Shreyas: A landmark institution gears up for golden jubilee

While pre-school activity is now being viewed as one of the major challenges in handling children's needs in the initial stages of their education, Shreyas Foundation had foreseen it 50 years ago and put it into practice according to the principles of Maria Montessori (1870-1952), the distinguished Italian educator and philosopher whose teachings inspired and spawned thousands of educational institutions all over the world and whose name is synonymous with the best basic learning that a child can get.

Thanks to the vision of the Sarabhai family, the founders of Shreyas which is celebrating its golden jubilee on July 3, Ahmedabad can boast of a school that stands tall among the many educational institutions that dot the city's landscape today.
Shreyas Foundation had humble beginnings, at the Mud Bunglow in Shahibaug, and later shifted to its present premises, the scenic Shreyas Hill which is situated in an ambience of greenery and hillocks, which itself inspires both the students and faculty to savour a unique learning experience.

Shreyas is outstanding in many ways. The school lies on a sprawling campus of 29 acres where the 'normal' facilities for students would elsewhere be treated as 'extra-curricular' ones. At
this school, 'extra-curricular' is part of the syllabus.

Principal Dr Vaishali Shah says: "The best part of Shreyas Foundation is it has always believed in limited number of students per section, and no formal examinations till standard VI.''

She said that the school does not believe in putting pressure on its students. Thus, it has adopted its own system of evaluation and steers clear of creating an environment of competition. The education method comprises the principles of Montessori, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and other luminaries who had made an impression on the lives of the Sarabhai family.

The students of the school learn, among other things, sewing, carpentry and swimming and, in the manner that its founder members Leena Sarabhai and Manorama Sarabhai had visualised, trips to museums to learn about Gujarat's rich folk heritage.

"This is the only school where children are taught in an open environment and are also asked to perform in the amphitheatre,'' says Dr Shah.

Shreyas has both Gujarati and the English mediums and the authorities have applied for ICSE affiliation for the English medium. The school boasts of illustrious alumni like Dr Malika Sarabhai, danseuse Aditi Mangaldas and theatre artist Anang Desai, to name a few.

Shreyas Foundation alumuni from all over the globe will gather for the celebrations to mark the golden jubilee, which will be held in the school premises on July 2.