Inderjeet Kaur, the officiating principal of Khalsa Girls Senior Secondary School, Civil Lines, strives to do that every day. Kaur believes in being approachable to every student of the school: “The children are free to approach me any time of a day... they all have my phone number.”

Every day is a busy day for this dedicated principal. Her day starts at 5 am with a cup of tea and revolves around meditation till she is ready to leave home for her official duties. “To keep my mind and body healthy, I walk down to a gurdwara everyday in the morning.” She plans her day before venturing in the kitchen for breakfast. “I note down all urgent work at the school in my diary and then prepare breakfast for the family.”

A stern believer in discipline and dedication, Kaur reaches school half an hour before schedule. From personally meeting all primary class students to issue instructions, everything that pertains to the welfare of the school finds her attention.

To shun away the fear of stage among her students, Kaur employs a special method. “In the morning assembly, I call upon a primary student everyday on the stage and ask him or her to recite a poem or read something from a book. I feel that personal interaction with students helps them develop confidence. Senior students also give me feedback about teachers and problems related to studies every day.”

Kaur, who started her career as an economics lecture at Khalsa College for Women, joined the school in 1994. She has been the officiating principal for the last two years. A mother of three daughters, she aspires to get her school accredited by a team like the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

She also keeps a tab on the little jobs at her office including maintaining files, keeping urgent documents and preparing the welcoming speech for any upcoming event.

Her work is not over once she is back at around 4 pm. After a light lunch, she prefers to take a nap and then goes through newspapers. “I read newspapers keeping in mind my students. Newspapers carry many new abbreviations and words. I note down important news in simple form for the students to read it in the assembly once a week. The best part is that students wait for that day.”