By Lakshya Govani
Hi everyone!
I’m Lakshya, and today I’m super excited to take you on a short journey through the education system of Ladakh. While I was in Leh, I visited a government primary school, and what I saw there was truly amazing and unique with small students being taken on excursions to learn something newer.
As I entered the school, I saw students celebrating Environment Day with a beautiful act performed in their local Ladakhi language. It was wonderful to see how they used their mother tongue to express such an important message. After the act, the students showed off their talents in music and singing. Imagine this — at 11,000 ft above sea level, these kids were confidently playing the guitar and singing so beautifully!
A teacher then gave a speech on Environment Day, also in Ladakhi, making it easy for the students to understand the importance of protecting nature. After that, I spoke to some of the teachers and got an email summary of the school’s performance. The students were super excited to see me — they wanted to play with me and get recorded too!
After the assembly, I noticed their unique attendance system and found out the total strength of the school. Their house system really caught my attention — it was fun and creative, with houses named after cartoon characters!
In normal schools, each class has a separate attendance register where daily attendance of every class was taken but in this school I noticed that attendance was maintained on a white board and during assembly, that white board was updated as per the strength and absence of the students.
I then talked to the adorable little kids of the school. They were so sweet, I honestly wished I could take one home with me! I also observed that the students were neatly dressed, all wearing I-cards, and very disciplined.
Next, I visited the kindergarten section, where the teachers were doing an amazing job. They used fun and creative games and tricks to teach the little ones. The kids were having a blast — playing, reading, and writing, all while learning joyfully. I spoke with the teacher, asked a few questions, and then headed toward the Class 5 room.
Here, I noticed something really unique — unlike most schools where students stay in one room and subjects come to them, in this school, students go to different classrooms based on subjects like Science, Ladakhi, etc. I found this system very innovative!
In Class 5, the students shared what they were learning. I also asked them and their teachers a few questions. One thing I learned was that the government is supporting the school’s development, though because of this, some things like smart boards were removed temporarily during the renovation.
Later, I visited the Class 2 Hindi class. There too, students were learning through activities and games. The entire school seemed focused on practical learning rather than just chasing marks.
That really made me think: in big city schools, we often just run after marks — I do that too. But here, I realized how valuable it is to learn through experience. Like the famous line from 3 Idiots —
“Success ke peeche mat bhago, excellence ke peeche bhago. Success jhak maarke tumhare peeche aayegi.”
It’s true — learning something new is more important than just scoring high marks.
Another beautiful thing I noticed was that the nursery kids were given proper meals (not just a mid-day meal). This helped them stay active and enjoy learning even more. I clicked some pictures, and the teachers told me they were getting ready for an Environment Day rally!
I joined the students for the rally, and wow — their energy and excitement were amazing! I even gave out toffees, and one tiny nursery kid was so happy that she came and hugged me — that moment was truly heartwarming!
After recording the joyful rally and thanking the teachers, I wrapped up my visit. But the lessons I learned stayed with me.
So finally, I just want to say this:
Don’t study only to score marks. Study to learn something new every day.
Like another line from 3 Idiots says:
“Aaj padhai is soch ke saath karo ki aaj kuch naya seekhne ko milega.”
Let’s focus on learning with joy, not pressure.