Step 1: Parents who are interested and feel they are in sync with the Centre's intent and philosophy you may fill up enquiry form from the below link:https://www.aksharamaney.org/admissionenquiry Step 2: Once we receive the enquiry form, we shall email you the details for the admission process along with the admission form, if the age/class criteria is fulfilled. Please send in all documents related to previous schooling. If the child has been homeschooled then you can mention about the same in the form. Any supporting medical records, assessments, etc also should be provided. An informal interaction between the teacher and the student along with the parents would be our way of familiarising with each other to understand our school ethos and help the journey of your ward begin on a positive note. The details of the same would be intimated at a later date upon fulfilling the initial process. There will be an academic evaluation for children seeking admission above Class 1 ages. If any parent wants to withdraw their child from Akshara Maney , they have to write to us 3 months in advance, in order to obtain any letter of reference for future use.

Keeping rising costs and affordability plus making the best of facilities available to our children, we have judiciously kept a lower limit in donation (non refundable) to the Trust which can be discussed during admission process. In the first year of admission, the donation has to be made fully at the time of admission. Second year onwards, parents can opt for either making the donation upfront or in two instalments.

School visits are scheduled only once a year during Admission Process: ​Without prior appointment, walkins are NOT allowed.

Akshara Manèy is not affiliated to any educational board. So far we have designed our curriculum based on our experience in understanding the children's academic needs who happen to join us from various learning environments. We accept them “as -is” and progress. We base NCERT, NEP and NIOS as reference to frame curriculum. Children after reaching high school have a choice to purse NIOS exam preparation or pursue self-paced-self-designed curriculum. For both the streams we ensure there is adequate mentoring and support from the Center and from their families as-well.

Syllabus: NCERT & NIOS Syllabus integrated with life-skills for a tangible exploration of academic concepts. Registration for NIOS board exams for 9th and 10th grade secondary course certification Class 1 to 8 children are exposed basic concepts, VEDIC Math approach, Nature Studies & EVS, Kannada, Samskrtam & English Languages etc Regular assessment of skills in an informal manner to build stamina for higher challenges, to be skilled to give exam, but without the component of FEAR! Challenges derived from every day needs are integrated into selected topics that are present in NCERT syllabus. Children are trained in microagriculture, public speaking, presentation skills, and other soft skills since day one. Music, chanting, and physical activities are integral parts of the wholesome development required for a child's growth at Akshara Manèy. Early behavioral and academic stamina assessments.

Parents whose children are not offered admission for any particular year are requested to stay in touch with us via our website, dialogue sessions and other events and could reapply for the next academic year.

The concept of trial period has never been in our culture. Akshara Manèy's education is more about welcoming a change towards educating a child. Prospective parents are encouraged to attend our Dialogues Sessions which are open ended discussions amongst interested parents, whom we consider as the first educators a child has! These conversations never have any conclusion rather the questions are kept alive at the end of every session. As a parent and a family who would like to know more about the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, we invite them to weekly Dialogues currently being held online. Mutual interactions over a period of time will guide one to decide the course of education for oneself and the child and not sample the experience for day or for a week!

Children get a TC from NIOS board after finishing 10th board exams. We however give a letter of acknowledgement that a child has spent a significant number of years at Akshara Manèy and any reports if need be. In case you want to move away to a different city or to a different learning center, we encourage parents to look for Learning Center that are functioning on similar thoughts, schools that think alternatively about teaching-learning as children should not be exposed to sudden changes in learning environment.

Akshara Manèy has not affiliated itself to any educational board. We do have eminent guest resources (people who have spent numerous years in a Krishnamurti School, scientist who belong to a prestigious scientific organisations, musicians, classical dancers, theatre personalities, academicians, to name a few genres) who visit our Center to share their knowledge and experience with children on a regular basis.

At Akshara Manèy children are under the able guidance of facilitators who are completely in tandem with the intent of the Center, they are caring, sensitive and affectionate to children. The founders and the facilitators are deeply interested in the Teachings and through dialogues and discussions explore their everyday life in the mirror of their relationship to nature and others around them. Children are not taught J. Krishanamurti’s teachings in a textbook manner. They learn what they "see". For parents who are keen to explore more for themselves and for also their child's education, we have regular Dialogue sessions which are based on the Teachings of J. Krishnamurti. Through Dialogues and interactions, one gets an opportunity to journey within, understand oneself, to question personal beliefs, ideologies, conformity, fears, desires, conflicts and many more aspects that are common to any one. We invite only such interested parents who can sync with the intent of the Center to explore the education here.

