What our students learn, and how
A full modern curriculum, taught in small groups, inside a residential routine that teaches as much as the timetable does.
Subjects We Teach
We teach the CBSE curriculum alongside a full indigenous education, so our students can sit any examination without disadvantage and still carry their own language, faith and craft with them.
English
Reading, writing and speaking from the first year. Confidence in English opens every other door.
Mathematics
Number sense built slowly and properly, because gaps here follow a child for years.
Science
Observation before formulae — the forest around the school is the first laboratory.
Traditional Arts & Crafts
Bamboo weaving, pottery, handloom and wood carving, taught by the indigenous language teacher.
Traditional Herbs & Healing
The medicinal plants of this valley, and the knowledge of how they are used.
Social Studies
India and the world, and the particular history of Arunachal Pradesh and the Tagin people.
Hindi
The link language, taught for real use rather than for marks alone.
Tagin Language & Oral Tradition
Songs, folklore, genealogy and the knowledge of the Nyibu — taught by those who hold it, in oral and written form.
Donyi-Polo Studies
Faith, practice and the ethical reasoning behind them. Taught as understanding, not recitation.
Computer Education
Taught with the help of local volunteers engaged by the School Management Committee.
Games & Physical Work
Daily play, and a share of the real work of running the school.
The timetable is only half the education
Children here do not simply attend school; they live it. The hours between lessons — chores, meals, games, prayer — carry as much of the teaching as the classroom does.
The day opens before dawn with prayer and yoga, and closes with folk tales told aloud. Between them sit school hours, sports, study and shram-daan — an hour of shared work that belongs to everyone.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 4:30 am | Wake up |
| 4:30 – 5:00 am | Brush and freshen up |
| 5:00 – 5:30 am | Pratah-smaran — morning prayers |
| 5:30 – 6:30 am | Yoga and Pranayama |
| 6:30 – 7:00 am | Shram-daan — social service |
| 7:00 – 7:30 am | Washing and bathing |
| 7:30 – 8:00 am | Breakfast |
| 8:00 – 8:15 am | Ready for school |
| 8:30 am – 1:00 pm | School hours |
| 1:15 – 2:00 pm | Lunch |
| 2:00 – 3:00 pm | Rest hour |
| 3:00 – 4:00 pm | Homework and study hour |
| 4:00 – 5:00 pm | Sports hour |
| 5:00 – 5:15 pm | Freshen up |
| 5:15 – 5:30 pm | Snacks |
| 5:30 – 6:30 pm | Bhajan Sandhya — evening prayers |
| 6:30 – 7:30 pm | Study hour |
| 7:30 – 8:30 pm | Dinner |
| 8:30 – 9:00 pm | Traditional folk tales and story time |
| 9:00 pm | Lights out |
Source: DPCCT Operational Guidelines (Ver. 4), Daily Routine Chart for Gurukuls.
What Our Students Eat
Every meal is planned to give growing children a balanced share of protein, carbohydrate, healthy fat, vitamins and minerals — enough to carry them through a day that starts at half past four.
| Day | Breakfast 7:30 – 8:00 am |
Lunch 1:15 – 2:00 pm |
Snacks 5:15 – 5:30 pm |
Dinner 7:45 – 8:15 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Soya fried rice | Rice, dal, mixed veg. | Milk, biscuit | Rice, dal, boiled veg. |
| Tuesday | Khichadi | Egg curry, mixed veg. | Milk, cheera | Rice, dal, boiled veg. |
| Wednesday | Fried rice | Rice, dal, mixed veg. | Salted cheera with badam | Rice, dal, boiled veg. |
| Thursday | Kala chana fried rice | Rice, dal, fish curry | Seasonal fruits / sooji | Rice, dal, boiled veg. |
| Friday | Matar fried rice | Rice, dal, salad, mixed veg. | Milk, biscuit | Rice, dal, boiled veg. |
| Saturday | Daliya | Rice, dal, mixed veg. | Salted moori with badam | Rice, dal, boiled veg. |
| Sunday | Rice and boiled vegetables | Rice, dal, chicken curry | Sooji | Rice, dal, boiled veg. |
Source: DPCCT Operational Guidelines (Ver. 4), Daily Diet Chart for Gurukuls. Menus may vary with what the season and the valley provide.
Four Things We Do Differently
Small groups
A teacher who cannot name every child in the room cannot teach them properly. Our class sizes are deliberately small and will stay that way.
Mother tongue first
Early concepts are introduced in Tagin, then carried into English. Children understand faster when the first explanation arrives in the language they think in.
Learning by doing
Students grow part of what they eat, keep their own quarters, and take turns at the work of the school. Responsibility is taught by being given.
Elders in the classroom
Nyibu and village elders are invited to teach directly. Oral knowledge survives by being spoken to someone, not by being written down and shelved.
Want to see it for yourself?
Families are welcome to visit the school before applying.