 Rishi Valley School celebrates 75 years
The institution that stands for a distinctive approach to education, Rishi Valley School turns 75 this year and plans to raise awareness about its on-going concerns and its current achievements and to reach out to well wishers in different parts of India by organising events in different places.
Symposium on education: The Rishi Valley Alumni Initiative is marking this occasion with a day-long symposium and a cultural programme to be held in Chennai on Saturday, July 29. The symposium is titled 'Quality Education for All in the 21st Century' - a theme that reflects the school’s continuing commitment to deepening and widening the reach of education, which is to be the major transformative factor in our individual and collective lives, said Dr Radha Herzberger, director of the school.
The contribution of both non-governmental organisations, corporate houses with a sense of social responsibility as well as public-private partnerships can generate momentum towards realising ‘quality education for all', she said. The symposium proposes to bring together committed individuals from various key agencies - governmental and non-governmental - to engage in a fruitful sharing of perceptions and experiences.
Cultural Shows: The cultural programme begins with a classical dance and music recital 'Asthachal' by Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri and Bharatanatyam guru Leela Samson, director of Kalakshetra Foundation, at 6.30 p.m on Friday, July 28 at the Museum Theatre. At 7.30 p.m on Saturday, July 29, there will be a restaging of 'Rural Fantasy' at the Kalakshetra Foundation. The play is based on a short story by Kalki Krishnamurthy, which ran to full houses and received standing ovations when it was staged earlier this year. The play is co-produced by The Madras Players and JustUs Repertory.
In 1931, world renowned philosopher, J. Krishnamurti founded Rishi Valley School, an institution dedicated to building an educational environment that nurtures young minds, enabling children to develop all facts of their personality. Located in a sheltered valley in rural Andhra Pradesh, the school is run by Krishnamurti Foundation India. For the last 75 years, Rishi Valley School has embraced its founder’s vision and has developed a distinctive approach to education that is holistic and empowers each child
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To develop a spirit of enquiry and self-awareness;
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An urge to question and an eagerness to learn both about oneself and the world outside;
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To love and respect nature; inculcate a sense of responsibility in every being to care for the environment.
Regarded as one of the leading residential schools in the country, Rishi Valley School has 350 boarding students from all parts of India and elsewhere in the world and 55 faculty members who are committed to the cause of creating an educational environment that hopes to inspire young minds to live and think freely as well as act responsibly. Around 10 per cent students in school are on special scholarships meant specifically for social workers’ children.
Students are not ranked, nor are there exams till class 9. Discussions, dialogue, listening with open minds, reflective thought, replace exercise of arbitrary authority. The effort is to create a culture where teachers and students meet each other as equals and with confidence.
In an effort to chart new directions in education, Rishi Valley has developed its own educational materials in the areas of social science, ancient history, and environmental studies. The book ‘Birds of Rishi Valley and Renewal of Their Habitat’, seeks to show how small-scale conservation efforts can make a difference in the landscape and in the quality of our lives. The academic curriculum is a balanced one with strong departments of music, dance and fine art. There is a strong emphasis on physical education, both regular games as well as activities such as hiking and yoga.
The school as a resource centre for the local community:
Dr Radha pointed out that Rishi Valley School has focused on the preservation, conservation and sustenance of natural resources. Its major initiatives have been in the following areas -
Water conservation: Through the building of percolation tanks, check dams and bunds at the edge of the school campus and on the hillside, the centre has helped regenerate 150 acres of a once barren hillside.
Reforestation: The campus that once consisted of drylands and scrublands now boasts of woodlands and several wetlands. The regeneration of land has vastly enriched the lives of the local village community.
Wasteland development: Beginning in 1988, under a grant from the Wasteland Development Board, the centre’s sustained efforts has transformed a once drought-prone area into a green belt. The valley has been declared a bird preserve by the International Council for Bird Preservation. The centre has an Institute for Bird Studies and Natural History that runs a bird studies
programme.
Alternative Energy:
The Rishi Valley Dairy is engaged in promoting sustainable agricultural practices. A large bio-gas plant in the dairy serves about 25 per cent of the school’s cooking needs and there are solar powered installations for cooking and heating. In recognition of its contribution to the local community as well as its conservation efforts, the school was awarded the Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award.
The desire to build bridges with the local community evolved over the years into the Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources (RIVER). RIVER is located on 14 acres of land on Rishi Valley Education Centre Campus. It consists of multi-grade model schools; a Back-to-School Programme emphasising compulsory elementary education and a Middle School that caters to students from the satellite schools, with emphasis on the girl child.
The programme was first tried out in the impoverished countryside around the school campus, where it has reduced the number of school dropouts by 98 per cent. Today, this self-sustaining model is in use in 30,000 rural schools all over India and is now being adopted in Africa. The corporation schools of Chennai use this methodology at the elementary level, and under the Sarva Siksha Abhyan 4,000 schools are presently in place in each district of the state.
In 2004, it won the first prize for the Most Innovative Project from the Global Development Network organisation awarded by the Japanese government. Funding agencies like UNICEF and various state organisations have collaborated with RIVER in training teachers and introducing this method of education in several regions across the country. The school also runs a very successful rural health programme, Dr Radha
said.
Defining ‘quality’ education: Challenges that lie ahead:
While both non-governmental as well as governmental organisations have focused on enrolling and retaining the maximum number of children in schools, they are confronted with the challenge of looking at the notion of ‘quality’ to include individual and social responsibility, equity and sustainability. However, there have been initiatives in the private and public sector as well as partnerships between public and private agencies that have envisioned fresh perspectives towards the aim of ‘quality’ education - in the areas of environmental protection, gender equality and human rights and towards the building of a just, equitable society, Dr Radha said.
R Rangaraj
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