Akshara Manèy is a learning center which was conceptualised by the founders based on the teaching of J. Krishnamurti and his views on education. While being associated with one of the schools of KFI, the founders were inspired and deeply intrigued by the Teachings especially in regards to education and independently began this learning Center at the outskirts of Bengaluru in 2016.

Akshara Manèy’s identity is that of a space created to explore education in a free and responsible environment. Nature is a major criteria in our approach, therefore, we have very few ‘enclosed' classrooms for younger children. No, we are not even a group of homeschoolers nor do we use any methods from the Montessori. NCERT is our base from which we design the curriculum while there is much scope for the teaching-learning to happen intuitively. ​We would rather call ourselves as educators working towards exploring education bereft of authority, conformity, fear, competition, comparison, etc which might be the USPs of regular schools which we have witnessed for many years. Sometimes a little motivation and encouragement at the right age is enough to get children choose their paths.

Every day we provide fresh vegetarian food for the body and fresh thoughts for the mind. We do insist on keeping food and meal time a simple affair every day and also enjoy feasts on special occasion. The flavours are satvik and easy to digest for everyone. As part of development, we do get a first hand experience of growing vegetables and organic farming. The joy of harvesting fresh vegetables and cooking is totally a different experience for a child. Organic farming teaches us success and failures related to: cropping has to be done in understanding crop cycle, weather cycle learning to manage the crop from falling prey to insect infestation helplessly accept the crop damage due to weather.

We have to continuously raise funds for maintaining and inclusion of infrastructure along with providing quality education. The center also makes sure the facilitators and admin staff are compensated adequately for their passionate service and creating a joyous learning experience.

To begin with we are not believers of aspects such as authority, conformity, growing in fear, corporate like structure etc. are required in education at all. Akshara Maney is an environment where right education is being explored in the light of J. Krishnamurti's teachings. We have no hierarchy in the structure similar to that of a regular school or an organisation. To maintain a disciplined approach, we/ facilitators have taken up different responsibilities relating to day to day activities and maintain data and records. There are no stereo typical sights such as school bell, principal, etc.

Parents are requested to read our website thoroughly and understand how we approach education. If you're in sync with our intention of education for your child then you may fill in the enquiry form. Once we receive the enquiry form, we shall email you the details for the admission process along with the admission form, if the age/class criteria is fulfilled. Please send in all documents related to previous schooling. If the child is homeschooled then you can mention about the same in the form.

Yes, definitely. The child begins to understand the importance of rigour in learning not just academics but also to the fact that it is required to excel in simple day to day to activites. Rigour since early childhood helps in building stamina to sustain the attention and interest towards all actiities and challenges. As the child progresses in age and class, the challenges are increased appropriately without any pressure to perfom; to learn joyously. Children are periodically exposed to reviews and feedbacks from their facilitators. NIOS stream is chosen from class 8 onwards to prepare children for class 10 exams.

Akshara Manèy ideally invites children from 6 years of age considering we are located away from the city. An informal interaction between the teacher and the student along with the parents is our way of familiarising with each other to understand our school ethos and help the journey of your ward begin on a positive note. There will be an evaluation for children seeking admission to middle school age group in case of availability of space to accommodate children that particular year. We do take in children over the age of 7 years or equivalent to class 2, when there is space for the child in that particular year. We encourage parents to approach us when their child is 6 years or younger. We definitely don't encourage any child joining us in between an academic year. Its ideal for the child to either finish the year at the current school/ learning environment or could stay home taking a break and the family utilise that period to re-bond.

