24-04-2025
Madhya Pradesh delegation to deepen collaboration with Auroville in holistic education and sustainable practices
A delegation from the Madhya Pradesh Education Department recently visited the Auroville Foundation to explore partnerships in holistic education and sustainable development.
A press note from Auroville Foundation said the team, comprising senior officials and educators, engaged in comprehensive discussions on Auroville's unique education system, which aligns closely with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and emphasises experiential, out-of-classroom learning.
In a virtual address, Jayanti S. Ravi, Additional Chief Secretary of Gujarat and Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, underscored the importance of spreading Auroville's integral education model — rooted in the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother — across the country.
She expressed hope that the visit would pave the way for a deep and lasting collaboration with Madhya Pradesh.
On the teacher training front, plans were envisaged to implement a cascade training model in Madhya Pradesh for over 2.5 lakh teachers. Auroville will train master trainers who will then impart training on holistic teaching methodologies throughout the State.
A proposal for construction of Madhya Pradesh Bhavan in Auroville, a project originally supported by former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also discussed in the meeting. This facility was envisaged to serve as a hub for long-term teacher training and collaboration.
The discussions also focused on collaborative projects in green buildings, renewable energy, and sustainable community development.
The delegation from Madhya Pradesh comprised, Kamna Acharya, Additional Director, Pramod Singh, Deputy Director, Sashikant Kubrelay, Assistant Director, Nishikant Joshi, Officer on Special Duty and Ashok Patke, Project Officer.
Sanjeev Ranganathan, chairman of SAIIER, presented the core elements of Auroville's educational methods, which go beyond traditional academics to nurture every aspect of the child — physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. This included activity-based learning (sports, kinesthetic learning, experiments), arts and creativity (music, dance, theatre), emotional and social development (conflict resolution, leadership training), and higher-order thinking (intuition, moral reasoning, affective education).
Auroville has offered to train 100 selected teachers from Madhya Pradesh in holistic pedagogy during summer vacation.
The visiting delegation also toured Auroville's schools and met the trainers to explore future collaborations in curriculum innovation, physical education and teacher empowerment, the press note said.
