Why homeschooling is growing exponentially

Why homeschooling is growing exponentially

A far cry from the ‘one size fits all formula’ of learning, homeschooling liberates children from the chalk and talk method and homework after school, reports Rajlakshmi Ghosh

For Tanmay Bakshi (15) who has never stepped into a conventional school, homeschooling has been a liberating experience. Away from the routine of a fixed curriculum, Bakshi developed an iOS app at the age of nine, aspiring to study at Stanford University and MIT while pursuing Machine Learning on his own. Homeschooled by his coder father, for Canada-based Tanmay, the liberating factor is the flexibility associated with it. “I can get deep into subjects that I find fascinating without having to wait for the right grade/age,” he says.

Tanmay’s education may appear unconventional in a country where formal schooling is a must to gain entry to college. “In the past decade however, the homeschooling movement has grown exponentially,” says Urmila Samson, co-founder of Swashikshan - Indian Association of Homeschoolers.

“Dissatisfaction with the prevalent school structure is the prime reason for this. Often, the schools are unable to respond to individual needs and pace due to exam constraints,” says Sonnal Pardiwala, homeschooling mother of Shahen (18) and Shahaan (13). While Shahen is pursuing correspondence degree in Psychology from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Shahaan aspires to become a canine behaviourist.

“Since exams/degrees as a means of achieving livelihood is losing validity, schooling as a necessary component of life is no longer acceptable,” Pardiwala says.

FLEXI STRUCTURE

“What works for homeschooled children is the freedom from homework after school hours and the flexibility to mix with a wide range of people across all ages and socio-economic strata,” says Samson. Parents of such children may either advocate a curriculum-free philosophy, also called ‘unschooling’, or they may customise the curriculum to suit the child’s interests, often seeking out tutors or online mentoring.

FORMAL RECOGNITION

While home schooling does not have regulatory bodies in India, students seeking degrees and certificates can take their exams as private candidates. Among the favoured boards, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) offers Open Basic Education (OBE) for children up to 14 years of age at A, B and C levels that are equivalent to Class III, V and VII of the formal school system, Secondary Education Course (class X) and Senior Secondary Course (class XII) apart from vocational and life enrichment programmes. Homeschoolers may also take the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) exam, which is a part of the Cambridge Assessment International Examination (CAIE). Currently, homeschoolers are not eligible to take ICSE and ISC exams; nor can they take CBSE or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams as private candidates.

HOW IT WORKS

Homeschooling may take place right through a child’s education or parents may view it as a stop-gap arrangement before the child is transferred back into the mainstream school system.

“Several parents do it as a reaction to the dysfunctional schooling system. A few chose this after identifying their child’s specific learning needs that the schools fail to address. This is true in case the child has Asperger’s, dysgraphia etc,” says Archana Neginhal, president, The Education Trust India, who ‘deschooled’ her daughter Madhur during the first 12 years before enrolling her at The Blue Mountains School, Ooty, and later, UWC Dilijan College, Armenia, for IB diploma. She is now all set to graduate from Wellesley College, Massachusetts.

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/#