We are accustomed to planning and monitoring them assuming that deepening and intensifying this can lead to better organizations. Many organizations, including schools and colleges, seem to be over–managed, to an extent that students and staff do not have much space to explore and graze without transgressing one or the other rule or guideline! How excellent can such institutions become?

We stepped out of the Indian engineering industry after serving for about sixteen years to join the Rishi Valley School as a teacher. This altered the course of one’s life and being with children, students, and the much innocent ones is a wonderful and enlivening experience. The quality of life and engagement with children seems to naturally bring about a good learning environment. What need is there to monitor or manage this?

Rishi Valley School being in a fairly remote village isolates it from the “madding crowd,” enabling children to grow up in the lap of nature. When a person joins it after having worked in other institutions, like the present researcher did, he finds many peculiarities and inexplicable features, which are given below:

• Absence of most of formal systems and procedures that one experiences in other institutions, which seems to lead to emergence of an informal ambience in which the processes of the school happen. The school does not seem to be conducted. For instance, there is no attendance or leave register for teachers.
• Palpable continuous and widespread innovation and creativity in educational approaches. This seems to be integral to the culture of the place and hence is self–sustaining.

• Intensive discussions are held on many subtle and intangible issues which are intended to raise awareness rather than yielding a decision. The process seems to make staff more self–responsible.
• Democratic and deliberative decision–making which naturally are sustainable.
• Caring, friendly and warm relationship between staff and students.
• Some very well–qualified and highly accomplished teachers serve the school. It is surely not the compensation which makes them associate. What makes this happen?
• Sensitive understanding of the issues and challenges resulting in a tentative and careful approach towards a solution.

Some of these observations may raise a doubt if the orderly functioning of the school is per chance. One quickly remembers that the organization has been running very well for more than eighty five years and is acclaimed to be one of the best residential schools in the world. Hence, it must be a result of a fountainhead of wisdom. Is it possible for schools without a religious fountainhead to have this ambience? Schools would have to explore this possibility.

The above is an illustration of what governance, leadership and management might imply and bring about. Can we understand to what extent we can explore these possibilities in the context of non–KFI schools? Obviously, to feel the need for this, one will also have to understand what is lacking in some of the most well–known schools and educational institutes of the world.