When global classrooms are out of reach, global learning must come home: KRUU founder
Anil Srinivasan calls for a transformation in Indian education, focusing on experiential learning and real-world problem-solving rather than degree dependency.
For most Indian students, global classrooms remain aspirational—expensive, distant and accessible to only a few. Yet the pressure to compete in an increasingly global world is very real. According to educationist and neuroscientist Anil Srinivasan, a classical musician who is a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and a Kalaimamani, Tamil Nadu’s highest state honour for the arts, the solution does not lie in sending more students abroad, but in rethinking what learning itself should look like at home.
“If access to global classrooms is limited, then global learning has to come to students where they are,” said Anil, founder and CEO of experiential learning platform KRUU, during a wide-ranging conversation. “Otherwise, we are building an education system where exposure is determined entirely by privilege.”
Questioning India’s degree obsession
Anil’s critique cuts deeper than the cost of foreign education. At its core, he argues, India remains overly dependent on degrees, ranks and entrance exams as indicators of merit—often at the expense of real understanding.
“We promote people into positions of authority simply because of where they studied,” he said. “Not because of how they think, solve problems or engage with the world.”
That mindset, he believes, pushes students to make career decisions long before they understand what different careers actually involve. By the time many realise a mismatch, years have already been invested.
From neuroscience and music to learning design
Though widely known as a classical musician, Anil’s work in education is rooted in neuroscience. His doctoral research at Columbia University explored how the brain processes information, particularly the role of creativity and sensory engagement in learning.
That research later shaped Rhapsody, an arts-integrated learning programme that used music and movement to teach academic concepts to young children. “Children don’t learn by sitting in rows and memorising,” he said. “They learn when curiosity, emotion and experience come together.”
By 2019, Rhapsody had reached hundreds of thousands of students across government and private schools. The pandemic, however, brought that physical model to a standstill. During a prolonged hospitalisation in the second Covid wave, Anil said he began rethinking access, exposure and the way learning is delivered.
“I saw how credentials are often valued more than competence or empathy,” he said. “That forced me to ask—why should meaningful exposure depend on geography or income?”
Learning that begins with real problems
The answer, he felt, lay in experiential, problem-first learning—an approach that became the foundation for KRUU. Instead of starting with subjects or syllabi, students begin with real-world problems and explore them through guided projects.
These projects are designed with professors from Indian and international universities but adapted for school students across Grades 6 to 12. A student may explore engineering concepts by building a foldable shelter using simple materials, or understand artificial intelligence through a social-impact challenge rather than abstract theory.
“The output is not the point,” Anil said. “What matters is whether the student understands the problem and the thinking behind the solution.”
Rahul Ramachandran, Director – Partnerships & Initiatives at KRUU, said the flexibility in outcomes is intentional. “We don’t impose rigid formats or timelines,” he said. “Some students build prototypes, others submit presentations explaining what they’ve learned. The focus is on engagement, not enforcement.”
Projects typically move through three stages—research, ideation and execution—over several weeks. Over a year, students work across multiple domains, gradually identifying what interests them and what does not.
“That process of elimination is just as important,” Ramachandran said. “Many students realise too late that they chose careers based on perception, not experience.”
Reaching students beyond elite spaces
Experiential learning is often associated with elite schools, but Anil insists that access need not be limited. KRUU works with schools across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, hill regions and small towns, adapting delivery based on local infrastructure.
“Technology is not the biggest barrier,” he said. “Awareness and mindset are.”
Most projects rely on basic materials already available in schools—cardboard, chart paper and existing science labs. In areas with limited digital access, students gather in shared spaces to attend sessions and then work offline.
Ramachandran said school involvement is critical. “Left entirely to choice, a child will always pick a football match over an academic project,” he said. “Schools and teachers create the structure that makes sustained engagement possible.”
Preparing students for uncertainty
As artificial intelligence reshapes education and employment, both Anil and Ramachandran believe that narrow technical training will age quickly. What will endure, they argue, are skills such as critical thinking, creativity and collaboration.
“AI is a tool,” Anil said. “What will differentiate students is their ability to break problems down, think independently and work with others.”
Rather than predicting future jobs, the focus, he said, should be on helping students understand themselves. “If students learn how to think before they choose what to become, they are better prepared for whatever comes next.”
For Anil, the shift is as much cultural as educational. “Global learning should not require a global address,” he said. “Exposure should not be a reward—it should be a foundation.”
