Malvika, a Mumbai girl, has done something extremely special. She was home schooled after the VIIth standard, that is to say that she did not really go to a school to study like regular kids. Nor did she take any exams. That includes the 10th and 12th standard board exams too. With all this she managed to get an admission into the prestigious institute - MIT (Massachusetts Institute Of Technology), Boston. She was in class VII at Dadar Parsee Youth Assembly School in Mumbai and doing exceedingly well in academics when her mother decided to pull her out of school. "We are a middle class family. Malvika was doing well in school but somehow I felt that my children (she has younger daughter Radha) need to be happy. Happiness is more important than conventional knowledge," Supriya said. "I was working with an NGO that takes care of cancer patients. I would see students who are in 8th or 9th standard being affected by cancer.
It affected me deeply and I decided that my daughters need to be happy." The decision no way was an easy one. "In India, people are still not very aware about the term "home schooled" or "unschooled" as it is commonly referred. It also took sometime to convince Malvika's father Raj, an engineer who runs his own business. "My husband Raj wasn't convinced initially as it was a risky proposition. The kids won't have a 10th or 12th standard certificate and there was bound to be fear. I quit my NGO job and designed an academic curriculum for Malvika. I created a simulation (classroom like situation) at home. The confidence I had as a mother was that I am capable of imparting knowledge in my daughter's." recalls the happy mother.
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