With eight cases of sexual assault reported in school premises in the city this year, it appears that parents are panicking. Some young parents have begun enquiring about home schooling.
They are exploring the pros and cons, enquiring about the syllabi, method of teaching and which board they can obtain certification from.
S.P. Mathew, admin for India group for Homeschoolers and alternative education, a Facebook page which has over 2,800 members, said, “We used to receive about five requests every day. But since the Marathahalli school rape, the number has gone up to at least 15. Of this, 30 per cent of queries are from Bangalore,” he said.
A software engineer living in Whitefield is considering home schooling her three-year-old daughter. “Schools used to be places were children are safe. But the last two cases of sexual assaults have shaken me,” she said. But, parents who home school their child say that safety concerns should not be the only reason for choosing the option. Highlighting the other pros, Dr. Mathew, who homeschooled his daughter, said, “In this competitive world where it is the survival of the fittest, children are rubber stamped in a particular mould. Home schooling will help them develop a love for learning.”
Ruchira Ghosh, Regional Director, South Asia, Cambridge International Examinations, which conducts the IGCSE exam for class ten, said that few home schoolers appear in some centres as private candidates. “In principle, we do not encourage this method, as we believe that school is the best environment for a child to learn,” she said.
