Daybreak - Will alternate schools ever become mainstream in India?

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

Microschools are basically a modern twist on the concept of a one-room school house. So smaller classes, student-led learning, a flexible curriculum, the works.So for instance,  if traditional schools teach the photosynthesis phenomenon through textbook readings, a microschool would nudge students to conduct interactive experiments with plants and light.In most of these schools, there’s no fixed curriculum. Its personalised as per the needs of each student. Sounds ideal right? Except for the fact that they are way more expensive than a regular school. And then there's the question of higher education. Sure these kids may be able to think more critically than a CBSE student, but what happens when they go to college? Or if they have to transfer to a traditional school at some point?Despite these questions, more and more parents are embracing this new school of thought. Could it really be the next best thing in education? Tune in. 

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Back in 2002, when Shivani Gandhi was in architecture school, she had an epiphany. She realized that the traditional schooling system had failed her in a way. Because of how results-oriented it was, she felt she was incapable of critical thinking. More than two decades later, Shivani is now 43 years old and living in the coastal state of Goa. And there is one thing that she is absolutely clear about.

Her 7-year-old and 11-year-old won't be learning by road in a mainstream CBSC school. Instead, she has opted for something called micro-schools. So now her kids go to the Learning Centre, or TLC, along with a bunch of children from 70 other families in Goa. And turns out, Shivani isn't alone. A lot of parents of a more liberal, discerning and wealthy variety are now opting to send their kids to these unconventional micro-schools. Kavita Jain, a microschool consultant, says if you want to gauge the popularity of microschools or alternate schools, you have to look at the number of National Institute

of Open Schooling takers. NIOS is basically a national-level board of education controlled and managed by the government. Most microschoolers generally take the exam in their school. senior year, and post-pandemic, the number of NIOS takers has tripled. This, according to Kavita, is a clear indicator of the popularity of these new age micro-schools. They're basically a modern twist on the concept of a one-room schoolhouse, so smaller classes, student-led learning, a flexible curriculum, though works.

Do you remember Amir Khan's character in Three Adiates? Where right at the end, he sets up a school in Ladakh. That school actually exists. and it's pretty legendary for its very hands-on approach to teaching. Micro-schools are sort of like that. So, for instance, if traditional schools teach the photosynthesis phenomenon through textbook readings, a micro-school would nudge students to conduct interactive experiments with plants and light.

In most of these schools, there's also no fixed curriculum. It's personalized as per the needs of each student. Sounds pretty ideal, right? except the flip side is that these schools are way more expensive than your conventional CBSC state board institutions. In fact, they're also more expensive than even international board schools. And then there's a question of higher education. Sure, these kids may be able to think more critically than a CBSC student, but what happens when they go to college?

Or if at some point they have to transfer to a traditional school? Despite these questions, more. and more parents are embracing this new school of thought. Could it really be the next big thing in education? Welcome to Daybreak, a business podcast from the Ken. I'm your host Rahil Philippos, and I'll be joining my colleagues, Nika Sharma, every week to bring you one business story

that is worth understanding and worth your time. Today is Wednesday, the 31st of July. Micro schools have been around for a while. They emerged in metros over a decade ago, so now cities like Bangalore alone have a dozen odds at schools. But in the last four years, the number of micro-schools has searched. It was only recently that it really caught the fancy of parents across the world. In fact, in the West, it's become a full-blown movement.

People in the education space believe it's the next big thing in the Indian education system. So let's get straight to it. How do they work? Like most progressive school models, classes and micro-schools are mixed, but that's where the similarities end. There are no fixed classrooms as students are not segregated by age. Even student cohorts are not more than 8 to 10. Like I said earlier on, alternate schools are experiential.

So kids learn by doing. They also dictate the pace of their own learning. Basically, there are no expectations. But like micro-school consultant Kavita Jain said, that doesn't mean there is no knowledge. So for instance, at TLC Goa, where Shivani Gandh. sent her kids, students of all ages visited a rice farm to learn about food in a hands-on way that was tailored to their age groups. Younger ones got drenched in the mud to learn about the

earth, while older ones were taught rice plantation and the science of farming. It's a far cry from how a lot of us did it, right? Wait till you hear about how their assessments happen. The Ken Zalifia Khan spoke to Pudhima V, co-founder of Bengaluru-based Agile Shala, a micro-school operating on agile learning principles. She said in her school, students have the option of submitting Instagram posts or even podcast to explain a concept. Of course, in the 10th and 12th grade,

students from microschools typically take formal examinations conducted by the NIOS. These are similar to the board examinations and enable students to take admission in any university of their choice. But at many microschools, formal examinations are not mandatory at any level. It's the parents and the students' choice to take them. So far so good? Sounds pretty ideal still, right?

