A subject called Marigold 
Children in Andhra villages are enjoying international play-way education at a fraction of cost of high-end metropolitan schools 

By Meha Mathur
New Delhi, September 05: I am usually skeptical about new experiments being carried out in schools, because in the name of innovation what the kids are getting is expensive gadgets, confused teachers and the guilt feeling of pinching a hole in their parents’ pocket. So when I came to know of a similar experiment being carried out by Indus Academy, a wing of Career Launcher India Ltd, my employer organisation actually, I was actually aghast. It was with some apprehension that I visited a few of this chain of schools.

Accompanying me on the visit was a media team from Frameworks, who was making a small movie on these schools. The plan was to visit the schools, as well as parents who are sending their kids. We first visited Murali, a weaver  in Peddakarpathi, who is sending both his kids to school in Ramannapet. The couple sends their children Mahesh, aged 7, and Ganesh, aged 5, 10 kms away, in a vehicle provided by the Academy, even though there is a private school right opposite their home. Bewildered, I ask the WHY? They say the lightness of the bag makes them stick to Indus Academy.  

We visit another couple, paddy farmer Prakash Rao and his wife Sarita, who are sending their kids Akash (6) and Dinesh (5) to another Indus Academy School in Thityla, located about six kms away from their village Dubbaka. They agreed to put their kids after much convincing, but are today happy, for both the sons now teach parents rudimentary English, and also expect words of courtesy like ‘thanks’ and ‘sorry’ to be spoken regularly at home.  

We then visit the two schools, one by one. Brightly painted constructions, bright faces. I am amazed at the happiness and enthusiasm among students, ranging from classes I to V. They play, they sing, they eat and bombard me with questions on geography, which, I must admit, I am not in a position to answer: “Didi, what is the distance between Delhi and this village,” “How much time will it take to travel by plan… by train… by cycle from here to Delhi?” “And from here to America?”  

The teachers, Saleha Afroz and Sandhya, can teach a lesson or two to the metropolitan counterparts. Of course, some amount of pushing children to say structured introductions is inevitable, coming from a teacher, but to understand the playway method, and to implement it on a day-to-day basis is not a child’s play. I check the bags (quite light), the crafts and paintings, and the copies. Such pearl-like writing!  

I get to attend a PTA meeting. Under coconut trees, on a durry. What a world apart from the harrowing meetings I attend in Delhi as a mother! Naveen, who is a coordinator for these schools, sits with all the parents in a circle, explains in detail the pedagogy involved, and addresses their concerns. The most obvious concern is, of course, that there is too much play. Yes, it’s difficult to convince people who have grown up on conventional education, to make them understand how playing can actually make you smarter at studies. But Naveen urges parents to give them some time to prove their point.  

Meanwhile I get chatting with kids again. What is your favourite subject, I ask Sailakshmi. Earlier around noon, I had posed the question to Vaishnavi, the bright only-girl student of class II at Ramannapet. She had promptly replied, with a marigold smile, “Marigold”. Now, Sailakshmi too replies “Marigold”. What is marigold? I wonder. She quickly takes out her English book, titled the same.  

Well, when English and other subjects are made fun to learn, who wouldn’t have a marigold smile?