Homeschooling in India

Modern education has grown significantly as the globe has progressed, and it has developed as a combination of the conventional and the modern. Homeschooling is one of the most important components of modern education, and it is becoming increasingly popular. Homeschooling in India is an alternative educational method that entails the child completing his education and learning at home rather than going to a traditional classroom environment, particularly after the COVID-19 Pandemic. While several countries have always been friendly to homeschooling, homeschooling in India still has a long way to go. This blog provides a complete examination of homeschooling in India.

What is Homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a form of education that focuses on carrying out a child’s education at home with open study resources and materials. It emphasises on building familial relationships rather than conforming to the conventional form of the educational system to help children gain knowledge. Homeschooling is initiated by the family working on the basic foundation of the child and assuming the responsibility for their formal schooling.  Children learn through associations made at home, real-life experience, and instructions provided by the family members or hired tutors who engage in lively discussions at a personal level. As it has become prevalent internationally, Homeschooling in India is also emerging and has become increasingly formalised and competitive with agencies providing the means to make it a success.

Slow Yet Steady Growth of Homeschooling in India

Concerns about a boring, formal education system, along with the innovative ideas of Edtech, strengthen the homeschooling argument over traditional schools. But the real question this year is whether India is ready for homeschooling. Homeschooling is a different approach to education. It is a method of learning that takes place outside of the confines of traditional schooling and places parents/guardians in charge of their child’s overall development. The ideology of homeschooling originated in India for specially-abled children who required additional family support. However, when concerns about a rigid education system grew, other parents began experimenting with the idea as well. The COVID-19 epidemic piqued the interest of parents in homeschooling. So, it won’t be false to state that we can definitely see a slow yet steady growth rate of homeschooling in India and after the pandemic, the numbers are all set to grow even more in the near future.

The availability of resources and contribution of various Edtech firms has added immensely to the popularity of Homeschooling in India. In an interview with Forbes India, Akshay Chaturvedi, the founder and CEO of Leverage Edu discussed homeschooling, saying, “Over four years of operations, we’ve observed that homeschoolers do incredibly well when it comes to fighting for seats in the best colleges around the world. This is also because the homeschooled kids are raised on the principle of curiosity and creativity as opposed to a stringent, monotonous exam system, which mirrors the requirements of higher education across the world.”

Read the entire article by Forbes India here!

Thank you @ForbesIndia, for having the @leverageedu voice as part of stories on what are ‘two very close-to-heart topics’ – #HomeSchooling’ & #LiberalArts 🙏🏻👩🏻‍🎓 @MansviniK @AnubhutiMatta1 – loved reading through!

Excited about the future we are staring at ✨ pic.twitter.com/fwVR6IZw6v

— Akshay Chaturvedi (@Akshay001) May 29, 2021

Benefits of Homeschooling

With the formal education sector becoming extremely rigid and unaccommodating, homeschooling provides the space and scope to develop and nurture the potentials of a child. Enlisted below are some benefits of homeschooling which you must know about.

• It allows parents to customize the academic learning of a child thereby developing their skills.
• Due to greater attention to details, the child has a better understanding and their conceptual foundations are stronger.
• The needs of the child can be taken into account and milestones can be demarcated to allow the child to grow at their own pace without unnecessary hurry.
• It offers flexibility and freedom to find one’s passion and work towards excelling in it.
• Having become more formalized, it doesn’t result in the child lagging behind and is equivalent to any other form of education.

Main Boards for Homeschooling in India

With the widespread popularity of homeschooling in India, open education and learning have become more formalized to ensure that students learning through this form of education aren’t lacking in anything. Major academic institutions, both national and international have become involved in this alternative of learning. Below are the two major organizations that are associated with homeschooling in India.

National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

National Institue of Open Schooling (NIOS) is an open learning board in India that provides the platform for students to continue learning through homeschooling. This board allows parents to homeschool their children and undertake major qualifications like class 10th and 12th exams. Students are required to register with the board and the certification earned through the exams conducted by it is equal to any other board of the nation. It offers education at different levels and emphasizes on vocational learning along with formal education.

IGCSE

International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an internationally accredited qualification for students studying under the homeschooling pattern. It is conducted at the 10th class level and has multiple phases to evaluate the learning of a child from the preliminary level to the advanced level. Candidates appear for the examination as private candidates and can earn a qualification that is valued worldwide.

Admission Process for Homeschooling

Deciding on homeschooling is the first step as there are subsequent steps that follow after choosing the alternative for education. Mentioned below is the admission process for homeschooling in India.

• Approach the school that allows students to be admitted as private candidates. The school needs to be affiliated with one of the open learning boards and allow the student the liberty to pursue their education in their personal space.
• Following this, the major focus is on deciding whether to teach personally or hire a private tutor.
• Based on the decision made, the child can comfortably pursue their education and at the same time focus on developing their skills in other fields.

Reasons to Choose Homeschooling in India

Our blog cannot be completed without mentioning the core and important reasons as to why your child or the students of this nation might need/choose homeschooling over traditional/conventional schooling in the shortcoming future. Here are some of the reasons that are mentioned below:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• Safety, security and well being of the children
• Academic excellence
• Flexibility
• Learning Challenges
• School Phobia
• Bullying
• The best solution for travelling families
• Opportunity to enroll in other extra co-curricular activities

Is Homeschooling Same as Unschooling?

No, it is not! Unschooling is a school of thought that deviates completely from any prescribed curriculum. Unschooling parents do not believe in the concept of ‘teaching,’ instead of allowing their children to learn from life experiences and activities that they choose to participate in. Unschooled students may be unable to seek further education, at least in India.

Homeschooling Popularity in India

Because right now there is no formal governing organisation in India, it is difficult to estimate the number of homeschoolers that are currently present in India or are pursuing education via a homeschooling method in India. However, the teaching technique is centered in urban areas such as Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Chennai.

FAQs

We hope this blog gave you a comprehensive overview of homeschooling in India. Are you looking forward to exploring your academic programs abroad? Our experts at Leverage Edu can help you find the right course and university that align with your interests and preferences along with assisting you throughout the admission process to ensure that you send a winning application! Sign up for a free career counselling session with us today! For more such entertaining and informative content, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.