Class apart: Unschooling mode of learning catches up in state

Without a teacher, a classroom, a syllabus or an examination, this system of education allows the children to learn all that they want to on their own. 

Stating that such a system of education is gaining attention as many are losing interest in the conventional system, Rathnesh, who calls himself a learner at the Aarohi Life Education centre in Hosur, said, “if the child is good at something, he is considered brilliant. 

If he does not like the conventional methods of learning and fails to excel in it, he is considered not that smart. That is not true and institutions are not helping children if they make them lose hope in themselves.” (Arohi is an organisation dedicated to spreading this cause). 

With business and markets blooming, many tend to believe that only those good at Mathematics are intelligent. “Once in a while, it is important to stop trying to gauge children using conventional parameters. 

Our concept is just the opposite of schooling. You just flip the whole thing upside down – no syllabus, no class, no teacher, no exams – and that is what Unschooling is all about – where the child decides what he wants to do and how he wants to do it,” added Rathnesh. 

Stating that children do not necessarily need a teacher to learn how to read and write, Monisha M, a mother who believes in ‘unschooling’ her children, said, “Children pick it up on their own. They do not really need anyone for that. They just pick it up. Children see others reading and when they are ready to, they will realise there is a treasure in story books and start making an effort to read the words there.”

At the Aarohicentre (which caters to over 20 children at the moment) – which is one of the only such centres in the state – a child’s day would look like that of a child on vacation. “If the child wants to read books, then play cricket, strum the guitar, or sit and draw, he can go ahead and do all of that, with no one to stop him. Once the child reaches a certain level, he can undergo further training to enhance his skills. But nothing is imposed,” added Rathnesh. 

However, Educationists question this form of education. “Who will give these children - with no degrees – jobs?” said Neethi R, a school teacher. 

“In today’s world, lot of companies – except the big ones – give jobs to people based on their skills and not degrees. If they want to give an examination, they can do so. They typically use the open schooling board – NIOS,” Rathnesh said.