How is your school integrating tech in classroom learning?
At APS-Ratnuchak, technology is treated as a teaching partner, not a substitute for the teacher. Our classrooms are supported by smart interactive panels, and faculty use NCERT digital content and curated subject resources to make abstract concepts visual. The school runs a dedicated AI and Robotics Lab where Information Technology (Class IX) and Artificial Intelligence (Class X) are taught as CBSE skill subjects, taking students from theory to working prototypes. We have also conducted Skill Development Programmes in collaboration with NIELIT for classes IX and X, alongside CII-led webinars on cybersecurity and emerging careers. Teacher capacity building is a parallel priority through CBSE-recognised programmes. Every digital intervention is mapped to a learning outcome rather than measured by screen time.
What are the cultural and extra-curricular highpoints of your school in the past year?
It has been an exceptional year. APS-Ratnuchak has earned a 5-star rating at the state level under the Swachh Vidyalaya framework, and was ranked second in Jammu and fourth in Jammu & Kashmir in the Education World India Rankings 2025-26. Our students have excelled across domains: A Class IX student represented the school at the 68th National School Games (Football); a Class VII student competed in the Sub-Junior National Fencing Championship; another student won gold at the Sub-Junior Fencing Championship; and our boys’ basketball team emerged district champions. A specially-abled student of Class X won a gold (400m) and bronze (Long Jump) at the Special Olympics Bharat National Championship. In culturals, the school secured second position in the Inter-APS Cluster Hindi Debate, with one of our Class XII students adjudged Best Speaker. NCC cadets brought home gold medals in Tug-of-War and Best Drill at CATC, Nagrota.
Innovation has become an important part of school curriculum, how have you incorporated it?
Innovation at APS-Ratnuchak is grounded in real-world problems and student authorship. Our flagship project RESQBAND – Built for Yatra, Designed for Rescue, conceived for the Amarnath Yatra context, won first position at the National Skill Championship-2026 at IIT-Delhi among 24 competing teams. At the School Youth Ideathon-2025 Grand Finale at IIT-Delhi, the school was awarded the Participating Champions – Platinum Award, with one of our student teams reaching the National Top 125 for their project Farm IQ. At the Innoventure National Challenge, we secured the National Innovation Award with State Rank-2, with one of our primary wing students achieving an outstanding National Rank-5. Students were also recognised at the GRIHA Paryavaran Rakshak Programme, CBSE Regional Science Exhibition, and the INSPIRE-MANAK Award. Mega Tinkering Day and our ATL-aligned activities ensure innovation is embedded from Class VI upwards.
What skills are important for students in this tech-driven age and what steps has your school taken to instil these?
Four competencies matter most today: critical thinking, clear communication, collaboration, and the ability to keep learning — to which I would add digital and AI literacy, and emotional self-regulation. At APS-Ratnuchak, these are built into the everyday study. Artificial Intelligence and IT are formal subjects; the AI and Robotics Lab hosts hands-on tinkering. Our students have participated in the STEAM Innovation Challenge PRAGYAAN 2026 at IIT-Jammu (where 28 of our 29 participants were shortlisted), YUVAI Global Youth Challenge with NIELIT, National Skill Championship Robotics Workshop with E-Cell IIT-Delhi, and CBSE Skill Expos. Debate, Veer Gatha, MUN-style forums, and Project Vidyanjali outreach to government schools build articulation and empathy. The aim is to produce graduates who know how to think, express, and work with others.
Have any mental health measures been taken to ensure holistic growth of students?
Yes, this is an area we treat with great seriousness. The school conducts structured sessions on emotional well-being — most recently a dedicated session on emotional building for classes X and XI by a school counsellor, which included self-assessment and resilience-building exercises. A workshop on mental wellness for teachers was conducted by CBSE resource persons so that early signs of distress in children are recognised, not missed. We have run awareness drives on drug abuse with NCC cadets, outreach visits to the Louis Braille Memorial School to nurture empathy, and an orientation themed “Voice Within, Voice Beyond — Unmute Yourself”. Class teachers serve as the first point of pastoral care, and parents are engaged regularly through PTMs. Holistic growth means a child who can perform, but also one who can pause, reflect, and ask for help.
What is your long-term vision for transforming education?
My vision is to nurture young people who are competent, conscientious, and confidently Indian. In an age of rapid change, schools must produce learners who can think critically, adapt quickly, and carry strong ethical bearings. Guided by NEP 2020, we are working towards a multidisciplinary, skill-integrated, and value-anchored model where academic excellence sits alongside character, physical fitness, and cultural literacy. I would like APS-Ratnuchak to remain a school where every child is known by name and not number; where the classroom prepares them for examinations and for life equally; and where the teacher remains the most respected technology in the building. That, to my mind, is the real transformation worth working towards.
