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FAQ
- Since the school year in India begins
in April then how will the foreign students catch up?
Ans: Our summer vacation will start on 29th April and the school
will reopen on 1st July. It is expected that foreign students will
join us by then. What ever course period is missed will be covered
by special teaching sessions.
- What are the details about the subjects
and course work?
Ans: The CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi)
courses are taught in about 5100 schools in the world. We are going
to follow that curriculum with modification and variations. However,
details are available in our curriculum handbook.
- Will the students be provided with
lockers in school?
Ans: There will be no lockers in school since every girl will
have a locker/cupboard in her residence.
- For those requiring additional help,
will there be any provision for private tuitions or private extra
classes?
Ans: Only girls who need constant
support to cope with the class will be given extra help. Private tuitions
are not allowed as it resorts to spoonfeeding the child - which we
want to discourage. If the girl requires extra support, we will do
it at our end.
- What will be the system on school progress
reports? Will the parents receive any monthly or periodic reports?
Ans: Continuous comprehensive evaluation
is achieved through cycles of weekly tests and quarterly assessment
by the class teacher on scholastic and non-scholastic parameters.
Student achievement is depicted through a grade scale.
Total 6 tests are taken in a year.
There is a provision for re-test twice a year (December/April) in
2 subjects. Comments will be given for performance in non-scholastic
skills and competencies. We will be sending 4 reports to the parents
during the year. The first, second and third report will be sent after
Test 1, 3 and 5 respectively. The fourth and final report (cumulative
report) will be sent after Test 6.
- What will be the vacation schedule?
How many vacations will they get? Will the summer vacation coincide
with the schedule in USA, UK, etc. so that girls having brothers/sisters
can spend time together?
Ans: Here we would be following
the Indian holiday schedule. It could perhaps be the same or could
differ from their counterparts abroad. There will be two main vacations.
- Summer Vacation for 7 weeks
- Diwali Vacation for 3 weeks
- What will be the dress code in school
and hostel (shorts, skirts, and other likes are allowed or not)?
Ans:
There is a school dress and a sports dress (The school will provide
them). Apart from that, the dress code requires neatness and modesty.
No offending or indecent words or graphics on clothes will be allowed.
Skirts should be up to knee length.
- What are the list of things that the
child needs to bring with her for school and the hostel?
Ans: A student should bring the
following things with her:
Home clothes, party dress, handkerchiefs, white and black Bata shoes,
casual shoes, socks, raincoat/umbrella, shoe polish (b/w) with brushes
for white canvas shoes, night suits, favorite books, family photographs,
favorite toy/pillow/sheet, cloth hangers, toilet case with toothpaste,
toothbrush, scissors, nail clippers, small sewing-kit, bathing soap,
washing soap, hair oil, two soap cases, comb, brush, shampoo, safety
pins, black hair clips (optional), sanitary towels (if required) small
torch with batteries, woolen pullover, fountain pen, any musical instrument
that your child plays, one small lock and key, head bands/ribbons,
wrist watch, towels, napkins, school bag and drinking mug, stationery
(notebooks, lab books, maps, etc…), geometry box, pencil box,
eraser, sharpener and scale.
- Is the hostel and school air-conditioned?
Ans:
No, because when the hot summer arrives it is vacation period in India.
However, with the walls and ceilings of the building being hollow,
they serve as good insulators and thereby mitigate the tropical heat
of the atmosphere to a considerable degree. Every classroom has 5
fans and the dorms have about 15 fans each. Ample landscaping also
reduces the heat further.
- Will the girls be allowed any electrical/electronic
gadgets in the school/hostel such as a camera, walkman, radio, etc.?
Ans: No. TV, radio, tape-recorder, walkman, etc. will not be
permitted. Controlled use of a camera will only be allowed.
- Will the student be required to wash
their clothes?
Ans:
No. There will be laundry arrangements.
- Will the girls be allowed toys, stuffed
animals, etc. in the hostel?
Ans: Yes, if they are not too bulky.
- Will hostel accommodation be provided
according to grade, class, age, or country?
Ans:
A well equipped dormitory accommodates a group of 20 girls of age
group 9 to 11. For age group of 12 to 14 the dormitory size is restricted
to 10. The girls beyond this age group will reside in groups of three
per room. The hostel accommodation will be provided according to the
House arrangements. Hence mixed arrangement will be made for each
dormitory. The dormitory will have girls of different age, grade,
class and country. However, international students will initially
stay together till they acclimatize with the school environment.
- What arrangements do you have for personal
care in the hostel?
Ans:
There is a Gruh Mata who resides on campus and 1 Gruh Sanchalika for
20 girls to take care of them for 24 hours. The Gruh Sanchalikas have
been selected with great care; they are dedicated satsangi women capable
of affording loving care to the inmates.
- What will be the visa/immigration process
initially and thereafter from year to year considering that the student
may or may not return home for vacation?
Ans:
Please obtain specific information from the Indian Embassy in your
country by presenting the admission document of Swaminarayan Vidyapith.
All formalities of visa/immigration should be carried out by parent/guardian
personally. In case of vacation air/railway ticket booking, etc. is
to be done by the parent/guardian. However, Swaminarayan Vidyapith
will extend fullest cooperation for ensuring the child a comfortable
journey.
