Community
23 July, 2026
From Mumbai to Mortlake
MORTLAKE College has welcomed Priscilla Mozhumannil as the newest addition to the classroom, with the science teacher having arrived in Australia just last Friday.
She will be teaching Victorian Certificate of Education Year 11 students, specifically on the subject of biology, but for Years Eight, Nine and 10 her focus will be on combined science encompassing physics, chemistry and biology.
Ms Mozhumannil said she had been teaching science for the past six years as a subject which she loved when she was growing up.
“When I was in school I had a lot of liking towards the subject because it explores everything around you, and answers the questions of why,” she said.
“I was fascinated to be a science teacher, so for the past seven years I have been a teacher in India – from the most happening city called Mumbai.
“I was teaching from Year Eight to Year 11, and if you ask my colleagues they will say I’ve always been very innovative in the classroom.
“You will hear a lot of music and games in my class which is always about making my students fall in love with the subject.
“On the first day I ask who likes the subject and who hates it, and my goal for the end of the year is to convert everyone over to liking the subject.”
Ms Mozhumannil said it had been an eye-opening experience travelling from India to Mortlake, as she had previously taught in Mumbai.
The Mumbai metropolitan area is estimated to be around 22 million people – a city boasting a population almost as large as Australia.
Ms Mozhumannil said she was looking forward to learning more about how teaching is practiced in Australia.
“I was looking forward to exploring the teaching capabilities in the western world, which is very different from where I’ve come from,” she said.
“There can be 50 to 60 students in each class at government schools and 22-23 students in a private school classroom in India.
“I’m a teacher who has been in the class when it is crowded, so it is a very different experience to be here.
“In India teaching is based more on rote learning (memorisation through repetition) but now it is drastically changing with a bit of influence from the western way of learning things.”
One of the noticeable differences which Ms Mozhumannil observed is Indian education tends to follow a firm curriculum which cannot be deviated from, with all topics and textbooks given.
Meanwhile, Australian teachers are given a broad outline of what needs to be achieved – giving teachers and schools the capacity to tailor education to specific students rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
“Students can run away from physics which I think is because the subject can be quite abstract, so I try my level best to make the abstract concepts a bit more concrete,” Ms Mozhumannil said.
“It’s all about making students understand what it actually means, which includes a lot of demonstrations and examples from all around us to help connect the concepts.”
Despite having arrived just last week, Ms Mozhumannil said she was already amazed with Mortlake College and the small community.
“The school is awesome,” she said.
“I’ve arrived from a tropical country like India and I got here wondering if I lost my perspiration capacity.
“It was a shock for me and you need a lot of courage, but I was really looking forward to coming to Mortlake.
“I honestly didn’t even know where Mortlake was – I googled it and wondered where all the people were.
“When I got to come in on Monday and meet the staff, it was clear they are all really good – they made it feel like home.”
Ms Mozhumannil said she had been unsure if the fit was right for her, but after meeting others in the school community she knew this was the place for her.
“I want to upgrade myself in teaching, to discover new horizons and not be stuck to a certain thing,” she said.
“It’s all about coming and exploring things.
“I was in a dual-mind of whether I could do it but when I met the staff and the students, I said to myself ‘this is it – I want to be here’.”
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