We certainly don't approach education with this carrot and stick approach. Though it is natural for a child to feel the usual feeling of comparison to peers, competition with the peer, jealousy, greed, etc. through meaningful dialogues amongst the children and facilitators about the need to perpetuate these behaviour in order to achieve anything will bring awareness at the moment of action and definitely the questioning mind in the child will never miss out on watching and keeping such behaviours in check. Though we cannot guarantee complete negation of such emotions, the adult and child in unison will become aware of their thoughts and reactions. Preparing for exams is a skill of memory which is of course in abundance with children and the same skill is tapped into preparing them for exams. Practical activities are testing times on the EQ of an individual. It is a test of knowledge and its application at Akshara Manèy, self evaluation is a constant process. Child and adult both are always face to face in their academic exams involving memory and reproducing along side real life exams. Exams in the present day education system are a bridge to the next level of education and not to be considered as a deciding factor for one’s IQ. Our constant endeavour is to create environments and challenge the inquiring and questioning mind of the individual child in relation to their beliefs, emotions, fear, etc. We are a part of this society but are not forced to comply with its complexities and conformities. Our center is not a place for comparative learning of different schools of thought nor a place for merely understanding “any teachings”, but is a holistically enriched environment. We do not believe in training a child to follow or fit into any particular ambitious society or be bogged down by societal stigmas based on institutional principles.

Akshara Manèy welcomes all children and doesn't discriminate or bracket anyone based on their capacities. We are located in a place away from the city amongst nature and access to hills and water bodies. Children need to be robust and have a good stamina in order to withstand the demands of being outdoors and yet be in a position to accept the challenges of academics. We however do take care of the requirements of children’s security and safety. We believe that all children are equal and have the right not to be judged based on their learning capacities. Our facilitators and staff accept the children as-is, they are passionate about education and are from varied backgrounds; we may not have the "certified skills" but we are sensitive to the psychological requirements of children and take care of them with affection. Parents who are in sync with the intent of Akshara Manèy are given an opportunity to explore and to know our approach to education. Children with any special needs are given an individualised family educational plan in order to understand the intent, the people and the place orient the child about the vicinity, safety and other activities in general terms.

We understand the readiness and the open minded interest towards giving your child an unique learning experience.​ However, we believe in smaller groups and facilitate one on one interaction with the teachers, to facilitate individual attention and greater quality of education. Hence our numbers are limited and we urge you to kindly understand and respect our belief. The ratio of 1:10 is maintained between the facilitator and children.

All information regarding the Center is available on our website. Any communication regarding events or children's activities will be mailed directly to the registered email id. Any and all messages from the Facilitators to the child will be given during working hours or uploaded to Google drive for the child's access. We do not encourage nor will be part of any social media chat groups and we are not responsible for the information exchange over such platforms.

I generally find children going to alternative schools are not up to the level as other children who go to main stream I find such those children dull and lost in their world.. Why dont the children want to play board games, they want to be playing outside. Why are children not interested in playing video games or T.V? These children ask too many questions, it sounds rude when they question our rituals." Alternative schooling is best for children, will my child know Math and Science. What extra circular are taught in your school? With due regards to the concern you have as parent whether you child will be equal to other kids in their aptitude, or compete in building society's functions, or generally participate in competitions to win. It will be unfair on judging your own child in the first place! Consequently a grave damage will be done to the psyche of the parent themselves when they take count of a few children vs their child's capacities in 'a' situation and may not have seen it wholly. Pretty much like taking a small section of society as a data sample against a vast and a diverse set of mindsets in a country like ours. There are other aspects that your child is capable of while the children you are in awe of at that moment of time may not be capable of! We encourage parents to question their personal belief system regarding to ill effects of competitive education on the mental health of a child. In the beginning it all looks nice and cute while the child is very young. Such insecurities crop up once the child enters a sensitive age group of 9 to 15 years, where the body and mind are not co-ordinating and wants to go in the directions of the hormone. Parents need to be in touch with the child is learning and how the child's persona is opening up after getting exposure to multitude of knowledge bases and effortlessly balancing academics, art, and many of the life-skills that are integral part of their learning at our Center. We have witnessed parents giving importance to only Math and coaching the child at home, as they feel if Math is not strong the child will not fare well else where. Eventually the child loses interest in the lessons and not enthusiastic to the activities or experiments in class. Probably there is nothing new to learn. Been there. Done that! What we do as a teaching-learning pedagogy is that we give an organic exposure in many day to day required skills such as working in a kitchen, understanding financial literacy, being healthy, presenting oneself, public speaking, etc. from a very young age, which will develop skills of estimation, management and effective communication! Moreover the learning environment is intentionally set in close proximity to nature and has naturalness in all approaches, so that they are more grounded as they grow up to becoming mature, responsible and sensitive to the needs of this earth and they give back to nature. Children are encouraged to question what ever they catch in their thoughts or through their eye. We dont shy away from exploring answers together regarding what they witness at home, rituals, festivals, dress choices, eating habits, etiquette, behaviour, academic challenges and many such issues. Educators need not hover over children rather are watchful and observant of every child! Akshara Maney specialises in intuitive teaching-learning pedagogy along side integrating NCERT and NIOS syllabus across all ages. None of the educators prefer to communicate important matter on Whats App or any social medium. Emails are the only recognised communications between school and parent. All the subjects and art forms that a child is exposed to is done with much deliberation. No subject or activity takes precedence over each other. Since we treat all learning activities as equal there is no curriculum that is "extra"! Most of the workshops that are commercially conducted are usually focused on making science fun or teaching few tricks to ace Math. We do sense a slight insecurity amongst parents when it comes to Math and Science, children during their weekends are given Math problems or exposed to Science experiments at home. We have tried to answer a few queries that we have selected from the barrage of questions we receive in our interactions.

