Homeschooling in India: Concept, Curriculum & More

Homeschooling allows parents and guardians to direct their children’s overall development outside formal education's confines. Parents decide what and how their children are taught, and they are not required to follow any school board's curriculum. In India, parents cannot enrol their children in school or withdraw their children if the school’s approach does not fulfil their child’s needs.

The homeschooling concept in India

The notion was developed in India for children with special needs who require additional parental assistance. Many parents experimented with the idea as concerns about a rigorous schooling system arose. Other factors include concerns about bullying, child abuse, ineffective teaching methods, and children’s desire to pursue careers other than academics.

Homeschooling has been supported by edtech companies that carry the curricula of various educational boards like ICSE, IGCE, Cambridge, etc. While most parents use homeschooling online platforms to assist their children understand a variety of concepts, they avoid restricting their children to the curricula.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act of 2009 mandates that all children complete eight years of formal education, although it does not mention any other options.

Proof of competence is required for homeschooled students to be eligible for higher education in India. This can be accomplished by taking the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) exams, which provide Open Basic Education to children aged 14 and up. Children can take A, B, and C level exams, similar to Classes 3, 5, and 7, or Secondary Education Course and Senior Secondary Course exams, which are equivalent to Classes 10 and 12. They can also take the Cambridge Assessment International Examination’s International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) (CAIE). Children are eligible for college entrance after passing any of these tests.

With the growing popularity of homeschooling in India, open education and learning have become more formalized to ensure that students receiving this type of education do not fall behind. Major academic institutions, both domestic and international, have joined this learning alternative. The two influential organizations linked with homeschooling in India are listed below.

The concept of open schooling

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is an open learning board in India that allows students to continue their education at home. This board enables parents to homeschool their children and complete significant exams such as class 10th and 12th exams. Students must register with the board, and the certification acquired through the board’s tests is equivalent to that of any other board in the country. It provides education at many levels and places a strong emphasis on vocational learning and formal education.

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an internationally recognized qualification for homeschooled students. It is held in the 10th grade and has many phases to assess a child’s learning from the beginning to the end. Candidates can sit for the exam as private candidates and acquire a globally recognized qualification.

The admission process of learning from home

The decision to learn from home is the first step because there are further stages to take after you’ve decided on an educational path. The procedure for applying to learn from home in India is detailed here.

• Approach a school that permits pupils to apply as a private candidate. The school should be affiliated with one of the open learning boards and be one of the open learning from home platforms and provide students the opportunity to continue their education in their choice of time.
• After that, the main focus is on determining whether to teach yourself or hire a private teacher.
• The child can comfortably pursue their schooling while also focusing on developing their talents in other disciplines.

Benefits of Homeschooling in India

Homeschooling or learning from home provides the room and scope to develop and foster a child’s potential when the traditional education sector becomes increasingly rigid and inflexible. Some of the advantages of homeschooling that you should be aware of are listed below:

• It allows parents to tailor their children’s academic learning, allowing them to develop their talents.
• The child has a better comprehension and stronger conceptual underpinnings due to paying more attention to details.
• The kid’s requirements can be considered, and milestones can be established to allow the youngster to develop at their own rate without being rushed.
• It provides the flexibility and freedom to pursue one’s passion and thrive at it.
• Because it has become more regimented, it does not cause a child to fall behind and is comparable to any other form of education.

Parents who homeschool their children believe that as India begins to value uniqueness, homeschooling will become more popular. These homeschools are now centred in urban areas such as Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Chennai. Ensure it’s accredited by an agency recognised by the government or your state. Not all programs are accredited in every state, so check! Many schools list their accreditation status on the home page of their websites and in marketing materials. Having said that, 21K School is India’s leading online school that offers transparent quality education, regardless of the situation and location. It is a recognised and accredited K-12 School offering Indian, American and British curricula online for students aged 3 to 18 in India and abroad. The online model allows learning from anywhere and allows parents to evaluate their child’s progress from anywhere and at any time. Visit today to enrol.