When Nasha Nadeera, a student of Government High School, Elamakkara, cleared the SSLC examination with full A plus, it was as much her father’s victory as it was hers.
For, Najid Pasha, CEO of a Kalamassery-based software company, had preferred government school to private institution for his daughter, fighting extreme peer pressure. That his wife Liza Ariesalina, a native of Indonesia, had no inkling about the predilection towards private schools in this part of the world helped as well.
It was not easy for Nasha either. Having spent a few crucial formative years in Indonesia, Nasha can hardly speak Malayalam. Even back at home, her communication with mother continues to be in Indonesian, while otherwise it is mostly in English. Despite that, she had Malayalam as her second language till Standard 9 before she switched to special English at her teachers’ instance last year.
“Initially, it was tough as my friends felt that my English was too fast for them to grasp, and I had difficulty following them. But gradually, all of us got used to each other as I was able to understand Malayalam, and they could get my English,” said Nasha who has only sweet memories of her life in school where she studied from Standard 5.
Mr. Pasha is also happy having proved that his choice of a government school over private school was indeed right. “It is for us to promote government schools offering such good facilities and qualified and well-paid teachers. Studying in a government school gave my daughter so many opportunities, which she would not have got had she gone to a private school,” he said.
Mr. Pasha remains quite insistent about insulating his two daughters, the younger one now in Standard 6, from all kinds of academic and career pressures while letting them choose their own paths. So, he had even hatched a ‘plot’ with Nasha whereby both publicly insist on a career in architecture to keep at bay familial and peer pressures, while she secretly pursues her real passion.
