Culture meets tradition at GTB International School

Apart from its high education standards, the school also inculcates religious practices among children. “We have lots of Punjabi Indo- Canadian children in our school. And we make sure they do not forget the good things of their religion when they attend school,” explains Principal and CEO Sanjiv Dhawan.

“I believe education is complete when it is wholesome. Just being brushed with knowledge is not enough. We can never forget our roots. Children need to know how to pray since their childhood, as religion teaches you to be a good human being in your later lives,” summarises Dhawan.

However, GTB International School, with a majority Punjabi students do not only preach the greatness of the Punjabi Gurus or Saints, but also impart an overall idea of God as one.

“Children from our school are not only taken to Gurudwaras or Sikh temples, we also take them out frequently to churches, Hindu temples, mosques and other places of worship,” adds Dhawan.

It’s not only visiting places of worship that builds up religious values. The school also runs programmes where children participate to sing religious songs and enact dramas, perform dances and the like.

The school also invites religious speakers to come over and impart talks on the importance of religion in life. Recently Gyani Swaran Singh, in his visit to the school, enlightened the children on the values of leading a religious life to attain prosperity and betterment. Jehovah witnesses also came to the school in earlier occasions to preach about the morals of Christianity. 

Dhawan explains, “For an all-round development of a child, one needs to know religious sermons as they have lot of educational things in them. And knowledge is power.”

The commendable part of the school is that they allow their children to practice their own religious believes and also encourages them to love and respect other religions too.

“Our students participate in different community programs where they showcase their talents. Recently they participated in bhajan-kirtan programme at the local Sikh temple,” boasts the proud principal. He further states, “When parents see their children good in academics they always feel proud but along with that when they see their children are also good in their mother tongue and their family religious practices, they feel accomplished. And we feel satisfied too.”

The school also commemorates all great festive days like Vaisakhi, Guru Purnima, Diwali, Holi, Eid, Christmas, Rosh Hashanah and more. “Commemorating the festive days acquaints the children to our culture. And when they are celebrated here in Canada, they also learn the traditions. So it’s like far off from your homeland, yet connected by the traditions,” enlightens Dhawan.

(Reporting by Debarati Mukherjee)