In Malsarai, a small village in Mahmudabad, we’ve been witnessing something extraordinary. Not in a shiny science lab funded by millions; but in a humble space where curiosity meets context, and theory meets lived experience, where we dream. At Swatantra Talim, we believe that education should be an engine for problem-solving, not rote performance. Our program, Khoj Shaala, is a working model of that belief. Here’s what makes Khoj Shaala different:

It’s a lab in a community, not a lab in isolation.

Children from grades 6–10 take curriculum-linked theories and translate them into real-world solutions. From water filtration systems using local materials to making a bicycle-based chaara-cutter (hay), they are designing, building, and testing prototypes that matter. And they do this right in their own backyards. 24 young minds, many first-generation learners, are not just learning science.. THEY'RE LIVING IT. 

But this isn’t just about STEM.

It’s about building a scientific temper, expressing oneself, diving into stories, dissecting them to build them into newer narratives or simply learning to find the best words to say our stories, reclaiming traditional wisdom, and creating a culture where learning starts with asking the right questions, not answering the predictable ones.

At the heart of our work with children lies a belief that education should not merely tell how, but invite wonder about why. This year as we reflect on our journey, we realised that we’ve only deepened our commitment and increased our efforts towards moving beyond procedural teaching toward a more propositional approach, one that encourages children to engage with ideas, pose questions, and explore meanings rooted in their own contexts.

The great design educator Donald Norman shared in one of his lectures, “The current educational regime is based on a certain view about what kind of knowledge is important: “knowing that,” as opposed to “knowing how.” This corresponds roughly to universal knowledge versus the kind that comes from individual experience. Individual experience and practical knowledge go hand-in-hand and make way for a growth mindset. And, practical know-how cannot be downloaded, but only lived.”

At Swatantra Talim, we try to bridge the gap between theories and application, the gap between ‘knowing and knowing how and knowing why’ via several ways - sometimes it's an experiential classroom, a contextual pedagogy or a cute little library that lets children read, and simply think about the world around them. Teaching propositionally, with an open-ended approach only means trusting that every child is not just a learner but a thinker, capable of forming insights and drawing connections between their lived experiences and broader concepts on their own. So while we don’t say procedural knowledge isn’t important - it is. It forms the base of many of our thoughts, but after a point, our thoughts as individuals must venture out on their own. In our classrooms under trees, in community spaces, and through hands-on explorations, we have seen how this shift allows children to build not just skills, but understanding—rich, grounded, and enduring. 
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Sunil Kumar Sahu, a student of Swa-Aangan Aashiana has made it to a world-class design institute against all odds. He has secured AIR-35 in national entrance examination of Indian Institute of Craft and Design, Jaipur.
​To know more about the struggles and accomplishments of Sunil, please watch the video below:

मैं, विनोद कुमार, स्वतंत्र तालीम शिक्षण केंद्र रमद्वारी में जुलाई 2013 से कार्यरत हूँ। इस संस्था का संचालन श्रीमान राहुल अग्रवाल व श्रीमती रिद्धि अग्रवाल जी करते हैं। केंद्र में लगभग अड़तालीस (48) बच्चे शिक्षा ग्रहण करते हैं। सर और मैडम जी प्रतिमाह लगभग 5 बार केंद्र पर उपस्थित होकर शिक्षण कार्य में नई तकनीकियों को जोड़कर बच्चों को तालीम देते हैं, जिस में कला, हस्तशिल्प, खेल आदि गतिविधियाँ शामिल हैं। केंद्र पर मैं लगभग 5 घंटे शिक्षण कार्य करता हूँ, जिससे मेरा भी अनुभव बढ़ता है।