Akshara Manèy is a learning center that is not - for - profit. Here we provide the best education available. This does incur a lot of costs to provide such an education for children & so we request parents to understand the cost involved & support the cause not only by way of donations but in all ways to provide the best for their children and the center's sustainance. Choosing an educational environment such as ours is indeed a brave step by a parent and providing the same for their child is a significant economic decision. This might be a financial challenge for many. We do include children from various lifestyles, economical backgrounds to study under one roof to encourage an inclusive and accepting mindset in all of us. We fully support and encourage parents who can adopt and facilitate children from economically weaker sections to also have the advantage of learning at our center. We procure fresh vegetables and fruits to ensure our students are always given healthy meals. Apart from our esteemed group of faculty there are always guest faculties visiting us regularly to supplement our work in providing holistic education. The Center also provides transportation for both children and facilitators. All these costs determine long term costs and funding for which we are dependent on donations.

A typical day Our typical day begins at 8:00 am with children and staff coming into the campus . 8:15-8:30 a.m- Physical Activities such as Yoga, Taekwondo, Nature walks, Games, Campus chores, etc. 9 to 9.30 - Snacks 9:30 to 12:30 - Planned academic activities across all the groups, with breaks inbtween sessions. Activities are woven smoothly to inculcate variety and not be a monotonous session. 12:30 -1pm Lunch time. It is wholesome healthy vegetarian meal is served and everyone eats together. As mentioned earlier there is a rota system which allows children to be part of setting the plates, serving, looking after the needs of younger peers while eating, cleaning post lunch. Older children too get time to play, they many a times are encouraged to engage younger children in team games, academics, art or any other activity.

