Ensuring a good education for our children is one of the most important things we, as parents, face. Formal schools have become the most popular means of giving our children an education. In fact, many people believe that formal schools are the only way we are allowed to educate our children.
Yet, the home remains the first place that our children learn values, and develop language and basic numeracy skills. Children learn their place in the family and in society from their interactions with others in the home and the surrounding area.
Formal schools provide a dedicated track towards educational credentials: 10th Pass, 12th Pass, and access to the University system. However, the Indian government provides alternatives through NIOS and IGNOU which enable people to gain formal educational credentials without attending a formal institution. The government has also opened up the possibility of homeschooling in the lower grades through the Right to Education Act 2010.
The Right to Education Act requires that every school accept a student even without a transfer certificate or grade sheet up to 5th Grade. This opens the door to parents providing their child with a homeschool education up to Grade 5. A non-formal route for your child’s education can continue right through but if for any reason you want your child to attend a school, it can be challenging to gain admission from a non-formal education after Grade 5.
In the lower grades (LKG to Grade 4) the content of the curriculum is mostly similar across the major Boards. With a little guidance from the Griha Shiksha Parent’s Handbook, any parent can present the material for each lesson.
It is possible and permissible to homeschool your children. It may feel like swimming against the tide but the rewards from spending this time with your child are incredible.
What do you think about Homeschooling? What are the concerns you have or the solutions you have found to some homeschooling problems. Share them in the comments below to help others.
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