Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the eligibility criteria for admission?

  • Children may be admitted into Nursery if they have completed 3 years of age and Class I if they have completed 6 years of age and so on.

• What is the deadline for admissions?

  • The academic year commences from March and ends in February. There is no deadline for admissions. The school will stop issuing Enquiry forms and admitting students when seats are no longer available in a class. Prospective parents are required to submit the Birth Certificate / Transfer Certificate / AADHAR, or any indisputable evidence of the Date of Birth and the last examination report.

• When was the school established?

  • Gitanjali Primary School was founded in April 1985 at Begumpet,Hyderabad and presently we have classes Nursery to VI. Gitanjali Senior School at Begumpet was established in June 1990 for Classes VII to XII. Gitanjali Devshala at Sappers Lines, Secunderabad was inaugurated in June 1997. In response to the demand for high standards of education in the CBSE curriculum, Gitanjali Devashray commenced in the year 2003 at S.D. Road, Secunderabad. Gitanjali Devakul in Kukatpally, Hyderabad  started in 2014.Gitanjali Vedika is the latest edition to the Gitanjali Group of Schools.

• Who are the founders and what is the brief history of Gitanjali Group of Schools?

  • The Gitanjali Group of Schools was founded by Mr. Uma Karan and Dr. Gita Karan. Mr. Uma Karan, our Chairman, was a pioneer in the field of construction in Hyderabad. Dr.Gita Karan has been an educator for over 40 years and is the Director of Gitanjali Group of Schools. Together they are the founding team under whose leadership the Gitanjali Group of Schools has grown from strength to strength,from a school with 500 students to 6 campuses with over 6000 students. Gitanjali’s journey forward has been steady and consistent. Under Mrs.Dr.Karan’s guidance, the school has continued to innovate in teaching methodology and cultivate lifelong learning within our student and teacher community. Mrs.Dr. Karan today provides personal attention to monitor the progress of each child enrolled in a Gitanjali School.

• What is the objective or mission of the school?

  • Gitanjali School aims at developing the total personality of every child in our care, to make each child a better citizen of tomorrow by instilling qualities of leadership, respect for Indian culture and responsibility towards the society.  Our goal is to inculcate values that motivate children to reach their potential through achievement and while being  committed to life-long learning and community service.

    The school endeavors to prepare each student for academic, social and personal success. Our mission is to prepare children while endeavoring to:

    • Uphold high standards of ethical, moral and civic conduct
    • Nurture life skills for future success
    • Foster confidence, co-operation and team work
    • Understand people of different communities through an appreciation of differences diversityas well as similarities
    • Participate in extraco-curricular activities and Community Outreach Programme.

• To which Examination Board is the school affiliated with?

  • Gitanjali Devshala - Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)

• Which Classes/Grades does the school offer?

  • Gitanjali Devshala - Nursery to Class X

    • Special Class and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

• What is the distinguishing feature of the education imparted by the school?

  • Gitanjali has stood the test of time with a commitment to excellence in education. The Gitanjali System of Education, perfected over 30 years has been proven by our unmatched academic results. At the same time,Gitanjali Schools build the life skills necessary for a child's success in a nurturing value based environment, so every Gitanjali student moves forward with confidence. Our schools with limited numbers of students and a curriculum rich with co-curricular activities prioritize educational quality above all else. Our schools are committed to a smaller student population with available square footage per child on par with large international schools, offering personalized teaching and more participation opportunities.

    Children are encouraged to question and validate the learned concepts through interactive play, experimentation, activities and presentations that improve their understanding and reasoning skills. Each child is encouraged to develop skills that enable discovering, validating, communicating and applying concepts with clarity, accuracy and confidence and that is what enables our students to excel.

• What is the teacher-student ratio? of teacher-student is followed?

  • Our staff-student ratio is 1:16. Our well-qualified and experienced staff put in exceptional efforts to bring out the best in the students. Innovative methods are continually absorbed into the system to enhance learning. The progress of each child is continuously followed up and monitored.

• What are the extra-curricular activities offered by the school?

  • The school offers several extracurricular activities integrated within the regular school curriculum or as hobbies including Sports, Karate, Skating, Chess, Carroms, Gymnastics, Band, Art and Craft, Story Telling and Puppet Making, Keyboard,Robotics, Dramatics, Social Service Club, Literature club, Science Club, Home Science, Indian and Western Dance. The school also integrates various programmes as a part of the curriculum like Pottery, Artificial Intelligence, STEM Education,Communication Skills Development,Art, Reading Programmes, Life Skills and Value Education Programmes,moral education, Creative Writing, general knowledge & spelling quiz competitions, Elocution competitions, music, Singing and Storytelling, STEM education, Newspapers in Education (NIE) among others.

    The facilities offered within the school campus – sports, internet/wifi, and, medical, etc.

    Sporting activities offered  at Gitanjali Devshala School include Basketball, Cricket, Football, Gymnastics Karate, Kho-Kho, Marchpast, Skating, Throwball, Table Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Volleyball and Yoga.  In addition to regular physical education activities,for the younger Pre-Primary and Primary classes the school includes the JUMPFIT Programme is integrated in the curriculum. Children are given opportunities to participate in a wide range of Inter-House and Inter-School competitions which helps in fostering team spirit, healthy competition and sportsmanship. The schools conduct an Annual Sports Day where students showcase their sporting activities for the parent community.

    The schoolscontainhas a well-equipped infirmary medical room with first aid facilities and each school is associated with a nearby doctor/clinic/doctor on call. in the event of an emergency.MedicalHealth Campscheckups(General/Dental/ENT/Eye) are conducted at schoolof all the children are conducted on a yearly basis.

• How many and what types of laboratories does the school provide? What are the lab facilities available at school?

  • Learning is a process where knowledge and understanding are derived from and is constantly modified by the experiences a learner goes through.In order to provide experiential learning, therefore plays a key role in our education today. The school has well equipped and safe Science laboratories (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), Maths laboratories , Computer laboratories, English laboratories, STEM learning centers , AV and Multimedia Rooms , Music and Art rooms. In addition, several classrooms in each campus  equipped with ICT facilities as required.

    The library is well equipped with books,journals, reference and self-help books, dictionaries,encylopedias, newspapers,magazines,biographies,classics,fiction, non-fiction story books, audio books, e-books and other digital sources which are age appropriate and are constantly upgraded and updated.number of magazines subscribed to. Any additional facilities in the library.

    Gitanjali Schools have 6 spacious libraries with trained librarians where children can read at ease. On an average our libraries contain about 7 books per child. The libraries subscribe to children’s magazines and educational journals for enrichment of our students and staff. Encyclopedia and computers with internet access are available to support research based activities. In addition, a digital library is available for students with relevant content posted by the subject teachers.

• What are some of the school’s academic/sports/cultural/CSR (community service) achievements? What are the awards and achievements of Gitanjali Group of Schools?

  • Our Director, Mrs.Dr. Gita Karan is the recipient of the National Teacher’s Award given by HRD Ministry, Government of India by the former (Late) President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in public recognition of valuable services to the community as a teacher of outstanding merit.

    
    She is a recipient of the National Award for Best Teacher  in 2004 by our then President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. She has been conferred with the Pride of Telangana Award in the category of education. Dr. Gita Karan was honoured with the  Life Time Achievement Award and she also received the Visionary Woman in School Education Award by ET Education Leadership.

    Gitanjali Schools have been recognized consistently on a national level as the top ranked day schools in India by the C-FORE/Education World survey, Education Today Magazine, Brain feed Magazine, Digital Learning magazine, Times of Inida, Outlook Magazine, Careers 360, School Brilliance among other surveys and rankings. Our students rank among the top scorers in board examinations in Telangana and AP. Over 80 percent of our students have consistently secured distinction marks in board exams year on year for the last 25 years. Our students have won awards at numerous quiz competitions, cultural programmes and sporting events. As a testament to Gitanjali Schools, our graduating students have attended the top universities in India and the world and are extremely successful in their careers.

    Mrs. Madhvi Chandra, Director and Principal of Gitanjali Devshala, is a dynamic administrator whose innovative and progressive approach has made a mark in the field of education . She was recognised as one of the Most Influential Educators in the year 2022  and was felicitated for being an Impactful School Leader by the IPN Foundation.

    Gitanjali Devshala has made outstanding contribution to the field of education and is a recipient of various prestigious awards by Education World, IPN Foundation, Brainfeed , IIHM, C-Fore Survey , Elets etc.Gitanjali Devshala is ranked Number1 in the Co-ed Schools category by Education World India Schools Rankings.

    Gitanjali Devshala won the prestigious International School Award (ISA) by the British Council for their commitment to embedding international awareness in the curriculum and nurturing global citizenship in children. Many teachers of Gitanjali Devshala have been   recognized and felicitated for their excellence in the field of education every year by various organisations.

