One for the Path Finders

Reva Dandage,37,listens intently to these stories as she sips on mint tea. She recalls how Swaraj University,a two-year learning programme,was born. “When a bright go-getter like me did badly in the Class XII exams in 1990,I began to question what went wrong,” says Dandage,who was in Chandigarh with 20 of her ‘Khojis’ who are pursuing off-beat professions and contributing to the society.

Launched last year,Swaraj University was founded by four friends — Reva Dandage,Manish Jain of Shikshantar in Delhi,Nitin Pranjpe who runs Abhivyakti in Nasik and Debbie S,who is in the alternative education sector in the US. “We wanted to launch a platform for those who want to walk their own path,explore their interests and take life in their own hands,” says Dandage. She has been passionately involved with this democratic educational institution since 2002.

The learners converge together every few months to cross-fertilise their studies at a rotating campus with hubs in Rajasthan (Udaipur),Gujarat (Vadodra/Ahmedabad),Maharashtra (Nashik) and Madhya Pradesh (Indore). There is no formal curriculum,and the learning is self-designed. “The Khojis develop knowledge,skills and perspectives. They need to create viable green-collar enterprises and support healthy and resilient local communities,” adds Dandage. The aim of the first year is for learners to begin to unlearn their dependence on external sources of knowledge. The focus of the second year is to move into deeper learning,with one-on-one relationships with mentors and leaders from the respective fields.

“There is no degree or diploma for this course. There is a letter of completion at the end of the programme and letters of recognition from mentors and organisations where internships are undertaken,” she explains,adding how the ‘Khojis’ become activists and entrepreneurs. In addition,Swaraj introduces the Khojis to an impressive list of organisations who are willing to accept individuals based on their portfolio of work. Believing that learning should be free,the food,travel and stay is taken care of through networking and fundraising. “Khojis contribute to each other’s development,” says Dandage,adding,“The learning journey is based on trust,sharing and relationship-building.”

For details,log on to http://www.swarajuniversity.org