Griha Shiksha Kendra has developed a sustainable education system which can save time, money, energy and other resources used in the present school education system. The new system has been developed over the last 5 years. The system is tentatively named as "Shiksha Fifty-Fifty".
In brief, it recommends that the three formats in which education happens i.e. Formal, Non-formal and Informal should be given equal importance (50-50%) so that the education of the mind as well as of the heart can happen simultaneously. Presently, the education is 100% under the control of the formal school system leading to mushrooming of the coaching institutes. The other options like “Home-Schooling” etc. are emerging but we feel that it is like going to another extreme from school system. “Shiksha Fifty-Fifty” is the middle path and is suitable for all children.
It suggests that the children should be given formal education on alternate days only. On alternate days, the child should be under the care of neighbourhood community facilitation centres under the guidance of senior citizens and experts.
In such centres, the child specific learning should be facilitated with “Whole Universe as a Classroom “pedagogy to connect them with the culture, nature, spirituality, their own world and also align the education with the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles.
Such an arrangement will help in imparting holistic education of the children while also helping in conservation of energy and resources as the children will go to formal school only on alternate days.
The "Shiksha Fifty-Fifty" model is easily replicable as it involves only the child, parents and a community facilitation centre. The centre may be established by 10-15 parents or by the "Resident Welfare Associations" on cooperative basis. It can also be run by an independent entity on commercial basis. It requires minimal investment to start and manage. The concept leverages the existing expertise of retired persons, homemakers, volunteers etc.
1. The education of children does not happen only in a formal set up like schools and coaching institutes. Schools only facilitate the transfer of knowledge.
2. There is a need to create space for and to integrate Non-Formal and Informal ways of learning in the formal system. For a holistic education, all 3 formats are necessary.
3. The education of under-privileged , first generation learners and those who wish to pursue their passion, the children who are either slow learners or are very fast learners need special planning and care. Schools cannot do that effectively.
4. There is a need to involve senior citizens and communities to utilise the resources and knowledge pool available.
5. There are families following the so-called “Alternative Education” systems ( Actually the original and natural!) such as “Home-schooling/Unschooling/ Community/Gurukul etc. who do not follow the set pattern of Formal system. Such families need research support and facilitation centres for activities and practical learning.
6. There is a need to connect children with our Culture. That requires involvement of communities and cultural leaders.
7. There is a need to connect the children with Nature by involving them in ground level activities to conserve Nature.
8. The children need to be connected to their own world as well as the spiritual world.
9. The children need to be given hands-on training for various skills which can happen only outside the school classroom.
10. The children need to be taught how to live a Sustainable lifestyle with practical training right from their own homes and neighbourhood.
11. True Universalisation of education cannot happen only through formal system.
12. Goal-4 of UN SD Goals-2030 to align education with the concepts of Sustainable Development and Sustainable lifestyle can be realised with such centres.
13. The Vision of National Education Policy, 2020 cannot be realised through Formal system alone.
1. It is meeting the target 4.7 of the UN SD Goal-4 (Quality Education) to align education with Sustainability. We have prepared the age-wise curriculum framework aligned with the concepts of Sustainable Development.
2. It is integrating Inter-generational learning by involving Senior Citizens.
3. Utilizing existing infrastructure (Homes and Community Centres)
4. Providing a platform to facilitate Non-formal education /Child led learning/Open learning.
5. Addressing the issues related to implementation of the National Education Policy-2020.
6. Promoting 'Whole Universe is Our Classroom' concept.
7. Helping the underprivileged children to overcome the handicaps of socio-economic nature.
8. Helping the children of all groups to understand the 'Aims of Education' and how best to achieve them.
9. Promoting unique ways of learning outcomes in terms of
- Learning for the Planet (Environmental Sustainability)
- Learning for the Society (Social Sustainability)
- Learning for the Prosperity( Economic Sustainability)
- Learning for Peace ( and Well-being)
- Learning for Partnership ( To learn to work as a team)
10. This covers all the dimensions of education as promoted by National and International education institutions and covered in UNESCO and NEP-202010.
