Present situation

During the thirty years of Auroville’s existence, the concept of education has been widely studied and explored, certainly in reference to the vision of Sri Aurobindo which is underlying the township. During the last ten years the community has particularly been grappling with the formulation of high school level education, which spontaneously has moved into various different streams and approaches: there is a ‘Last School’, a ‘Centre for Further Learning’ and an ‘After School’, each of which caters to a different grouping, research or model of teaching. Auroville youth have also chosen to go for their higher education to nearby Pondicherry (French Lycée) or to the Kodaikanal International School further away in Tamil Nadu. Some kids followed invitations by relatives to go study abroad. The diversity resulting of these various approaches led to an inability of the existing school teams to pool their energies and resources and create the overall infrastructure which is urgently needed for the township’s new generations.

Shared infrastructure

Enabled and encouraged by some substantial seed money granted for this very purpose, representatives of all Auroville schools met in January 1999 to discuss the possibility of creating a secondary higher school complex on site. At this meeting it was agreed to start off with a well-equipped library, computer lab and various science labs as these are the central facilities crucial for a further development of secondary education. It was clearly stipulated that the thus created infrastructure will accommodate all the relevant programs which are presently offered in the context of the various existing schools and study groups to Auroville’s students.

While these shared facilities are presently in the process of being constructed, there emerges the urgent need also to build general classrooms for the students. Different programs and approaches will be free to develop individually, whereas all areas of learning which are common to the different programs will be shared.

Location

The proposed site for the campus is, of course, located in Auroville’s Cultural Zone just south of -and including- the New School area, and west of the entrance to the Transformation settlement. The area available is about 3.5 acres, some of which will be reserved for further expansion of the campus.

Sense of collaboration

The project is a collaboration between the Auroville based Sri Aurobindo International Institute for Educational Research (SAIIER) and the Auroville School Board. Several teams of the various educational working groups, schools and approaches presently existing in Auroville, have come together to research the best options for this new project in the following areas:

• Library

• Computer Facilities

• Science Laboratory

• Classrooms and general facilities

14-20 Age group

Auroville is growing and there is an immediate need to develop facilities to help it provide a high quality secondary education. The campus will be for students in the 14-20 age group. The new, improved educational facilities will be offered to them and it is our conviction that the shared use of the campus and other activities by all of Auroville’s young people of this age group, will form a powerful stimulus for the youth to continue their studies in Auroville and will create a dynamic and interactive platform for these kids, something that has been sorely missing in Auroville up till now. It is a known fact that social and group dynamics have a strong influence on young people and this shared campus will give the youth the opportunity to work and be together, to mix, mingle and bond, - while growing into a strong next generation to carry Auroville further on its way.

Based on present figures, it is expected that the campus be used by about 200 students within 10 years.

Phase One

The plans for phase one of the Secondary School Complex have been finalised. Even though the school will not have 200 students right away, the possibility for extension of facilities has been taking into account and planned for. In consultation with Piero Cicionesi, who has designed various of Auroville’s educational areas, a decision was made to use part of the larger planned space ultimately designated as computer lab and library, for the time being as classrooms. This formula would form the first phase of the project. Later, as the student body population grows and further funding has been obtained, more classrooms will be built and the library and computer lab will be free to use the space as originally foreseen.

The first phase of the project should take two years to complete and the construction is coming along nicely. The plan is to move in with around 80 children in July 2002. All are looking forward to it.

Contact: saiier@auroville.org.in 

March 2001