Since 1994, This Couple Is Empowering The Underprivileged With Free Education In India

Imagine feeling extremely happy and then imagine a strong sense of self-doubt not knowing if you deserve to feel that way. Furthermore, think of a moment when you have the best ideas in your pocket but no words to put them across. For those in the city, this may be an occasional mood swing.

In an inspiring conversation, the founders of Shikshayatan, Mr. and Mrs. Raghavan address this everyday struggle among village dwellers and their efforts to make a difference.

Shikshayatan is a free educational facility that started in a remote village, with approx. 1500 people then, in Tamil Nadu. In mid-1994, the school commenced its operations, admitting in total 15 children aged 3 to 3 1/2 years to the first class. All of the children were drawn from low income, scheduled caste families in which they are the first generation to receive any education.

Aged 60, Mrs.Raghavan has been an ex-Sub Editor of a leading Indian publication and a teacher since the time she was 22. She has also written the book titled Your Child Can Be A Genius published by The Indian Express. At 60, Mr. Raghavan has been teaching since the time he was 17 and is a Chartered Accountant by profession.

The mindset behind this initiative

We thought education could make a big difference to India, especially the rural population. We had worked in an urban city like Mumbai but wished to contribute in a global context and that’s when we decided to settle down in a village. We had to garner knowledge about teaching philosophies, technologies, and practical experiences. We gave ourselves 10 years to leave Mumbai and we did. At 31, we quit Mumbai, back-packed and left (Isn’t that cool?). By then we had studied and learned several learning philosophies including Socrates, Plato, Swami Vivekananda, and many others.

What impressed us most was Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy. In terms of teaching technologies, we zoomed in on Glenn Doman. Doman talks about 30-seconds learning, three times a day. That is the only time spent teaching, the rest of it is considered to be learning. We believed in these two schools of thought because it’s not enough to have technology which is what the West is about. It’s not enough to have a philosophy which is what the East is about. These two need to move in sync in order to make a huge difference.

How is Shikshayatan different from the rest?

We thought of starting at Kindergarten level but when we started interacting with the villagers, we found malnutrition was a deeply rooted issue. That is why we had to start early in order to help secure development at the right age. So we started at the age of two, the moment they can walk and it’s interesting to know that they take so long to walk because of several underlying issues.

We listed the things we did not like in school including homework, tests, exams, and bags. We said no to all of those. We can happily say that the only thing a child carries is a lunch bag and some storybooks. We began with 5 acres, a small shed, two children and the two of us. There was a crunch all the time but that did not bother us. The first five years were rough but once people started noticing us, consistency brought results.

Currently, there are labs and classrooms for children. There are no doors and windows are without bars. There is plenty of space for children to learn and grow. We are also visited by volunteers and are always eager to welcome them. We have had children stand first in the 10th and 12th-grade examinations after leaving us at the end of Middle-School. Even though we are a State-board Tamil medium school, our children adapt to the CBSE curriculum easily because we teach them English in our labs.

What do we need to do for the future?

There remains a need for better involvement by the more privileged to share even the most basic skill sets. Perhaps, technology can help provide this requirement in a more enhanced way. Education is no longer a field that does not pay. It is booming but it would be good if you don’t charge them the way you would like to since there are many who cannot afford it. It’s always possible to find sponsors.

One of our children didn’t get admission because she didn’t know how to write in cursive. But why does she need it? She said I can write and we teach that. We are still a little outdated in terms of our systems and that’s not helping.

How can the youth contribute?

Advantaged children must take efforts to share their know-how. It will help them to transform from somebody who can just think to somebody who can do.

It can help uplift them spiritually. We had a girl who volunteered to teach music and she taught the kids to sing Vaishnava Jana To. The kids went to an old age home on 2nd October and put up a performance for the 80-year-olds who had tears in their eyes. This is the kind of ripple effect that can be created over a period of time to impact society in a good way.

When asked about why the youth needs to actively work towards empowering the state of education in India, Mr. and Mrs. Raghavan shared a few more reasons in the video below: