Parents feel schools unsafe, opt for homeschool

Mumbai: There is a rising trend among the parents in the city for adopting the concept of ‘homeschooling’ for their children as a substitute to a conventional school. According to experts, the feeling of providing a safer space to their kids and unjustified fee hikes has forced the parents to opt for homeschooling. The concept of homeschooling means that the education is imparted to a child by the parents within their home without the child attending any school or private classes.

Here, the parents substitute the role of teachers in a classroom. Different forums and organisations are conducting seminars and workshops in the city for parents who are interesting in knowing more about the concept.

“Most importantly, we tell the parents that only if they are ready to take up completely responsibility of their child, they should go ahead with homeschooling. We make them aware of both; it’s advantages and disadvantages through these seminars,” said Jayant Jain of Forum for Fairness in Education. Last month, this forum conducted a workshop for parents and is planning another for next week.

In the seminar, it is also explained to the parents that the entire curriculum of the child becomes the their responsibility. “They can choose any curriculum from any board as they want. In fact, they can even choose to mix the best from a few curriculums,” said Manisha Seth, a parent whose child is a homeschooler.

“We are out of the mugging up business or testing the intelligence format of education, which generally most schools go through. The important aspect is overall development of the child,” said another parent.

With the support of external organisations, the students are taken to field trips and are encourage to be involved in sports activities. The parents feel that homeschooling makes them grow closer to their children, unlike the case of child leaving the home early in morning and coming back in the evening and rushing out for coaching or extra curricular classes.