ABOUT Kovida

 

Kovida Ltd, Hyderabad, is a young and pioneering knowledge, training, research and publication company with focus on early childhood education, school education and skill development.

From 2004 onwards,the company has invested in action research for developing skills among secondary school students of Lotus National Schools (LNS) in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Kovida Ltd, has developed various field tested products to improve relevance and productivity of education and skills. Kovida’s programs are designed to meet India’s education system requirements and aligned to national goals of creating a skilled and productive workforce.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

 

 

Kovida Ltd. began extensively researching and studying skill development programs across the world to understand the nuances of skilling India’s young population.

KOVIDA LTD. INITIATIVES

 

Early Childhood Care and Education Policy 2013

The ECCE policy lays the foundation for a sound and strong school education system in India.  From 2009 onwards, Kovida Ltd. has worked extensively on training Anganwadi workers on ECCE and developed thematic contextual words for vocabulary building.  After 5 years of training and research, Kovida Ltd. has finalized a report on School Readiness and Preparation for Right Start to School.  This intervention will serve as an enabler to improve primary schooling outcomes and budgets applied at later stage.

Structural and procedural examination reforms: Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) introduced in 2009

Kovida Ltd. initiated Action Research on CCE and Best Teaching and Learning Practices in Lotus National Schools in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State For strengthening the implementation of CCE reforms, Kovida Ltd. introduced two programs: Student Learning Portfolio (SLP) for developing individual skills and School Experience for Development of Skill Sets (SEDSS) for developing group / team skills. Both these skills are crucial for success in today’s globalized workplace. 

National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) Policy 2013

The NSQF policy aims to develop sector oriented skills among Indian youth to reap the benefits of India’s demographic dividend.

Kovida Ltd. published a title ‘National Skills Qualification Framework in India: Policy, Processes and Platforms for Program Delivery’ in March 2015.  The Publication was launched by Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy ji, Hon’ble Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India

Kovida Ltd has piloted Indian Certificate of Applied Learning (ICAL) for College and Career Readiness and Preparation into secondary schools (classes IX and X). Students are oriented to 21 priority sectors to enable efficient streaming into higher education/ workplace. 

College and Career Readiness and Preparation will help students to stream either into college track or career track based on their interest, aptitude and ability. It will also create awareness among secondary school students about various job pathways and will help them  to make informed choices in their career or higher education.

Programs at Lotus National Schools

Professional Enhancement Program

In-service training for teachers and Heads of Institutions of Lotus National Schools on various academic and administrative areas: Activity Based Teaching, Project Based Learning, Assessment, Higher Order Thinking Skills, Problem Solving,  Communication skills, LSRW, Speed Reading, Listening Skills, Functional Areas of School Administration etc

School Experience for Development of Skill Sets (SEDSS)

SEDSS  is a structured academic program designed for development of competencies and skills through ‘hands-on’ experience   All activities under SEDSS aims to inculcate the values of group learning and team work. 

 Student Learning Portfolio (SLP)

All students maintain a record of their special assignments done during an academic year in all the subjects in SLP.  All activities under SLP encourage self learning and individual work. 

Vocabulary Building Blocks (VBB)

VBB is an innovative method of building vocabulary of students through Contextual Method to improve the communication skills of learners.  List of more than 1800+ words for pre-primary and 8000+  words for classes I-VIII have been created subject and context wise to equip learners with skills to develop adequate vocabulary

 Applied Learning Activities

Applied Learning is an approach that emphasizes the relevance of what is being learnt in the school to the ‘real world’.  Applied learning focuses on applying the knowledge and skills needed to solve a problem, implement a project or participate in the workplace.  Activities to develop sectoral skills have been identified and implemented from classes I -X

Core Skills

Core skills are the skills that equip learners with basic practical skills required in everyday life, learning and work place. These skills are most needed in any work environment. Four strands of Core skills have been identified by Kovida. Ltd. They are Literacy Language and Communication Skills, Thinking Skills, Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and ICT Skills

Subject Domain Skills

The relevance of subject content to a workplace is established by linking each subject to different sectors.  Students undertake various activities to understand the importance of subjects in different workplaces.

 

 

Conferences, Seminars, Training Programs

  • Signed an MoU with Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU) for in-service teacher training programs

  • Signed MoU with Chisholm Institute of Technical and Further Education (TAFE), Victoria, Australia for delivery of skill courses in India

  • Conducted a workshop on Vocabulary Building Blocks through Contextual Learning for students of APSWREIS School and Junior College for Girls, Mahindra Hills, hyderabad

  • Conducted School Management and Leadership Training Programs for 218 Principals of Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (APSWREIS) in 2012

  • Conducted a Round Table Conclave for private school and higher education providers to discuss and deliberate on the New Education Policy in December 2015

  • Organized a Conference and Gallery Walk on College and Career Readiness and Preparation for students of Classes 9-10 in January 2016. More than 500 students from private and government schools participated in the conference

Publications in the pipeline

  1. Institution Building – Governance – Leadership – Management

The direction of this publication is India- centric,  evidence- based and integrated with practical approaches. This attempt is to aim and improve senior school leaders, mid-career school leaders and new school leaders.  This publication is intended to educate school heads and empower them with professional tools, techniques and methods to implement reforms with a firm footing. Many management and leadership skills, practices and futuristic topics are delivered  by the author of  this publication with due intention to improve field practice and build professionalism.

