, on the other hand, focuses on leadership excellence for headmasters, "with sessions on developing an effective academic climate, managing self-limiting plans (explaining the rigidity in beliefs), and the correlation of artificial intelligence with education."

"The training emphasises the importance of adapting to changing situations and embracing flexibility in the institution," she said.

"The training programme helps us increase our self-confidence. If we are motivated, we can motivate our staff. If we are able to motivate the teachers, they will certainly bring changes in the students."

Amit Gagneja