With a career spanning over 27 years in education, Dr. Amlan K Saha has recently joined Glenrich International School, Uttara, as Principal, bringing with him his leadership, expertise and dedication to academic excellence. Dr. Amlan has a track record of transforming top-ranked boarding and day schools, including The Assam Valley School, The Sanskaar Valley School, and The Sagar School, into globally recognised institutions. Amlan K Saha speaks about international trends in the education landscape and how Bangladesh is doing in consideration of those parameters.
Dr. Saha says, "Learning the best teaching practices across the globe has always been my passion as I had started my teaching career with multicultural and multinational students’ and teachers' communities. The fourth year of my teaching career, while I was in England at Eastbourne College, in Westminster School and in Haileybury School, working with the Cambridge Curriculum, marked the start of that journey."
Despite initial challenges in cultural integration, particularly in predominantly white educational communities, he found the experience deeply rewarding. He says, "That was almost thirty years ago when full-fledged acceptability within the white community was a challenge but eventually it became a rewarding experience. When you begin mentoring a multinational group on a global platform, the most rewarding aspect is upholding the age-old educational values of this subcontinent and making it a part of the curriculum across many countries."
Concerning key differences in teaching methods and learning approaches between Bangladesh and other education systems, he says education has globally been a transformational force for the liberation of minds, which truly values the inner potential of a child and promotes holistic development. "In my opinion, we haven't still totally come out of the shadows of the career-focused academics. Teaching here is still often a one-way communication rather than questioning and debating. We need to break that barrier. Obtaining good marks cannot be the only guiding force behind true education. True education stands for nurturing humanity over rote learning and mark gathering," he says.
What are some of the biggest challenges educators face when adapting to a country’s education system, and how can they overcome them?
Amlan K Saha says that from adjusting with new food and clothing to knowing about the learning style of the students, teaching pedagogy, work culture – all of it can be challenging. However, these are not at all a problem for an educator who wants to overcome these barriers and adjust to the new environment. A proper induction system is the key to overcoming all these challenges. Educators today are extremely mobile. "I always encourage young pass-outs/graduates from abroad to spend a gap year in my school and create a mutually beneficial educational environment," he says.
Students, in Dr. Saha's experience, are highly receptive to diverse teaching styles. He says, now-a-days students will rather have a good facilitator than someone who teaches them about things that are already available on the internet. In that sense, the students respond well to the foreign faculties as learning from them in a new way feels like a fresh breeze. It might take a while, but eventually they get adapted to this new learning environment. This is equally true for any good facilitator - whether from Bangladesh or from abroad - a good teacher is always respected everywhere. At the same time, the educators have to be cautious that students do not take advantage from the liberal learning atmosphere.
What are the key benefits of having internationally trained teachers in a school. How does their presence contribute to a more enriched learning environment?
Having a pool of globally trained and exposed educators is always an asset for any institution, says the educator. The key benefits of such an amalgamation lies in nurturing a broad horizon and fostering international exposure in today's global village. You can table a number of tested options and select the best one for your students in Bangladesh in the 'glocal' context. Overall, it creates a high culture in the school, rising above a narrow outlook. The snowball effect they create leaves a lasting impact on the school’s history.
About his plans to leverage his experience to elevate the teaching standards of the school and contribute to the overall education system of the country, he says, "Bringing out the best both in the teachers and students while challenging them to achieve higher is the driving force in my operation. I firmly believe that self-discipline is at the core of a successful human being and a successful nation. And the purpose of education is to create that sensible and empathetic human being. Discipline as part of the school culture is the way to achieve that -- making it the central dogma in building the school of future."
As a leader he takes it as his responsibility to make his students understand that “there is more within you than you know.” This, he believes, will ultimately create an ecosystem of responsible citizens which will further impact the country’s educational sphere. "When I see my ex-students (including those from Bangladesh), whom I taught at different phases of my career, being leaders today in various sectors – I feel proud, hopeful and confident that I can continue to do something impactful for many more students in Bangladesh in the years ahead."
What does Principal Amlan K Saha think about the role of culture and language in education, and the challenges involved?
"I have observed the barriers that teachers face, though it varies from person to person, and as mentioned earlier, a proper induction programme is the key solution to overcome these barriers," he says. "What is more important is the willingness of the international educators to imbibe the culture and to learn the language to the best of their abilities and enjoy the beauty of the new environment. Fortunately, I am lucky to know Bangla, Bangladesh and its culture. I feel honoured and proud of that."
Concerning advancements in technology and access to global education resources, how does he see the role of teachers evolving?
He says, teachers must transition from being the "sage on the stage" to the "guide on the side." The student-centered approach, emphasizing facilitation and student agency, is the new path to be followed by the educators. Part of that is the blend of technology and the potential for creative relearning, which was unimaginable before. Ultimately, this transformation will shape balanced, confident individuals -- academically accomplished, character-oriented, sports-minded, and devoted to long-term hobbies -- who are ready to thrive in the international world.
As a leader who has transformed multiple schools into globally recognised institutions, he maintains that you need to be GLOCAL - to adopt the global best practices in local context. Only when your roots are strong, you can expand your branches. As educators, our primary role is to strengthen these roots with local values and traditions which will also fulfil the local education needs. Thereafter, we must train them to be the global citizens through a plethora of online and offline educational exposure so that they can expand their branches.
He concludes, "We must help them spread their wings. After all, ‘education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man’, and as educators, we must fulfil our responsibility."