  1. School Management and Leadership Skills

Functional Areas of School Administration

  1. FA I: School Academic Leadership (SAL)

Academic management and leadership is the first and most critical step in the entire process of managing and leading a school.  The school field productivity and orientation towards improving individual student learning outcomes is presented with field implementation perspective. 

  1. FA II: School Operations and Management (SOM)

This publication deals with various aspect of school administration, operations and management. School principals should have an understanding of school philosophy and policies, regulatory processes and authorities.  The success of any school depends on infrastructure, admissions, efficient time budgeting and time tables and maintenance of a daily schedule, which have been dealt with in detail in this volume. 

Mobilizing School Services (MSS)

This publication includes a number of school services that are crucial for school functioning. 

  1. FA III: Human Resource Development

Human Resource is the backbone of an institution, a very important aspect of school governance.   The functional area of Human Resource in schools deals with recruitment policies and procedures.  identifying positions and staff requirements, advertising for the same, screening and salary negotiations, recruitment and appointment, orientation and training, mentorship, appraisals and retention, welfare measures, separation, severance, exit interviews etc. 

  1. FA IV: School Finance, Accounts and Audit

It is important for school managers and leaders to have a working knowledge of school finance and accounts.  This Functional Area focuses on types of institutes and finance, school financial policy and fee collection policy including transparency and accountability. Sources of income, preparing school budget, cost saving and waste reduction are other areas that have been dealt with in this section.  Details of school audit process have also been provided. 

  1. FA V: School Community Relations and Marketing

In today’s highly competitive world, visibility and brand building are seen as important for survival and success.  It is important for school managers and leaders to build effective community relations and market their schools to create awareness and demand, promote their brand and create avenues for revenue.  School relationship building with parents to ensure value education and support to schooling and communications are outlined

  1. FA VI: School Communications and Document Management

This is a crucial component of school management and leadership as communication is an integral aspect of day to day functioning of schools.  The sections provide details on types of school communications, channels / tools of communication and effective school communication.  . 

School Asset Management

Schools increasingly have to manage large asset bases as there is a huge growth in the size and complexity of school asset portfolios.  This includes both fixed and movable assets.

  1. FA VII: School Infrastructure Development / Hostel Management

Building schools and hostels is in the hands of public and private school managements and maintaining them for posterity / longevity is the joint responsibility of the management and principals.   Details of asset planning, budgeting, construction and maintenance of schools are provided.

  1. FA VIII: School Transport Management

Many schools offer transport facilities to students to enable easy and safe movement to and fro from schools to homes.  School transport should be considered a movable asset.  This publication deals with aspects of obtaining and maintaining school transport, bus routes, stakeholder involvement etc.

VOCABULARY BUILDING BLOCKS (VBB)

 

 

 

English is a global link language. It is necessary to equip students and faculty with English language vocabulary to facilitate proficiency in communication skills.

VBB is an innovative program introduced by Kovida in Lotus National Schools that facilitates acquisition of new words from various sources. More than 8000 words from all subjects for classes I-VIII and 1400 words for pre-primary level have been collected as a graded list. Students are encouraged to list out words pertaining to a context, which are then shared with the entire class. This enlarges their vocabulary, improves thinking skills, creativity and communication skills.
All the words are graded at two categories –

  • Class levels – to facilitate progressive learning

  • Contexts – from familiar to less familiar

  • Each class and context has three levels:

    • Starters: Basic words – very active vocabulary

    • Joggers: Words to be learnt – active vocabulary

    • Sprinters: Advanced level – not commonly used

Teachers and students of the six LNS campuses and AP Social Welfare Residential Educational Institution at Mahindra Hills, Secunderabad were introduced to and trained in the contextual method of developing vocabulary through VBB.

SCHOOL EXPERIENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SKILL SETS (SEDSS)

 

 

 

 

In 2004, Kovida Ltd. introduced School Experience for Development of Skill Sets (SEDSS) program at LNS. SEDSS is a comprehensive skill development program for integration of subjects to develop core skills, subject domain skills and workplace competencies among students of Classes I-X. The focus of the program was to develop team skills / group work among students.

SCHOOL-TO-CAREER (STC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

School-to-Career (StC) program was introduced in Lotus National Schools in 2007 with the aim of guiding and nurturing students toward career planning. Students are provided exposure to various career pathways and professions. Kovida Ltd organized a program on School-to-Career and Student Learning Portfolio at Ravindra Bharati, Hyderabad on March 5, 2010.

STUDENT LEARNING PORTFOLIO (SLP)

Student Learning Portfolio (SLP) was introduced in 2007 to develop individual work skills among students. SLP is a compilation of the work produced by students individually.