Comment

Comment by rati on April 25, 2013 at 10:49am

Continuing with what mrs ritu said..we are facing the same troubles.but sir if u r reading this I would like to point out 2 basic concerns which ive raised several times but still no solution.
1St school security. I have visited school thrice and all the three times I was wearing school id but not even once anybdy stopped me to check my identity and which kid im taking in my car. I easily managed to get out of school with my kid with no checking whatsoever. This is a major loophole.ive pointed this out to Mr ashish 3 times but this issue is still worrying .
2nd. Prisha Monga Pre nursery A is the only kid who is coming all alone in morning time from home to school. No other child has such route in which you are alone during entire route.
3rd. School starts at 9am for pre nursery. And prisha bus comes at 8.55 and its a 45 minutes route . routes 4 palam palam vihar. .she is reaching late to school by an hour daily and then missing her meals which are served at 9.30 am.
Other issues are same.but these are really troubling.

Comment by ritu on April 25, 2013 at 9:57am

Hi Mark,

 My son got admitted in the school. Its now close to 2 weeks.

I will appreciate the infrastructure , building and facility wise school is good but i am worried since we are still unaware of the curriculum. My basic concerns are

1)  what is the sense of providing logbook when nothing is written in it?

2) How will we know what our kids are doing in the school when nothing is being told to us.

3) School canteen is not providing food as per menu. My kid comes empty stomach.

4)The material used for school uniform is sub standard

5) still waiting for ids and password of the portals.

6) I know these are the teething problems which every school faces in the beginning but I also believe that as a parents we have every right to know about the basic answers as what my kid did in the class today, what he had in lunch etc etc

7) I heard you are moving on for some bigger assignments to middle east. My sincere wishes for your new project. 

I hope the school will fulfill all its promises and soon come out with the teething problems

Comment by Indrani Vikram on April 14, 2013 at 12:36pm

Hello Mark,

I have a similar question as Ms. Gupta. We were very keen on Kunskapsskolan for our daughter who will start Nursery in April 2014. But we are moving to Pune next month. Would be very keen to know more about the expansion plans of the school, as and when that happens. Is the FB page a good way to stay connected? Or any other way we can keep ourselves updated about the latest developments?

Thanks,
Indrani

Comment by Stuti Gupta on April 14, 2013 at 10:06am

Many Thanks Mark - I will speak to Lisa soon. 

Best Wishes

Stuti.

Comment by Mark Parkinson on April 14, 2013 at 10:04am

Good morning Stuti.

With the first school now just 1 week old, it's a bit early to get in to where the expansion strategy will take the organisation later. If you want to learn more, proably the easiest thing is to pop down to the school and meet Lisa, the Admissions Counsellor. She can answer all your questions.

As regards the pronunciation, you're pretty close to spot on; first syllable Kuns (the OO sound is a bit more like the vowel in look or book), second syllable Kaps, as it looks, skol (like the beer that was very popular many years ago-  the s sound slightly more like 'sh', final syllable - 'en'

Comment by Stuti Gupta on April 14, 2013 at 9:47am

Dear moderator,

I have a specific question, hope there is an answer at this stage - are you planning to expand to other cities especially Bangalore, and if so could you please share the approximate timeframe (in terms of years)? I have my heart set on the school but unfortunately there may be a transfer in the offing to Bangalore. 

In addition, could you please suggest who could I meet at the school for the many many questions a parent has for a prospective school, many thanks.

P.S. What is the correct phonetic pronunciation of the school's name? I have been calling it Kuns-Caps-Kolan.

Comment by Stuti Gupta on April 1, 2013 at 12:15am

Many thanks Mark!
I hope to secure a seat at Kunskapsskolan for my son next year, when he becomes eligible. Inshallah if I do, hope to see more of you.

Comment by Mark Parkinson on March 31, 2013 at 11:59pm

Hello, good evening. First things - no, I'm not at all offended by your question. I think it's a perfectly valid one and I'm happy to share my thoughts.

The Shri Ram Schools have, collectively, over 4,300 students. At the time when i left, turnover of seats was down to only about 2%. To put that in practical terms, that means only around 80 - 85 seats come available each year (leaving aside class 12 passing out and new nursery admissions for a moment!).

Now, the numbers who want to join the school are many multitudes of that number, most of whom have absolutely zero chance of ever joining just on the basis of supply and demand.

If we then add in a few other points;
a) In this 'city of privileged' there are those who will give the management a very hard time using underhand and dishonest means to attempt to leverage the doors open (won't say any more on that here!),

b) The school invests considerable time and effort in the relationship time with existing parents and wouldn't want to dilute that by spending a lot of time with people who in reality will never be part of the school community. (Just a harsh but true reality)

c) At the TSRS campuses, back at the time of bomb scares and heightened parent anxiety the continual flow of visiting admission seekers was seen as a potential security vulnerability. I can tell you, some used to attempt "admission by torture" where they would camp out endlessly in the belief that if they gave us a hard enough time, we would give them the admission they sought to get them off our backs!! Having an espoused value of integrity means not giving in to such bullying!

d) TSRS, like other schools, used to hold interactions in relation to Nursery admissions. After the Right to Education Act was passed, all that was supposed to stop. TSRS management took the law change seriously and abided by it. I'm conscious that many schools have continued to push the boundaries on that rule. Their action shouldn't be mistaken for openness however - rather it's because they still want to 'select' their admissions in a way that is against the ethos of the Act.

It is the case that if Kunskapsskolan next year has far more applicants than seats it might be obliged by law to stop 'interacting' and to do admissions to nursery by lottery. That, again, shouldn't be taken as stand-offishness.

One final point - a school that cannot meet demand for its seats will always be condemned by some and put down. The gulf is between those who are already part of the school's community (who i don't believe have such complaints) and those who believe they should be and object when they can't.

Comment by Stuti Gupta on March 31, 2013 at 10:39pm

Hi. Here is a question which has been bothering me a bit, and I do earnestly hope that the Kunskapsskolan team isn't offended by me asking it.
While the Sriram School is considered by many to be the finest school in Gurgaon, I have heard (direct and indirect) feedback from several parents that the reputation has made them somewhat snobbish and that they (parents) feel unwelcome when they approach school authorities. Have heard it enough number of times and from reasonably just people to take it seriously and deciding to not even apply to the Sriram school.

So my question is - what is Mark's take on it considering he has been at Sriram and now at Kunskapsskolan? If the school is considered as the finest school (hopefully in thr whole of India), will there be a danger if inaccessibility or defensiveness? I really hope you are not offended, Mark.

Comment by Himani Arora on January 16, 2013 at 2:52pm

recently visited the campus to see the development. I must say that the school management has kept their words and done a commendable job here. I last visited them in early October'12. Most importantly, was really amazed to see then open area and play ground area. not many schools in this part of NCR has that much within the same campus. Would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire Kunskapsskolan team. Eagerly waiting the session to start in April.. 

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