17 year old gets MIT scholarship - Fusion - WeRIndia

This seventeen-year-old homeschooled Mumbai girl got into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). If you are wondering what is special about someone getting into it, she managed to do so without having a class 10 or class 12 certificate.

Despite lacking the needed certificates, Malvika Raj Joshi got a scholarship from MIT. The top technology institute invited her purely based on the amazing computer programming talent she has.

Malvika is a three-time medal winner at the International Olympiad of Informatics, more commonly known as the Programming Olympiad. Her winnings also helped her secure a seat at MIT.

It should be noted that unlike other prestigious academic institutions like the IITs, MIT accepts students who are medal winners in various maths, physics and computer Olympiads.

Previously, Malvika could not get admission to IIT in India without a Class 12 certificate. However, now she is about to pursue a degree in computer science from one of the most prestigious technology institutes in the world.

The decision to “unschool” Malvika was made by her mother Supriya when she was in Class 7 at Dadar Parsee Youth Assembly School in Mumbai. Supriya says that was a tough decision. She wanted her children, Malvika and her younger daughter Radha, to be happy than to gain conventional knowledge.

Unschooling is where children are homeschooled and the learner chooses the activities that interest him or her. Malvika got the chance to learn about the things she loved and it was computer programming.

The Indian Government did in fact allow parents who are dissatisfied with the education system to opt for home schooling for their children. However, the rules regarding this matter are still not clear because of the Right to Education Act, which makes it compulsory for every child between the age of 7 and 14 to attend school.

Image Reference: TheBetterIndia