Anil Beepat, the father of one of the top performing SEA students nationwide, is urging parents to step up to ensure the success of their children.
Beepat’s 12-year-old son, Michael, a student of the Avocat Vedic Primary School, placed second overall among the 18,180 students who sat the exam in May.
Michael, an aspiring astronaut, passed for his first choice school, Naparima Boys’ College.
He was also among six students at the school to place within the top 200 scorers in the exam. Education Minister Anthony Garcia visited the school and presented Michael with his results yesterday.
“Michael really is an outstanding student, he never said no, he never complained for all the work he would have had, for all the past papers he had to do,” his father said, beaming proudly.
“This last month leading up to the exam we were very structured with him and he never complained. He went to every extra lesson. He was ready, prompt, on time and he really did the best he could do and we could only hope that he did well and this is over the top for us.”
He advised parents, however, that the secret to a successful child was good parenting.
“It’s really an amazing feeling to be a parent. I want to underscore the importance of parenting, being parents to your children and not only depending on the teachers. Teachers will only take you so far.
“Parents and good parenting... you need to really focus on these kids and spend time with them and their schoolwork. That is the secret to any successful child.”
His wife, Hema, chimed in: “Ensure your child has a study routine everyday, no matter what. Cramming is never going to work.
“Make sure you cover an hour, an hour-and-a-half, everyday, weekends, public holidays, just be consistent, cover the syllabus, do the practice papers, get your timing in, that is the only thing that will ensure success.”
Asked what the family would do to celebrate Michael’s achievements, his mother said her younger son had expressed an interest in visiting Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Michael’s face lit up when his father interjected, saying: “The tickets are already bought, so he is on his way to the Bahamas already.”
A soft-spoken Michael said while he did not expect to do so well in the exams, he spent most of his time preparing.
“I feel very happy, not expecting these results. I would do practice papers and then try to improve on my work.
“My daily routine included getting up, eating and around 9 we would do a paper, then correct it to see what I did wrong. Then in the next paper I would try to improve it,” Michael said. (SR)