Upholding Gandhian values with success
The school that has given the country cricketer Joginder Sharma and Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik will celebrate its 100th year in 2019
ROHTAK: Started with 220 students in a single rented room in the middle of a ‘jungle’ in 1919, the Vaish School, Rohtak, smack in the centre of the city, has the most precious of heritage that an institution can dream of. This is its association with the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the school’s campus on February 16, 1921; the institution has preserved the photograph of his arrival, in a bullock cart.
Respecting its legacy, today, a full 99 years later, the institute has kept with love the press clippings of that foundation day in its Gandhi Vatika, a special memorial dedicated to Gandhi. Also showcased are the books he authored on his life’s journey and his old photographs.
MOTTO OF SATYAMEV JAYATE
“The school was established during the British rule to impart morals and inculcate patriotism among students. When Gandhi launched the freedom movement in India in 1920, the school actively encouraged students to take part. This resulted in the British government suspending our school’s affiliation. We began again in 1921 when Gandhi laid the foundation stone. Gandhi laid the foundation stones of only two educational institutions, one was ours and another was in Vardha,” said Parveen Bansal, the principal of the school.
“The motto of the school is ‘Satyamev Jayate’ (Truth Alone Triumphs). It is the oldest running school in Rohtak and continues to live by its aim,” Bansal said. He adds that in addition to academics, the school lays focus on the teachings of Gandhi.
“We incorporate his message in our morning assemblies and prayers. We start teaching our students about India’s freedom struggle from the lower classes itself and strive to make them responsible and law-abiding citizens,” he adds. The school is affiliated to the Board of School Education, Haryana, and functions in both English and Hindi mediums.
ONE ROOM TO 60 ACRES
Today, the school rubs shoulders with 15 other Vaish institutions spread across a 60-acre campus on the rear of the Rohtak railway station. These institutions are run by the Vaish Education Society, which has now expanded to include 25,000 life members. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta is among the members. The school has been expanding with the help of its education society and philanthropists. A sports complex in the name of the institution’s founding father, Lala Ram Ratan, was built in 2005 at a cost of ₹1.5 crore. At every new block constructed, the school has nameplates of donors who made it possible. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda inaugurated the Gandhi Vatika in 2006.
“The school has a retail lab where students learn job-oriented courses, such as marketing, journalism etc,” says Suband hash Kumar, a teacher.
Other institutions running from the campus today under the Vaish umbrella are Vaish Girls Senior Secondary School, founded in 1941, Vaish College (1946), Vaish Technical Institute (1957), Vaish College of Education (1967), Vaish Mahila Mahavidyalaya (1973), Vaish Public School (1981), Vaish College of Engineering (1991), Vaish Institute of Management and Technology (2008), Vaish Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (2008), Vaish Institute of Hotel Management and Catering (2008), Vaish College of Law (2008), Vaish School of Business (2008), MGM Hospital Physio Centre (2009) and the Maharaja Agrasen Cricket Academy (2005).
MASTERING THE GAME OF LIFE
Former cricketer Joginder Sharma, whose final over versus Pakistan in 2007 led to India clinching the first T-20 Cricket World Cup, is an alumnus of Vaish Sr Sec School and Vaish College. He credits his success to his alma mater its teachers. “It all started at the school. The infrastructure and coaching in school nurtured my game and gave me perspective to achieve what I wanted in life. In school and college, teachers were very supportive and never let my participation in sports become any hurdle in academics,” Sharma said. He is presently a DSP with the Haryana Police and is posted in Fatehabad.
Other noted alumni include former cricketer Rajinder Goel, who holds the record of taking the most wickets in the Ranji Trophy, Rio Olympics bronze medalist wrestler Sakshi Malik, who studied at the Vaish Public School, and Olympian shot-putter Inderjit Singh, who was a student of the Vaish College of Education.
“Sports and academics go together at all our institutions. Even on the days when the school is shut, students come here to use the playground and the courts. The school hosts a lot of sports events every year. Zonal games are going on now as well. That’s why a lot of our alumni go on to take up sports as profession,” said Bansal.
GOES PRIVATE FROM THIS YEAR
A challenge for the school has been the hit its student strength has taken due to the mushrooming of other private schools. The school today has 1,850 students. For some residents though, trust overrides all such considerations. Dr Ashok Gupta, 67, a known city-based doctor, had studied in the school in the 1970s. Now, more than four decades later, his grandson, Vineet, studies here. “The city has seen an explosion in number of private schools offering luxury services, our family’s trust remains intact in this institution. We are all for the discipline and simple living taught here,” Gupta said.
From this year, the school has gone completely private; the government used to give aid to it all these years. “We are renovating classrooms and converting these into smart classes. Our aim, as always, remains providing a platform where students can get quality education. We do not want to compete with other schools, but strive to make ourselves better each year,” Bansal adds.