School educators, parents, academic professionals and my friends in social network, my elder sister Sutapa Sinha (whom I dearly call as didi) is presently associated with a reputed higher secondary school in Hyderabad and takes science classes of students of class IX, X, XI and XII. Recently, she has opened up her own company “Career Sketch” for career counselling and education mentorship to guide and expose students to proper career avenues. What a proud moment for all of us on her professional achievement!! The concept and design of “Career Sketch” are all her own with very little help from all of us. Click on “Career Sketch” to have a view. I recommend without any reservation that “Career Sketch” will surely be beneficial for the students in choosing their right career opportunities. Request you all that if anyone in your circle is interested to book a session with her, please bring this to their notice.
Hope she will offer me a position in her own company someday as I am the only odd man out (my elder sister, brother-in-law and wife are all in academics)! Jokes apart, I cannot resist my temptation of describing her journey behind and how “Career Sketch” sees the light the day. Here it goes with a request to read…
My elder sister is a teacher by choice and passion. Having completed her Master’s degree in Chemistry with a first class from University of Calcutta (Rajabazar Science College Campus) and subsequently qualified for NET, she could not afford to continue for a PhD degree for certain reasons. Instead, she joined in a Government aided school as an assistant teacher in Chemistry at Farakka in Murshidabad district through West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC). It was the first SSC in West Bengal, which dates back to 1999. In 2003 when my brother-in-law was doing his postdoctoral in United States (US), she went to US. Within a few months, she got a job of school teacher there and at the same time was preparing for GRE and TOEFL examinations. After qualifying for the GRE (both general and subject) and TOEFL, she got herself admitted to SUNY, Albany at New York, a research university of repute founded in 1844, for a PhD programme in Chemistry. At SUNY Albany, she also took classes of the graduate students as a part of the PhD programme. As ill luck would have it, she could not complete the PhD programme due to various reasons and had to return to India (Hyderabad). Coming back to India in 2005, she joined in an undergraduate college in Hyderabad. With different health issues cropping up, she had to leave that job too due to family planning. She preferred to manage her home till 2013 when her twins (one boy and one girl) was at standard I.
In 2013, she joined in a reputed international higher secondary school in Hyderabad to cherish her passion of teaching the young and impressionable minds. Soon she realized that it is the motivation and the interest in the subjects that majority of the students need for a good academic career. Merit comes thereafter. Since the students come from a variety of socio-economic strata having different family structures, understanding the psychology of the young minds in their own way is the key for an interactive teaching-learning process. With this dedication and zeal, she got herself admitted to two years Master’s degree in psychology (with special paper in child psychology) in IGNOU. With this formal training as a counsellor, she did counselling to countless students (and parents) of her school to attract them to the importance of a good education and a decent academic career. With an aim to expose the students to the experimental verification and the practical applications of the theories of science, she left no stone unturned to convince the school management of the importance of a modern and state-of-the-art science laboratory. And finally, with great zing, she succeeded in establishing a modern science laboratory in her school for the students of class XI and XII.
The rapid application of digital technology in education, huge amount of corporate capital investment in education sector and new policies by our Government bring about an accelerated change in the education system. Coping with this fast-changing scenario requires a good degree of management and leadership capacity to address any challenges that such a transformation may entail. With an attempt to build and enhance the leadership capacity and management know-how, she got herself admitted to Education Leaders’ Programme (EdLEAP) in Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta and completed the programme with flying colours last year. The pedagogy of EdLEAP is a combination of lectures, case studies and workshops. It is mention-worthy that her case study in EdLEAP on the topic of “empowering all learners without a barrier with a focus on the curriculum for students with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) in secondary schools” got widely appreciated by all and was awarded as an excellent case study. It may be noted that “SLD are a group of neuro-developmental disorders characterized by severe and persistent difficulties in learning to efficiently read (dyslexia), write (dysgraphia) and/or to perform mathematical calculations (dyscalculia); despite normal intelligence, conventional schooling, intact hearing and vision, adequate motivation and socio-cultural opportunity”. These difficulties lead to their poor school performance, cause anxiety and social mal-adaptation. Here comes into the picture the counselling of the students and their parents. So apart from holding traditional academic degrees for teaching and degree of management and leadership quality for execution of the transformation in the education system, she went for few certification courses from recognized and reputed institutions. A B.Ed degree and a Master’s in psychology were an added advantage for her to do those certifications which include a Green Belt Certificate from Univariety, a Global Career Counsellor Certificate from UCLA extension and a certified career planner from Infigon Futures, certified by Government of India. By this time, she moved to another reputed higher secondary school in Hyderabad, which stresses the need of students with SLD.
With all these accomplishments and having an aim to guide and expose the students to the right career path, she opens up her own company “Career Sketch” for career counselling and education mentorship. Hope “Career Sketch” grows with time and I wish her all success in all her future endeavours.
P.S. My elder sister neither takes any private tuition nor is associated with any coaching centers by any means. She never.
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Suman Sinha21/01/2025