Shashank takes great pride in being the principal of the very school he studied at. He also has rich experience in sales and HR.

Shashank Tak is the respected principal of Alok School, Udaipur.

Born and brought up in Udaipur, Shashank completed his education at Alok School in 1995, after which he went abroad to the UK to complete his post-graduation in the field of international business at the University of Hertfordshire. Apart from his normal academic course, he also did a lot of part-time jobs in retail outlets. He also worked for Vodafone, and in India, he worked as a sales executive for Oasis, a company later owned by Airtel. So he has vast experience in sales and HR. After joining his school later in 2000 as a business and accounting teacher, Shashank incorporated his experience in HR and administration very efficiently to manage the class and the institution subsequently.

Recalling his childhood, he speaks about his mother, who pursued a B.Ed. His parents could not spend much time with him during his childhood. He was mostly with his grandparents, and they had a positive impact on his childhood. His maternal grandfather was the chairman of Alok School. He owes his grandfather a lot for teaching him a lot of things about the importance of education and literacy. Shashank was an avid sportsman and used to participate in sports and athletic activities a lot. He was also a member of the scouts and guides. He believes that one can learn much more from outside the four walls of a classroom. Adding to this, he also mentions that he did not have to struggle much in life. His parents and grandparents were always very supportive, and he felt very fortunate because of them.

Shashank takes pride in guiding the youth of this generation. Alok Institute has been directing and creating career paths for students for over 50 years now. Shashank believes that India has always had good medical practices from ancient times, and it has been proven time and again. Many practices unknown to the world were made known during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once a teacher, always a teacher,” Shashank recalled the words his grandfather once said, indicating the zeal of teachers in their profession. Shashank has a soft spot for old, melodic Hindi songs. Being energetic even in his 40s, he likes trekking and meeting up with his childhood friends even now.

Shashank believes that a teacher has to be versatile, updated, and technically sound. Subject-wise, he should have plenty of knowledge. A teacher has to be a good coach and facilitator and connect with students on a personal level by being a friend-like figure to them. He feels people are tutors today rather than teachers. They spend less time on the overall development of a student. The teacher is not able to guide the student.

The future is uncertain, as has been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of teachers is very important in helping students find their correct career path based on their skills.

When asked about his views on leadership, Shashank says that leadership, in addition to being an inborn trait, is also a skill that can be learned. Sometimes one has to be like a dictator, and sometimes one has to be compassionate.

He believes that leadership is a mixture of guiding based on experience, and the implementation depends upon the genetic ability of one. One should develop and change leadership tactics depending on the situation.

Shashank says he misses his childhood very much. Childhood is a golden period of life where one does not stress about the future. “Ruk Jana Nahi Tu Kabhi” from Kishore Kumar is one of his favorite songs that motivates him. On an ending note, Shashank reinforces the idea of giving back to society at least 0.001 percent of what one receives from society.