School offers scholarships to deserving students
About 60 students and 35 acres of school campus. Sounds impossible in the present-day scenario. But the numbers are not wrong. Visit Sholai school in the Palani Hills region near Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu. A community of over 100 individuals comprising teachers, students and the support staff live in harmony with plants, birds, butterflies and many other elements of nature.
It’s not just the blend of education and nature that fascinates the visitor but also the “space” provided for young minds to grow into passionate human beings. The complete name of the school, or rather campus, explains more — Sholai CLOAAT (Centre for Learning, Organic Agriculture and Appropriate Technology).
Meet 17-year-old Ashok, an aspiring football player, who is busy helping a carpenter do the roofing for the school auditorium. “Whatever profession I choose, lessons learnt here will help me excel,” he said. While students learn organic farming, carpentry and engineering along with the regular “curriculum”, they are encouraged to reflect and explore what it means to be truly responsible, not only for themselves and the school but also for society. The concept of education in this unique school, founded by Newcastle-upon-Tyne-born social anthropologist Brian Jenkins (BJ), is inspired by J Krishnamurti’s philosophy of education.
BJ came in contact with J Krishnamurti and his philosophy at the J Krishnamurti Educational Centre in the UK, where he taught for 14 years. “The alternative approach advocated by J Krishnamurti stresses creating an atmosphere in which children are encouraged to enjoy learning and to grow to be mature and sensitive individuals,” explains BJ.
Krishnamurti’s views on education influenced BJ and eventually led him to start this school. He travelled across India, Nepal and Sri Lanka before he found a suitable locale in the Palani Hills.
He bought the land when it was not expensive, investing the small inheritance his grandmother had left him. Now, the area spans over 100 acres. The school campus is spread over 30 acres within a coffee plantation, many other crops and a river running through it.
The rest of the land has been left untouched. BJ was exposed to the activities of growing food, carpentry and engineering at different stages of his life. He felt that a holistic system inclusive of all these aspects is very crucial to achieve the purpose of education. Thus, activities like organic farming, dairy and carpentry are all part of the school activities. He wishes it to be a learning centre where everyone learns and works together and lives in harmony with nature.
BJ started the school in 1989 with 6 students, including 4 from neighbouring villages. Later as the word spread, children from all over India and even abroad became part of the community. After the initial admission procedure, aspiring students stay on the campus for a month, called the trial period, to ensure a smooth transition into the community. If a child’s family is not able to pay the fees, the school has a provision to offer a scholarship considering the child’s aptitude and the family’s financial situation.
Teachers here have exposure to various other fields than their specialised subject and teach different subjects that are not normally connected. For example, Karuna teaches sociology, biology and farming while Ramesh teaches Tamil, computers and carpentry. Subjects are assigned based on their expertise and interest. The concept behind pooling several subjects is to make students aware of all aspects of life and help them identify and nurture their passions.
A well-equipped garage, engineering workshop and woodwork space with professional teachers facilitate students to develop skills in various fields of interest. The British says, “We need to explore a new culture of alertness which is sustainable, emphasises self-awareness, dialogue, and right relationships among all of us. Teachers here use creative teaching methods to bring about joy for learning from within the child.” At present, there are 15 teachers in the school.
The school community is entirely self-sufficient. The buildings, bridge and other structures of the school are built using locally available materials. The entire campus is not connected to the power grid and harnesses solar and hydel power to meet its energy requirements. Photo-voltaic solar electric panels, a micro-hydro electric plant, biogas plants and fuel-efficient stoves ensure that the school remains eco-friendly.
Along with the use of renewable energy sources, waste segregation and recycling, water harvesting and watershed management are also part of the school activities. Students actively get involved in the setting up and maintenance of these appropriate technologies. Water harvesting practices and the organic farm provide the students with an opportunity to research, reflect, study and connect with nature.
While students learn the basics of farming on the “student farm”, vegetables and fruits are cultivated by the support staff. The coffee plantation is intercropped with pepper and fruit trees. CLOAAT follows eco-friendly farming and a part of the school’s food needs is met by the farm. The coffee produced here is organically certified and is exported to Germany. The Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, has acknowledged the eco-friendly nature of the school and given the Model Green School Award to Sholai.
The school has provided jobs to some villagers and also invites them for its cultural activities. Another major contribution of the school is in controlling forest fires. The staff and students rush up the hill and put out the fire whenever incidents are reported, at any time of the day and also by creating awareness among the villagers.
Between 2008 and 2014, CLOAAT took up a geographical information systems project with the Ministry of Science and Technology over an area of 120 sq km in the Palani Hills, to develop eco-friendly sustainable, meaningful and creative lifestyles in rural India. Many of the staff and the students were involved in the mapping data collection and other activities of the project.