Hands on practical learning, no pen and paper examinations. It's pretty much the dream. But of course, it isn't that straightforward. More on that in the next segment. Micro schools may mimic the one-room schoolhouse, but that doesn't mean they come cheap. They could cost anywhere between 70,000 rupees to 3.5 lakhs. Traditional schools have more of a wide range.

Of course, there are some that cost several lakhs every year, but you also have budget-friendly schools charging less than $30,000 per year. That's not really the case with microschools. The fees at most microschools are comparable or sometimes even higher than those of the best IB schools in the vicinity. But there are parents willing to pay that cost today. Of course, there are few other setbacks, like there's the potential issue that the micro-school may limit the chances of its students in certain competitive examinations. For example, CBSSE schools, despite being only a tenth of the total number of schools in India,

secure six out of ten seats in IIT, NIT and IIT spots. While we are on the subject of higher education, what colleges can they actually go to? Well, according to Jain, they won't run into much trouble if they choose a new age university like Ashoka University in the National Capital Region. but she does agree that they could have trouble blending in with traditional colleges. If the time comes, it could also be challenging to switch to traditional schools later, one could argue. But according to Jain, it's the conventional schools and not the students that find the transition difficult. That's because microschoolers are usually curious and they're used to questioning.

So traditional schools generally give provisional admissions to see if the child can be molded into their system. Now, when it comes to the affordability issue, educationists believe online learning may be one way to deal with the issue. But Lena Asher has an interesting opinion on the subject. She is the erstwhile founder of two leading education brands in India, preschool chain Kangaroo Kids and Bilobong High International School. She believes money is an integral tool to encourage innovation. She learned that a few years ago when one of the angel investors on her cap table at Kangaroo Kids

told her that unless there is a profit orientation, there cannot be innovation. And that's another reason why microschools are finding their footing. Return on equity is great. Stay tuned. Sudipta Saha, the chief business officer of a micro school called Dreamtime Learning, broke down the economics for us. A traditional school can cost 10 to 30 crore rupees to set up, depending on the border affiliation, space needs and infrastructure.

In contrast, a micro-souchequer. school can operate in a 4,000 square foot space and collaborate with local facility providers for playgrounds and labs. For instance, Asha's Hyderabad Learning Hub, formerly a Kangaroo Kids Play School, was set up for four crore rupees. So in metro cities where space is a rare commodity, running a micro school makes all the more sense. For instance, a Gileshala's micro school, which we mentioned earlier, operates out of a three-bedroom house. Also, Saha says a microschool can break even as early as its second year, all thanks to its Cappex Light model.

Then there is all the red tape involved with setting up a large private school. They generally have to register as trusts on non-profit entities, whereas microschools can register as private companies, which allows them not just to bypass restrictions, but also explore additional revenue streams, like B2B verticals such as selling or licensing curriculum to other schools. But none of this addresses the affordability issue. How do students who aren't from wealthy families access this quality of education?

Well, Alifia asked Sandeep Rai, the founder of the Circle, a social fund helping founders create innovative, alternate and after-school programs. He said that's where the government has to step in. He said if micro-schools have to be mainstreamed and made affordable, then the government has to incentivize it. But one thing is clear. Micro schools are here to stay. With this cohort of parents now seeking and being open to alternate learning centres

that tailor education to individual student needs, a new market is very quickly gaining momentum. One that people like Asher and Kavita Jain are really hoping to tap. Daybreak is produced from the Newsroom of the Ken, India's first subscriber-focused business news platform. What you're listening to is just a small sound. of our subscriber-only offerings. A full subscription unlocks daily long-form feature stories,

newsletters and podcast extras. Head to the ken.com and click on the red subscribe button on the top of the website. Today's episode was hosted by Rahil Filippos, produced by me Snikda Sharma and edited by Rajiv Sien.