Educate the Most Underserved Children of Pakistan

Khoj School for Community Education is a school with a difference.

The students are not only immersed in relevant actions before explaining the concepts behind but also various related concepts are woven together as one whole.

While teaching plant biology, for instance, instead of bifurcating the topic into several independent chapters spread over several years, an integrated plan is chalked out under the title of How to Grow Safe Food. In a plant cycle of three months, children learn the basic scientific concepts about soils; seed structure; how a seed germinates; how plants make their food; how they consume their food; what is the cellular structure of plants and how they reproduce.

In the official curriculum, these topics are spread over a period of three years with no interconnections and no activity of involving children in learning by doing. They are required just to memorise the contents of the textbooks and the ultimate aim is to pass to the next grade without learning anything. As a result, the graduates of these classes fail to successfully grow a single plant. Applying the scientific concepts to grow plants better is nowhere on the horizon.

 But at Khoj School, children are restricted not only to the curricular topics. They learn much more in the process of growing plants starting from soil preparation to seed saving. They encounter pest and disease problems, nutrient deficiency, overwatering or underwatering and then seek solutions. They learn to make a variety of fertilizers and pesticides. They also start appreciating the importance of biodiversity, protection of habitats, garden ecology and environment. 

The action doesn’t stop there. They enjoy the harvest of their effort as well and prepare several snacks. From there they are initiated into another theme of learning that is nutrition and energy.

Some of the grade seven Khoj school students who moved from the village to the nearby towns were enrolled in grade nine. This is the testimony to the usefulness and effectiveness of the integrative and relevant method pioneered by the founder of Khoj – Society for People’s Education.

The extraordinary education at Khoj School is possible only because of your generous donations. Without you, we are not able to operate. We urge you to keep supporting us.

Khoj School for Community Education serves as a model of integrative and relevant education. This report shares how the teaching of mathematics and gardening is blended at the school.

The children of four and fives gathered in the school garden to make preparations for growing winter vegetables. Along with the teacher, some children from grade nine were also there to guide them. The objectives were to teach how to measure the perimeter and area of a given place, rearrange the beds, redesign the garden and also to dig the soil, add farmyard manure and leaf compost and water the beds.

First of all, children removed the boundary bricks of the four large beds; the whole garden is subdivided into. Then the length and width of the boundaries of the school garden were measured and calculated. Then, they measured the area of the garden, four large beds and the footpaths with the help of the senior students. All measurements were calculated on the board and the difference between perimeter and area was explained and clarified.

The soil was dug, farmyard manure and leaf compost was add and mixed thoroughly. One large bed was further subdivided into four beds and allocated to eight students to grow vegetables of their choice. Each allocated sub-bed was measured and further divided into smaller beds and ridges.

In the end, the beds were watered for final soil preparation and sowing of seeds a few days later.

The learning as a result of the above-mentioned activity is conceptual and practical both and will remain with them even after they leave school and will help them in their practical life. 

This kind of empowering education in a remote and crime hit village is possible only because of your vital support. Please keep supporting the endeavours of Khoj School.