There's no age for learning: Panelists

Delhi Public School, Gautam Buddh Nagar, organised a motivational interactive session for students titled No Age for Learning. At the focal point of this interactive session was a mother-daughter duo, Dr Mala Dutt and Dr Shreya Dutt Mishra. Dr Mala Dutt is a senior bureaucrat in the government of India, currently holding the position of additional secretary and financial advisor (acquisition) in the ministry of defence. She joined the government as an IES officer in 1986, choosing to serve the nation over her dream of pursuing higher studies in Social Sciences. Such was her passion that after working for almost 3 decades, she took up M Phil and shortly thereafter took up the PhD programme, while being in a full time job, both in the government and at home as a mother of two daughters. She shared the story of this journey with the teachers, students and parents, who were left awe-struck and energised. Dr Shreya Dutt Mishra, daughter of Dr Mala Dutt, is a success story in herself. She is currently working as a governance consultant with the World Bank group in their New Delhi office. She recently completed her PhD on government performance management from psychology department, University of Delhi. On an average, scholars usually take 5 years to complete their PhD, but she completed hers in only 3.5 years. At the age of 28, she is probably one of the youngest scholars globally to have received a PhD Degree. In resonance with the theme of the day, the guests of honour were welcomed by Shikha Sharma, subject coordinator, English, and her daughter Diya Sharma. There was a lively interactive session between the students and the speakers, which was interspersed with musical interludes. The DPS-GBN choir group presented a motivational song, while the school musical group, Crescendo, presented their rendition of Raag Bhairavi. These were appreciated by the guests. Reva Nayyar, mentor and member of the school managing committee and an IAS officer from Haryana cadre, was the driving force behind this interactive session. In her address, she urged students to learn from Dr Mala and Dr Shreya and their achievements.