It was about 35 years ago that Delhi-based young woman Nirmal Jain arrived in Tokyo to join her husband who was working there. Even though she was a graduate in law and possessed an M.A from the Delhi University, she could not get any suitable job in Japan as the Japanese hardly spoke English. Perhaps it was the trigger point and today, Ms Jain is Director for India International School (owned by her and a non-profit organisation) in Japan and also very popular in Japan as a radio announcer on NHK radio.
Nirmal lost her supportive father and mother at an early age. But she did not lose faith. She continued her studies even after marriage and completed LLB (Law) B.Ed, and M.A from Delhi University. She also learnt French and then practiced law for a year at the Pondicherry High Court.
As her husband's family lived in Japan, she moved to Tokyo in 1972. Initially, she found it very difficult to do even trivial jobs like buying grocery as there were no signboards in English and no Indian grocery products to speak of!
She took it as a challenge and slowly mastered Japanese. In Japan, she started her career as a radio announcer with NHK which is the biggest broadcasting corporation in Japan. Mornings, she taught in an American school. In the evenings, she radio jockeyed. She taught almost for 25 years in International schools and other institutions and then decided to quit.
During these 25 years of teaching in various schools and universities, she learnt many valuable things and wanted to assimilate them in the Indian educational system. A few years later, she met a few young Indians in Japan, who were struggling to have a school where their children could get education in the English medium at a reasonable price. Nirmal Jain saw the opportunity. She had the dream, she had the qualification and the experience. Within the year, she started the India International School.
No easy task
Opening an international school in a foreign country is no easy task. Initially, she faced staff problems and red-tapism. “There was a lot of problems that we faced..but that is life. What kept me going was that the Japanese are very helpful people and of course, my own drive and passion.” Slowly, the word spread and many wives of NRIs came forward to help the school as well as volunteered to teach. Today, the school is wellknown throughout Japan and has nearly 250 children. The school is affiliated to the CBSE board and teaches several Indian and foreign languages and has a diverse curriculum. The Japanese ministry of education has appreciated Ms Jain’s work. “Losing my husband recently was a big blow and I had to make a decision whether to stay on in Japan or move to the US where my children have settled. But my passion towards my school has made me stay back.”
