WHERE CURIOSITY BECOMES ART OF DISCOVERY

An IAS officer & his homemaker wife take it upon themselves to build scientific temper among children, Harpreet Bajwa reports

- Harpreet Bajwa reports

AT a time when many children turn away from science, an IAS officer and his wife decided to change the story. What began as a small experiment in playful learning has, over five years, grown into a movement that encourages children to explore, question, and rediscover the thrill of discovery.

For Abhijeet Kaplish, a 2015-batch IAS officer, and his wife, Dr. Saryu Garg, science was never meant to be a subject to memorise. Both believed that once learning is freed from fear, education can be as exhilarating as play. Today, while Abhijeet oversees development and sports initiatives in Muktsar district, the couple continues to transform science education.

Abhijeet took charge as Deputy Commissioner of Muktsar this February, along with the additional responsibility of Director of Mines and Geology, Punjab. He hails from Chandigarh, where he studied at St. Stephen’s School before completing his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Rayat Bahra College of Engineering. Reading is his “single-most important hobby”.

It was during his earlier posting as Additional Deputy Commissioner of Fazilka that he first observed a troubling pattern: children in government and private schools were losing interest in science. Teachers admitted that the emphasis remained on rote learning and examination scores, with little focus on understanding concepts.