- Can the girls bring electronic toys
(video games, etc) and other games with them?
Ans:
No. Such gadgets will be discouraged. Besides, we have ample provisions
for quality entertainment and leisure.
- What is included in the fees? What
other expenses does a family have to plan for?
Ans:
The fee structure includes tuition and term-fees, worksheet/textbooks,
guidance and counselling fees, along with charges for meals, furnished
accommodation, laundry, school and sports uniforms, medical check-up
(for medicine extra charges). However, it doesn't include charges
for:
- Stationery;
- Excursions / tours / field trips and school visits;
- E-mail facilities; and
- Any area where special training is needed for academic or co-curricular
activities or where constant support to a child is needed for academic
development.
- When, in what way and how often can
the parents contact their daughters? Will e-mail access be available?
If yes, will there be separate accounts/terminals?
Ans:
The school has a systematic mail and telephone calls procedure. Parents
are given printed envelopes for correspondence with their daughter.
Telephone calls are allowed every fortnight only through the hostel
STD/PCO. E-mails can be sent once a week, however there are no individual
accounts or terminals. Parents are allowed to meet the child once
every two months. In case of emergencies one can meet the child with
prior appointment.
- When and how often can a local guardian/relative
contact the child?
Ans:
They can meet her once in two months on a specified Sunday. I-cards
will be issued for the parents/local guardians.
- Can the child keep food/snacks/other
things brought by the guardian/relative?
Ans:
Snacks or other eatables are not allowed in the rooms.
- Can the child buy some snack food from
outside?
Ans: No. But she can buy it from the Bhakti consumer store.
- What are the arrangements for girls
requiring periodic eye/dental check-ups?
Ans:
An optician/dentist visits regularly for the purpose and if needed
girls are taken to a local ophthalmologist/dentist/orthodentist.
- During vacation and holidays can the
girls go to relatives/come home or will there be activities/tours
planned from the Vidyapith?
Ans:
Long vacations and day outs are meant for home visits. Students will
not visit relatives/parents during other holidays because tours and
other activities will be planned.
- What are the details about the school
regarding the number of teachers, student to teacher ratio, name and
experience of the teachers, etc.
Ans:
The classes are from grades 4 to 8 and each grade will have two sections.
The student-teacher ratio is 11:1. There are a total of 27 teachers.
Our faculty is sourced from all over India and they have undergone
world class training.
- If a child has a special skill (like
playing the piano, bagpipes, etc.) and is pursuing some kind of activity,
is there any facility to continue the same?
Ans:
Swaminarayan Vidyapith will encourage such hobbies. Encouragement
in itself means all sorts of support in pursuing it further. Nearly
all Indian musical instruments are available in our music room. Training
for instruments like bagpipes, etc. is not possible for the present.
- Some girls are currently pursuing special
talent classes - eg. 'Bharat Natyam'. They have completed 3-4 years
of formal training and would like to continue training. What will
be the provision for such cases?
Ans.
Encouragement will be provided by our dance teacher. Popular dance
forms will naturally be taught or the girls can choose from the ones
which suit them in consultation with the dance teacher.
- High school graduates in USA are eligible
to apply for scholarships and loans for further studies. But will
high school foreign students graduating from Swaminarayan Vidyapith
be eligible to apply for scholarships and loans to continue their
studies in USA?
Ans:
Perhaps the US authorities will be able to help you in this regard.
- Give complete details about medical
and health issues.
Ans:
Provision for a daily visit by a doctor and a fulltime nurse have
been made. All cases requiring hospital treatment are taken care of
at the 500-bed hospital in Pramukh Swami Medical College, Karamsad.
There will be medical check-ups periodically. Parents can insure their
daughters (approx. Mediclaim is 0.6% per thousand) at their cost.
- What kind of entertainment and sports
activities are provided?
Ans:
Picnics, city visits and excursions are planned regularly. Selected
educational films, cartoon films, motivational films, clippings from
Discovery channel/National Geographic channel, etc. are also shown
from time to time. Sports activities include badminton, basketball,
volleyball, football, caramboard, chess, scrabble and other innovative
games like kho-kho, kabbadi, etc.
- What if a girl does not have any relatives
or guardians in India?
Ans:
A local guardian is necessary for the benefit of the girl. If however,
there is no guardian then Swaminarayan Vidyapith will take care of
arrival/departure from the international airport from Ahmedabad or
accomodate the girl in a known family during day-outs or vacations.
- Which other languages will the girls
be required to learn except English?
Ans:
The CBSE has English as the primary language. There is an option of
choosing another language, i.e. Hindi or Gujarati. We will help the
girls to make an intelligent choice or the parents can discuss it
when they come here or can trust us to do the needful.
- Can you provide some information on
the admission process for those families who are planning to come
and see the facility before making a decision to join?
Ans:
You are welcome to visit and experience the campus. But for admission,
your child has to undergo the set admission procedure. She will be
eligible for admission upon qualifying the test, then after the fees
will be accepted. If later the girl feels like leaving, we regret
we will not be able to refund the fees.
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