The students sit in small groups discussing their presentations for the day's lesson on plant cells. An excited murmur builds up among them, competing against the thrumming monsoon rain. They have been asked to share what they have learnt by reading up on their assigned topics.

This kind of a group discussion would seem fairly commonplace in schools today. Not so for students in this government-run school in Delhi's Mandawali neighbourhood; it is only their second encounter with this method of learning.