How it all began at Muktangan

Muktangan was founded in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Sunil and Elizabeth Mehta. An Educationist by profession, her passion for the same was sparked off by certain events; the principal one being when she was working with the Spastic Society of India. When one of her female students was not making sufficient progress, Mrs. Mehta decided to consult a visiting psychologist from the UK on the matter. He advised her on what she needed to fix. That she should be focusing on the individual progress of the girl – not setting goals for the child and trying to make her match these goals. That’s when Mrs. Mehta realized that the methodology adopted by most schools in India was wrong. They were all working to get students up to one level through examinations well-knowing that children develop at a different rate and frequency.

Work with the Aga Khan Educational Service ensued; where she unravelled/discovered more issues as she travelled through the interiors of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. And these are all issues that the Muktangan system of teaching addresses. From the disproportionately high student-teacher ratio, to the lack of interaction between children and teachers in the classroom, to the cultural differences the two. These were all doing more harm than good. So, with the aid of her small family trust, she set up Muktangan in 2003. It launched in one municipal school with seven teachers to cater to the 90 pre-primary school children.

Today, Muktangan touches the lives of 2,400 children across seven schools in the Worli-Prabhadevi-Lower Parel belt of Mumbai. Mrs. Mehta’s dedication over two decades has translated into her pedagogy being set and implemented by her trustworthy staff. Given age and time limitations, she has become selective on her focus areas. Getting accredited is of course a priority. Her other baby are Math classes. She also finds time to occasionally sit through teacher training and other classroom sessions.

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Aadeep