The New Indian Beti

A revolutionary initiative for underprivileged girls at Gaurs International School, Gr Noida

Gaurs International School stands out as a premium educational institution in Greater Noida. Its goal is to develop leaders for tomorrow. Its tools are an emphasis on all-around development, innovative teaching methods, and a carefully-curated CBSE curriculum. An incredible new initiative at this school caught the attention of Realty & More. To explain it further, we met Manju Gaur, Director, Gaurs Group & Chief Patron of Gaurs International School.

The following are the excerpts from the conversation:

Realty & More: How did this initiative come up in your mind?

Manju Gaur: I very well understand the role of a woman in shaping society. Be it as a homemaker, as an employee or as an entrepreneur, the contribution of women towards the society is immense. As has been rightly said, an educated woman helps shape a better future for the society and the vision behind the mission of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is on the same lines.

Imparting free education is one of the best CSR activities which organisations can participate in as every individual irrespective of his/her place in society has the right to education. There are many organisations which have been helping this mission grow through various CSR activities like donations and adopting of girl children but we thought of taking it to an altogether different level. Why not make these kids an asset for the society, one which would have not only transformed the lives of these children but help them grow to an extent where they can further help with the upliftment and development of society and at par with other children in the same infrastructure along with world-class amenities is something which will help take this mission to an altogether different level.

R&M: When did this initiative begin?

MG: Registrations were opened on January 15, 2018, but the first day was April 9, the Orientation Day. Some mothers cried with happiness, they couldn’t believe their daughters would get this kind of opportunity, something they never got during their own childhood. What sets this apart from similar initiatives is that no girl will be left behind; each one will find her future. We want to uplift these children and place them on a par with the best in the country. That is why they will get the exact same teachers and facilities as the regular students at Gaurs International School.

R&M: What kind of experience can these girls expect at the school?

MG: In two words: world-class! All our programmes and facilities are designed for international standards. Starting with batches from 2nd to 7th standard, the girls will study till the 12th standard, attend classes 2-6 PM, and it is more than just textbook education. The teachers take a real interest in their students and push for them to develop in a 360-degree way, not just knowledge, but social skills and problem-solving intelligence. Let’s not forget sports.

R&M: How does the school emphasise on sports?

MG: A lifelong love of sports begins here. The Banwari Lal Sports & Cultural Complex offers indoor provisions for badminton, table tennis, boxing, shooting, carrom, chess, and outdoor facilities for cricket, skating, basketball, football. In addition, we strive to give the girls enough time and training to make the most of this opportunity. After all, a healthy mind needs a healthy body.

R&M: Why do you go through so much effort for this initiative?

MG: The faces of the parents, their genuine happiness for how this initiative changed their lives. I have enjoyed access to many things I sometimes took for granted, but there are so many families with so little. It is especially difficult for girl children born into those situations. The New Indian Beti is a revolutionary initiative for underprivileged girls at Gaurs International School.  The school was already doing tremendous work, and the natural next step was to extend this to the less privileged members of society.

R&M: Any words on the achievement of this initiative?

MG: Free education for those sections of society that may miss out on opportunities for education. It’s an ambitious project to match the nation’s drive to educate girl children. It is revolutionary for families that have been stuck in difficult circumstances, to finally send their daughters to school on a regular basis, especially an institution as grand as Gaurs International School.

R&M: What keeps you busy through the day? 

MG: Being a businesswoman and a wife along with the mother of two grown-up boys is a tough ask but I will say that with a supportive family by your side, the job becomes a lot easier. The entire day runs around work, family and reaching out to society through initiatives like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and Clean Indian Mission occupies majority of my time. We are looking ahead for major expansion plans at Gaurs Group where we will be expanding our education domain and diversifying into the avenues of retail and hospitality. Education is a domain where we want to expand big and expand fast because on a personal level, I feel imparting quality education is one of the biggest and most fruitful contributions to society as a whole.

R&M: What is the driving force behind you managing multiple tasks with equal ease?

MG: As part of the higher management of a real estate company as big as Gaurs Group and also solely managing its education domain under Gaurs International School, one needs to be very cautious of where exactly one wishes to see oneself in the future. Every organisation runs with a profit motive because without profit, no organisation can survive but the beauty lies in what extra you are doing with that. This extra can be done for a lot many people, be it your employees, the society and the environment, etc. There are many successful business houses which are doing exemplary work in different fields and contributing a lot.

We at Gaurs not only strive to fulfill the dreams of our buyers to own a house of their own but also help create a better society and a better environment with our efforts. This is clearly visible even in our projects which feature some of the best modern amenities along with solid waste management systems and rain water harvesting setups. Also, our township project, Gaur City in Greater Noida West is NCR’s first Zero Garbage Society. Other than this, you have to be equally dedicated towards all your stakeholders because organisations today are like a giant wheel which is connected to the cog through these stakeholders. To make sure that the wheel keeps spinning is one of the major driving forces in my life.