11. It helps in promoting Sustainable life style and building Sustainable Communities. This helps the call for LiFE initiative under the G20, by the honourable PM.
Sustainable Education is a purposeful approach to learning that lines up with the futuristic curriculum, pedagogy aligned with the concepts of sustainable development and about transforming the future of education using advanced technology and automation.
World leaders have laid numerous predictions about the kind of jobs the future would bring up with technology and automation. Updating the content and delivery of the education system should be urgency.
Strong fundamentals and creativity are the foundation of Sustainable Education. It emphasizes the need to prepare students to take on challenges, head-on to become sustainable citizens and performers.
To keep up with the change, one has to reimagine the traditional educational paradigms with a futuristic approach. Students should be adept with skills set by the fast-changing technology; they should be guided, but not instructed; information should be made accessible, but not fed to them. The Active Blended Learning (ABL) concept is picking up, where students get to be actively involved in learning beyond classrooms. This way, they end up mastering theoretical as well as practical and experiential learning.
With sustainable education, there’s a cultivating peer-to-peer learning atmosphere with students being able to learn collaboratively and from each other. The role of teachers should be that of facilitators only. The curriculum and learning outcomes focus on complex 21st-century skills including problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, teamwork and collaboration, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision-making, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility.
Sustainable Education acknowledges the individuality of every single student and their own pace of learning. Having a child and family specific learning approach will have a greater impact on students to realize their full potential.
The cornerstone of Sustainable Education is making learning available anywhere, anytime with the set of e-learning tools that promotes remote and self-paced learning.
Sustainable Education offers a clear route to students by making tools and techniques handy in their learning environment.
The project-driven approach that Sustainable Education supports helps students learn in a fun and interesting way!.
A more practical way of assessment comes into place with Sustainable Education. There are both online and offline assessments and students get assessed on projects, assignments, and fieldwork.
There are greater insights into the students learning journey with data analytics and reporting in Sustainable Education.The statistical analysis allows the teaching staff to learn where students exactly stand and guide/mentor them appropriately on regular basis.
Sustainable Education is nothing but the curriculum of the future. It is about evolving with the times Learning is not just collecting information on a subject to pass a graded assessment , it is about acquiring ability to do something meaningful, find meaning of something , feel the beauty , purpose, joy in the subject and raise collective peace , well-being , prosperity and partnerships of all people and planet ecosystems.
The Sustainable Education demands innovation in the way the knowledge and skills are imparted. The concept of “Whole Universe is Our Class Room” is developed to facilitate it. Different learning peripheries starting from homes of the students it covers immediate neighbourhood locality, town, district, state, country, continent ,earth and seeks learning from the whole universe in an organised manner.
Griha Shiksha Kendra (GSK) is a replicable and unique model of Research, Development and Demonstration Centre on Education combining formal, non-formal and informal systems with curriculum framework focused on Sustainability and Pedagogy based on “Whole Universe is our Class Room”. Being a model of ‘Sustainable Education’, it relies mostly on existing un-utilised resources and expertise while putting the children on self-learning path. The Model also envisages active involvement of senior / retired citizens ensuring the inter-generational and cultural learning
The planning of the centre was done in Bengaluru during 2018-19 and the demonstration centre was set up at Bhopal and inaugurated on 14th December, 2019. This centre also functions as a model activities and facilitation centre to provide an opportunity to self-learners to address several issues faced by them such as lack of socializing and guidance, outdoor activities, books, mentors etc. and to facilitate creation of communities and their replication.
Sunil is a mechanical engineering graduate from MACT Bhopal, 1977 batch, He has over 45 years of experience in HVAC, Air Pollution Control, Energy Conservation, Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development and Education.
He has been very actively participating in social and environment related issues such as waste management, water conservation, tree plantation, air pollution and traffic related matters. He has been part of several groups and organisations and helped them understand the concepts of energy management and sustainability.