CAMPUS MATRIARCH

TINA THAKRAR SPEAKS TO DR NEHA JAGTIANI, THE EMINENT PRINCIPAL OF NATIONAL COLLEGE IN MUMBAI, ABOUT HER VISION FOR THE INSTITUTE, HER FONDNESS FOR HER STUDENTS AND HER OUTLOOK ON THE INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

- TINA THAKRAR

On an average weekday at the R.D. and S.H. National College in the busy suburb of Bandra in Mumbai, you’re likely to find Neha Jagtiani with a packed schedule, flitting between lectures, paperwork, events and daily upkeep. The ambitious, enthusiastic, saree-clad principal of the prestigious college takes great pride in her work, her students, her team, and her family roots, and is steadily working towards making the college one of India’s premier education institutes.

It’s no surprise that Neha (previously Jaya Malkani) is where she is today, given her family’s distinguished history in education and beyond. Her maternal grandfather was H.C. Malkani, the first principal of H.R. College, her parental grandfather was the eminent philosopher Dr. G.R. Malkani, her maternal aunt is Dr. Indu Shahani, former Sheriff of Mumbai and former principal of H.R. College, her father Chandru Malkani was a renowned civil engineer for government projects across India, and her mother Chandra Malkani retired as the head of the sociology department at L.S. Raheja College. But her eminent lineage aside, Neha’s penchant for education comes largely from her desire to nurture the next generation of leaders in the country.

Neha’s exploration of the Indian education system began, of course, with her own academic pursuits. She progressed from a convent school to N.M. College, where she developed an interest in advertising. “I was planning a career in the field when my mother convinced me to consider teaching. She said ‘why do you want to sell soap when you can influence minds?’. That stayed with me, and soon after my wedding in the early 1990s, I began teaching at Sydenham college.”