Keshmani Dhaniram-Gosine leaves legacy of academic excellence at Gandhi Memorial

A 19-YEAR-OLD teacher walks into a classroom…and she builds a legacy.

Primary school educator Keshmani Dhaniram-Gosine has assisted massively in crafting a legacy of academic excellence at the Gandhi Memorial APS Vedic School in Aranguez.

From assistant teacher to principal, consistently developing students that topped the SEA exam along the way, she heads into retirement proud of her four decades of work.

Dhaniram-Gosine, 60, grew up in the quaint village of Avocat in Fyzabad with eight siblings.

She told WMN it was actually her brother Surendra Dhaniram who sparked her interest in becoming a teacher when she was still a child.

He taught at her primary school – Avocat Vedic School.

“And he later became the principal. So he has actually been my role model. That was the type of person I wanted to grow up to be.”

She also had a cousin, Vijay Persad, who taught her in standard five.

She would sometimes sit in a room and gather her younger cousins so she could pretend to be a teacher.

“I would teach math,” she recalled. “That was always my favourite subject. I was always really good with numbers.”

She joked that sometimes she would do it with no audience.

She then moved on to Iere High School, where she said she also had “excellent teachers."

“My teachers had their students’ best interests at heart. So I guess that’s also where my passion came from.”

She said she also learnt the value of hard work and perseverance through her mother. Her father died when she was eight years old.

“She, together with the older siblings in the house, ensured that they kept the younger ones on track.”

After A levels, she jumped straight into teaching, starting off as an assistant teacher at Gandhi Memorial where she remained for her entire career.

She was the youngest staff member back then.

“All teachers needed to start off at that rank before going to training,” she explained.

Asked why she decided to teach at the primary school level, she said she loves working with younger children.

“I think it's so easy to mould because their whole value system is still being formed, they’re a bit more disciplined than the ones who are older…And I really enjoyed teaching them.”

She experienced the evolution of the Common Entrance exam to the SEA exam. She said this required a bit of a different approach to teaching standard five students.

“When they did the shift, we had what was called the portfolio assessment. So it required teaching creative writing, etc, differently in that you actually got to invest time with the writing process with the children…So I think it really helped the writing process a bit more.”

To her, the approach to math remained the same, though the syllabus had expanded.

“So it meant that we had to teach children to think critically. You actually had to get scenarios and engage them in discussions, have them look at the pros and cons of things, how they would benefit them…”

During her tenure as assistant teacher, she helped the school achieve all passes for the Common Entrance exam for the first time.

“The principal was in all her glee. So I guess she was the one who saw something in me and saw that trust in me to give me that class.”

From 1985-1987, she furthered her own education at the Valsayn Teachers' College, earning her diploma in education. She got distinctions in teaching practice, geography and math.

She then returned to Gandhi Memorial with the rank of teacher I, eventually becoming head of department in 2007 and principal in 2009.

Throughout her time at the school, several students placed in the top 100 among those writing SEA.

Notably, in 2008, 2018 and 2022, students Ajay Rameshwarsingh, Saiesh Rampersad and Anushka Singh copped the number one spot.

In 2017, Jordana Mahabir came second, so too Jada Ramnath in 2018. Additionally, Sushmita Ramsewak placed third in 2020.

Recalling how it felt when her class produced a top SEA student for the first time, she said it was a mixture of emotions.

“So in 2008, the night before (results), the principal called me. I would normally be the one to go for results and he told me, ‘Don’t go. The ministry’s bringing it to us.’”

She said she knew this only happened when schools earned first place. But she still wasn’t sure.

“I was so nervous and overwhelmed with excitement heading to work the next day. I think my hands were trembling on the steering wheel (in my car)," she said, laughing.

The ministry representative was already there by the time she got to school. The woman asked her, “Are you okay?” and she said, “I think so…”

This was before she said, “But…” and began rattling several questions.

“So I asked her, ‘Who is it?’ because I couldn’t pinpoint who it was. She said it was a boy and then I had a good idea of who it could have been. But then I said, ‘Is it just one in the top 100?’ and she said, ‘Isn’t that enough?’ I jokingly said, ‘No, because it would look like a fluke.’”

Dhaniram-Gosine was still extremely nervous, but continued to press: “So I’m now asking, ‘Is it two?’ She said, ‘No, more.’ I asked if it’s three, she said, ‘Have a seat, please, because right now you look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”

That year, a total of seven children made it to the top 100. She said from there, the average increased to ten annually.

Asked how students have described her style of teaching, she said she’s often called strict.

“They’d tell people I’m a no-nonsense person. But once they get to know me, the walls go down. I have an excellent relationship with so many past students still.”

Asked if she personally considers herself strict, she said yes.

“Because when I'm in the classroom, I'm very serious when I'm teaching. I would still make jokes with them but we are there for a purpose, right?”

She said students’ parents are always grateful, crediting her for their success.

“And there are also so many teachers who are supportive as well,” she added.

On what she has learnt in her 41 years in education, she joked, “That I have more patience than I thought.

“I learnt resilience since I came on as the youngest staff members, and that trait served me well when I became principal as well.

“So I had to learn how to overcome challenges. Resilience and patience, I think, are the two most important things I learned about myself.”

It’s not very common for a teacher to remain at one school for four decades. So why did she?

She said seeing the school grow through the her efforts, as well as that of the rest of the staff, felt rewarding.

“I saw this move from a school people didn’t care to send their children to, to being one of the most sought-after primary schools in TT.”

She said the school was just one building, which has now expanded into several.

She said seeing the success of the school has been amazing, adding that she “put her heart and soul into Gandhi.”

In fact, she was so adamant about always being present that a colleague once asked, “You doh get sick?”

“I had to say, ‘Yeah, I do get sick but I just take two Panadol and come to school. These students depend on me.’ So my sense of commitment to Gandhi became 200 per cent.”

Her tenure at the school officially ended on January 15, 2025, when she retired. Well, sort of. She still continues to visit to assist SEA students for their exam on April 10.

Most educators would have one special function as their sendoff – she had three.

“There was one with the parents, one with the children and a gala. I was really taken aback.”

The school’s SEA block was also named after her, now the Keshmani SEA Block.

Asked what she had to say to SEA students across the country, she reiterated a common utterance, "If you don’t get the results you want, it’s not the end of the world. Every child finds their niche in life."

She continued, “It's important that they go into that exam room with positive thoughts. You don’t want them to doubt themselves and just do the best you could possibly do. I don't think a teacher, a parent, a principal could ask for more than that."