Admissions Admission to the Center is purely based on mutual interactions and space available in the particular group for that academic year and should also maintain the diversity. Admissions are underway and we will only consider applications from families who are convinced with our approach and pedagogy and are willing to spend a minimum of 5 years at Akshara Manèy. Parents who wish to discontinue educating their child at Akshara Manèy should give a 3 month's notice, the child must move out preferably after completing the academic year. Parents have to be clear about this kind of approach, be in connect with the education of self and the child. We believe that education quality is better when there are smaller groups working in tandem and a ratio of 1:10 - teacher : student ratio is maintained across all grades. Children are placed in appropriate groups based on their age, academic learning, physical capacities and EQ. Assessments, assignments and Evaluations Children who are above ages of 9 and who wish to take admission to our center will be assessed academically in order to place in the appropriate groups and not to judge the child. During the academic year the facilitator or the mentor will evaluate the children in their reading-writing skills, presentation skills. These are not graded or marked assessments as these are are bench mark for both the mentor and the student's understanding. Any assignments that are given to the child should be completed, children can feel free to approach their facilitators in the same regard. Most assignments across all ages will be research based and parents are requested to encourage and help to an extent to complete. These tasks must be understood as the responsibility of child to complete. If there are any issues regarding the child being less interested in that particular activity the facilitator and child can work together and resolve. Parents please dont take the trouble of completing the projects or assignments for your child! The lesser the use of gadgets and internet for projects is better for building imagination and visualisation! As the children move to higher grades they are slowly to given tests and evaluation to make them ready for taking up NIOS exams. This is process involving memory and reproducing the same in writing, a skill that needs to be honed, but a fear to be instilled. Integrity At Akshara Manèy our every effort is to build fearless and confident human beings. The first step is towards building ourselves inwardly stronger and practice self study to be aware of our actions and thoughts. We believe that this will reflect in our approach and constantly in touch with our intent. Whatever we have learnt since the time of inception is all shared on our website, in order to have a open communication about ourselves. All our endeavours are towards making children realise that freedom in such an educational environment does come along with responsibility in every actions. Children begin to rely more on their memory rather than instructions and reminders from adults. This should become their learning pattern for life. Co-working with adults and peers, taking responsibilities for their belongings and tasks, caring for younger peers, helping in daily chores, etc are some of the collaborative activities for a child at the Center. Appreciating, acknowledging and giving credit to each other's work in a team requires a broad minded approach even in the little mind of a child. Dialogue sessions We organise weekly Dialogue sessions based on J. Krishnamurti's philosophy on life. Parents and educators will definitely benefit from such open and non-judgmental discussions. These sessions act like a mirror to our thoughts and is definitely not a hand holding or is it any seminar where dos and don'ts of parenting are discussed, neither is it a platform to market ourselves! Language Our country has a rich variety of languages and dialects. Its our humble effort in conserving this richness by communicating and giving maximum exposure to children in many forms of communications, stories, art forms, etc. We hope to get a strong support from parents and other educators as well, in upholding this cause by setting aside any reservations and biases since its our children who shall benefit in the long run, thus developing a greater brain capacity to grasp early on in their lives. Facilitators and other staff in the Center speak Kannada and English. The children are taught Kannada, Samskrtam and English as languages of communication. The medium of teaching can be all three languages depending on the subject and situation. Parents are encouraged to speak your mother tongue language at home with your children. Parents who have reservations regarding their child not having exposure to any of the above mentioned languages, hence might find it challenging, but could be rest assured that facilitators are kind and understanding and most of us know to communicate in a minimum of 5 languages. Parents are requested to be open minded towards learning the language of the state, i.e Kannada and that in turn will resonate in the child too making it easy for both the parents and child. Children build on their language grammar and communication skills while engaging in presentations, day to day interactions, theatre and other art forms, learning to chant and recite shlokas, in order to be fluent in addition to boosting their confidence. Dress Code and other hygiene Children and adults are required to wear comfortable cotton, non revealing clothing. Kurta-pyjama or Sports T-shirt and track pants for everyday wear. Sleeveless tops and shorts are not allowed, not even while making a casual visit to our campus. Kindly do no embarrass with your casual approach! Traditional dress consists of simple cotton sleeved tops/kurta/kurtis and cotton bottom wear. Parents and prospective parents who wish to visit campus, too are required to adhere to this dress code, (a) to save yourself from the insect bites while in nature (b) we are not comfortable seeing parents coming in casual clothing as it makes the atmosphere too casual while we like to keep it informal and respectful. On the days children have art forms they have to wear simple cotton kurta (with sleeves) and pyjamas. Girls and boys are required to maintain hair health and hygiene, combed neatly, long hair must be tied in a braid or bun and clipped appropriately. Fingers and toes nails must be clipped as and when it overgrows. Since we sit down on the floor and eat parents are requested to teach children to squat down to have food, to eat with one hand, and keeping the other non eating hand clean to use the serving spoons or touch the tap. Of course once the children are here at the campus they are oriented for all these and more. Connections- Reviews- Testimonials Here are few excerpts from actual conversations... Can the school connect us to few existing or alumni parents to get reviews about your school, teaching and other experiences. We are not sure, we are still "exploring alternative schools" for my child. I dont want my child to grow up studying in similar schools like I did. As a policy Akshara Maney is not in favour of divulging confidential information about our existing or alumni parents nor exchange their contacts with prospective parents who are interested to join their child to Akshara Maney. In fact we don't depend much on social media or the rules of marketing that require us to provide testimonials on our website, since we are NOT dealing with any products or services, nor do we offer subscription for educating a child! We often wonder as to how could an experience belonging to another parent (an unknown family) and their child's, be the basis for one's choices for selecting an educational environment. We shall be happy to engage with you and your family. Hence we schedule an informal meeting once your application is analysed. Before any such interaction sharing any confidential contact numbers of parents with anyone outside of Akshara Maney is not within school's policy.