    Gitanjali Devshala believes in inclusive education, providing  an outstanding platform for students with special needs that serves to remove the barrier of disability and change it to one of ability.We have special educational facilities for children with Learning Disabilities, Autism, ADHD and mild Cerebral Palsy.  The students are socially and academically integrated . Emphasis is laid  on  social skills, behavior modification with special emphasis on functional academics to help students become independent, contributing members of society. The curriculum is designed to keep in mind their physical, cognitive , behavioral, social and emotional needs. The school has achieved successful results at the NIOS -Class  X and XII levels.

    Gitanjali Schools also includes special sections for mild to moderate mentally challenged children. The differently abled children are integrated into the regular stream as per their abilities with a focus on developing life skills and social integration. Students from Gitanjali Schools work with neighborhood government schools and special needs schools for community outreach activities.

    Community Outreach Programmes are held in Gitanjali Devshala every year. During the Joy of Giving Week voluntary contributions in kind like rice, wheat, oil, detergents, sanitary napkins, clothes, bed-sheets, stationery, toys etc. Gitanjali Group of Schools  made a contribution of Rupees Five Lakhs to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Relief Fund during the floods. Voluntary contributions have also been given during the natural calamities for Uttarakhand and Chennai.

    Interact club is a part of the Rotary Club of Jubilee Hills and conducts awareness drives, talks and initiatives that promote well-being in the community. Green Ganesha Drive, Each One- Teach One , Celebration of Fruit Day in Government Schools and Diya Donation to School Support Staff are a few to mention . Various fund-raising events are organized by the Interactors and the proceeds are given to charity.

    Visits to the Home for the differently-abled, orphanages, destitute and old-age homes  sensitizes the students while they learn many valuable life lessons of empathy and gratitude.

• What are the accomplishments of the Alumni of Gitanjali Devshala?

  • The school has a strong alumni network who have pursued higher education in prestigious institutions like IIM,ISB, IIT and the various Ivy League schools across the globe.  The 350+ alumni have stayed connected with the school all through and attribute their success to their Almamater. They are thankful to the school for  building in them Confidence , Compassion, Perseverance and Resilience .

• What type of teaching methods/pedagogies are followed?

  • To excel in today’s fast moving, team oriented and remotely connected world, our school helps students build the skills, values and confidence in both their personal and academic lives. For this we have developed our unique blend of systems and pedagogies. We build skills of enquiry and problem solving by encouraging divergent thinking through collaborative and cooperative activities. Visual, Audio and Experiential aided learning is encouraged through an integrated curriculum to cater to the multiple intelligences of our children. Our well educated and seasoned teachers are aware of the different systems in learning whether it is Blooms or Marzanos taxonomy and they attempt to integrate them into their teaching modules.

    Gitanjali Devshala celebrates the uniqueness of a child, creating a joyful environment which is  paramount to us. Every Child Matters and No Child can be left behind. This is the  resonance with which we move forward, building   an inclusive and collaborative community which is empathetic, empowering and experiential. Audio-visual with experiential learning is imparted through an integrated curriculum to cater to the multiple intelligences of our children. The engaging classrooms are centers for building critical thinking, creativity , collaboration and problem solving. Tapping the curiosity of children from early years while providing experiential learning and applying it to real life situations has made learning enjoyable and permanent.

    Inquiry-based learning, Active-based learning, Flipped Classroom Methodology, Socratic Method, Bloom’s Taxonomy based Teaching, Differentiated Teaching and Collaborative methods are used in the classrooms.

• Number of days spent annually on teacher training? What are the CPD (Continuous Professional Development) Programmes conducted for the teachers at Gitanjali Group of Schools?

  • Gitanjali Devshala recognises the need for Continous Teacher Development in terms of methodologies, Classroom Management skills while aligning to changes in the field of Educational research. Upskilling, Updating and Upgrading are the norms that are applied in order to empower the School Leaders and Teachers.

    School Leaders and Teachers attend numerous workshops and programmes which help them in keeping abreast of the latest pedagogical practices.

    With a deep understanding of the changing needs of today’s generation, workshops are conducted by experts for the teachers to manage and harmonize EQ and AQ. Teachers are encouraged and oriented to develop an ethos with a high Happiness Quotient and Mental well - being.

    Teachers regularly attend  certified workshops organised by NISHTHA and CISCE and participate in various webinars to enhance their knowledge and skills. The school recognises the imperative need to bridge and collaborate with the industry for knowledge exchange on new age careers.