She schools children in the 'Kriyative' way of learning

The 'Kriya' way of learning focuses on values, attitude and behaviour

After completing her MBA, J Jeyappriadhevi was struck by how uninteresting the curriculum and teaching methods were at her daughter Adhithi's school. She decided she wanted to start a school where learning was a fun-filled activity for children.

For the next two years she read up on child education, psychology, pediatrics, parenting and related subjects. The result was Chennai-based Kriyative Education, a company that Jeyappriadhevi set up in 2008 to bring out educational products based on the 'Kriya' way of learning, which focuses on values, attitude and behaviour, and inspires children to learn through simple, fun-filled tools and methodologies.

The Kriya system is based on multiple intelligences and simple activity-based learning, which helps children to learn naturally through everyday examples. It also aims to standardise school education across classes, schools and states. (Jeyappriadhevi has done a three-month course on multiple intelligences from Harvard University.)

It was her professor at IIT Madras, where she did her MBA, who encouraged her to become an entrepreneur, after going through a case study that she presented during her second year of MBA. The study was based on education solutions companies such as Educomp and Everonn.

Jeyappriadhevi, who had the entrepreneurial urge from her school days - when in the seventh standard, she used to source handicrafts from her neighbours and sell them at a small profit, and later, at college, she would help her friends with their studies for a small fee - initially founded a pre-school named Kriyative Kidz in 2008.

It has since evolved into a learning solutions company offering curriculum development, innovative pedagogies, teacher training and educational resources. It is, she says, a simple framework that can be adopted for learning from pre-kindergarten to MBBS. The concept is not only meant for students, but also for teachers.

Kriyative today offers its learning solutions to 50 schools and more than 25,000 students in seven states. But it has not been an easy journey. Key challenges Jeyappriadhevi faced included questioning by schools of the need for such a programme, parental doubts about the importance given to handwriting and the reluctance of teachers to change.

KLS' flagship curriculum development programme, Kriya, Jeyappriyadhevi says, replaces traditional primary school pedagogies with a methodology which introduces children to new concepts; enables them to learn through hands-on discovery activities; and helps them apply higher order thinking skills to solve real-world problems. Detailed lesson plans are provided to teachers with a teacher-resource kit comprising teaching aids, books and activity manuals.

Recently, KLS launched a handwriting lab kit for students from pre-school to standard V and a maths lab kit for students from pre-school to standard X. During her team's research they found many children gripping their pencils and crayons incorrectly. The company then developed a corrective kit after brainstorming with specialist doctors and experts.

The kit comprises writing aids designed to train children to hold pencils correctly. Fine motor exercises are taught through the year to correct and strengthen children's pencil grips.

Likewise, the maths kit was developed by a team of 12 subject experts and skilled external resource persons. It enables children to learn maths concepts through gaming, bartering and other activities.

Kriyative products have been successfully implemented in 50 schools across seven states, benefiting more than 25,000 students from pre-kindergarten up to standard V. Jeyappriyadhevi says that after implementing Kriyative Education's solutions, some schools have reported 20 per cent growth in enrollments.

Kriyative Education currently has revenues of Rs 2.2 crore, and has so far grown through internal funding. But with a revenue target of Rs 7.5 crore in fiscal 2014, the company is looking to spread its wings across India and reach out to more than 12 states, 200 schools (including 110 government schools) and 100,000 students by 2015. For this it is looking to raise $10 million from venture capitalists.